Length of day for a full year
Ocean Gyres
Vernal Equinox March 20, 11:57 AM, CDT
Sun will rise exactly in the east and set exactly in the west.
All latitudes get 12 hours of day and 12 hours of dark.
Wet
Adiabatic
lapse rate,
starts at
dewpoint
Dry Adiabatic lapse rate
January
July
What is water vapor. Can you see it?
http://weather.msfc.nasa.gov
Two ways water vapor is
important?
Sargasso Sea
Great Pacific
Garbage Patch
Centers of ocean gyres
What is water vapor’s
role in redistributing
energy from surplus
to deficit areas of
world?
1
ITCZ “migration”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_e
mbedded&v=qh011eAYjAA
This is a high definition animation of global air
circulation created by the Community Climate
System Model (CCSM) and the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR). It spans one
calendar year and is comprised of hourly data.
Cloud cover is generally shown in white with areas
of precipitation shown in orange.
9A, 27B, 39C, 15D
When air is saturated all the following are true EXCEPT
a). Content = capacity
b). Evaporation rate is fast
c). Relative humidity = 100%
d). Air is at the dewpoint temperature
12A, 30B, 42C, 18D
The monsoon and a land/sea breeze have which of
the following in common?
a). They are both local in scale
b). They are both continental in scale
c). They both result from unequal
heating/cooling rates of land and water
d). They both involve continuous southerly
winds
e). They both bring heavy rain to the affected
area
3A, 21B, 33C, 9D
The diagram to the lower right is the symbol for
a (an) _______________ front.
a). Cold
b). Convergent
c). Warm
d). Occluded
e). Stationary
11A, 29B, 41C, 17D
Why does the U.S. have more tornadoes than other
countries?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
We have more trailer parks
Our mountains run east to west
Our mountains run north to south
mT and cT air collide in early fall
mT and mP air can collide in the central U.S
14A, 32B, 2C, 20D
The diagram to the right is of a _____________
pressure cell in the ____________hemisphere.
Arrows are air movement direction.
a). Low, northern
b). Low, southern
c). High, southern
d). High, northern
2
16A, 34B, 4C, 22D
The South Atlantic Ocean Gyre rotates
___________________ and brings relatively
__________water to west coast of Africa.
a). Clockwise, cold
b). Counterclockwise, warm
c). Clockwise, warm
d). Counterclockwise, cold
19A, 37B, 7C, 25D
An air parcel that is forced up and over a mountain
experiences which of the following temperature
changes?
a). Heats up at the dry adiabatic lapse rate as it
descends on the leeward side
b). Heats up due to friction as it goes up on the
windward side of the mountain
c). Cools off at the dry adiabatic lapse rate as it
descends on the leeward side
24A, 42B, 12C, 30D
In air mass names, if the lowercase first letter is
“m”, it indicates that the airmass is _________,
and if the capital second letter is P, it means the
airmass is __________.
a). Moist, cool
b). Monsoon, Polar
c). Moist, warm
d). Dry, warm
e). Marine, moist
17A, 35B, 5C, 23D
A layered cloud is called a ________________ cloud,
while a puffy cloud is called a
__________________ cloud.
a). Cirrus, Cumulus
b). Stratus, Cirrus
c). Nimbus, Stratus
d). Cumulus, Nimbus
e). Stratus, Cumulus
23A, 41B, 11C, 29D
A land breeze is likely to occur along the coast
during the __________, due to relatively _______
temperatures and ________ atmospheric
pressure over land.
a). Night, low, high
b). Night, high, low
c). Day, low, high
d). Day, high, low
25A, 1B, 13C, 31D
If you were given the following altitudes and
temperature readings from a weather balloon
released into the atmosphere, what term would
best describe this particular sequence of
atmospheric temperature changes?
a). Surface temperature inversion
b). Wet adiabatic lapse rate
c). Temperature inversion aloft
d). Dry adiabatic lapse rate
3
29A, 5B, 17C, 35D
On the weather map to the right the front
labeled “D” is ___________ front and it is
moving toward the ____________________.
a). An occluded front, east
b). A cold front, northeast
c). A stationary front, south
d). A warm front, northeast
e). A cold front, east
31A, 7B, 19C, 37D
The ratio of atmospheric water vapor content to
atmospheric water vapor capacity is called
a). Adiabatic rate
b). Transpiration ratio
c). Saturation curve
d). Relative humidity
e). Condensation level
36A, 12B, 24C, 42D
A cold front passes through Mobile, you might
expect all the following EXCEPT
a). Cumulonimbus clouds
b). Stratus clouds and drizzle
c). The temperature to change rapidly
d). Heavy rain
e). Rapid atmospheric pressure changes
30A, 6B, 18C, 36D
The dry adiabatic lapse rate describes
a). Temperature changes in a rising parcel of air
with condensation occurring
b). Temperature changes associated with falling
parcels of air
c). Temperature structure of the atmosphere
32A, 8B, 20C, 38D
In December, the ITCZ is usually located
__________________ the Equator because
__________________
a). On, there are always equal days and equal nights
b). South of, the direct rays of the sun shine on the
Tropic of Capricorn
c). North of, the direct rays of the sun shine on the
Tropic of Cancer
d). North of, the direct rays of the sun shine on the
Arctic Circle
e). South of, the direct rays of the sun shine on the
Antarctic Circle
37A, 13B, 25C, 1D
The type of atmospheric lifting that causes rainfall
near the Equator is _____________ lifting.
a). Frontal
b). Orographic
c). Divergent
d). Advective
e). Convergent
4
39A, 15B, 27C, 3D
A hurricane is wandering
around in the Gulf of
Mexico. It finally heads due
east towards Florida. Use
the map to right to
determine what quadrant of
the storm will do the most
damage to Florida’s western
coast.
40A, 16B, 28C, 4D
Global average precipitation is low near the Poles
because air temperature is _____________,
capacity of air to hold water is ____________,
and ____________ provides a lifting
mechanism.
Driver
Front seat
passenger
a). Northeast quadrant
b). Northwest quadrant
c). Southeast quadrant
d). Southwest quadrant
41A, 17B, 29C, 5D
Condensation is affected by all the following EXCEPT
a). Degree of cooling
b). Type of vegetation
c). Relative humidity
d). Availability of condensation nuclei
e). Ratio of moisture content to capacity
43AC
What is the correct descriptive term for belt #2?
a) Horse Latitudes
b) Westerlies
c) Southeast trades
d) Polar Easterlies
e) Polar Front
a). Warm, low, convergence
b). Cold, high, nothing
c). Warm, low, convection
d). Cold, low, nothing
e). Cold, low, frontal activity
42A, 18B, 30C, 6D
In comparison to the idealized pattern of high and low
pressure belts, the actual global pressure
distribution is all the following EXCEPT
a). The pattern is much more irregular because of
“continentality”
b). In June, the ITCZ is usually south of the equator
c). The pressure belts break up into large pressure
“cells” especially in the northern hemisphere
d). The pressure belts are more “zonal” in the
southern hemisphere than in the northern
hemisphere
e). In December, a high pressure cell is over Siberia
in Russia
44AC
What is the correct descriptive term for belt #4?
a) Polar Easterlies
b) Horse Latitudes
c) Westerlies
d) Southeast trades
e) Northeast trades
5
46AC
What is(are) the correct descriptive term(s) for belt #7?
a) Doldrums
b) Subtropical High
c) Equatorial Low
d) ITCZ
e) all but b
50 AC
The surface winds in zone #4 usually come from the
a) North
b) Southwest
c) Northeast
d) East
e) Northwest
54AC
What is the atmospheric pressure at location 3 and what
causes it?
a) high pressure caused by circulation dynamics
b) low pressure caused by circulation dynamics
c) low pressure caused by cold temperatures
d) high pressure caused by low temperatures
48AC
What is(are) the correct descriptive term(s) for belt
#11?
a) Horse Latitudes
b) Polar Front
c) Polar High
d) Subpolar Low
e) b and d
52AC
The surface winds in zone #12 usually come from the
a) Southeast
b) North
c) Northeast
d) West
e) Northwest
54BD
What is the atmospheric pressure at location #9 and
what causes it?
a). high pressure caused by warm temperatures
b). high pressure caused by circulation dynamics
c). low pressure caused by warm temperatures
d). low pressure caused by circulation dynamics
6
Latitudinal variation in precipitation
59AC
If we ranked annual precipitation with the greatest amount
of precipitation as “A”, next to greatest “B”, next to
lowest “C”, and lowest “D”, which of these four ranks
best describes precipitation in location #11?
a) “A”, greatest amount of precipitation
b) “B”, next to greatest
c) “C”, next to lowest
d) “D”, lowest
Know the lifting mechanisms, or lack thereof, that
explain this latitudinal pattern
59BD
If we ranked annual precipitation with the greatest amount
of precipitation as “A”, next to greatest “B”, next to
lowest “C”, and lowest “D”, which of these four ranks
best describes precipitation in location #5?
a). “A”, greatest amount of precipitation
b). “B”, next to greatest
c). “C”, next to lowest
d). “D”, lowest
7