EOS 110- exam 1

docx

School

University of Victoria *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

110

Subject

Geography

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by emikoteramura

EOS 110: Exam 1 1. What is the difference between climate and weather? a. Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get 2. Choose different locations on Earth and think about when they receive more solar radiation and why. What role does Earth’s elliptical orbit play in the seasons? a. Different locations on earth will receive different levels of solar radiation due to the tilt of the earth’s axis, they receive different amounts of sunlight (different day lengths) depending on the seasons b. Earth is tilted- causes sun to strike at an angle (except equator) so solar radiation is less concentrated  higher latitudes receive less solar radiation c. Weather changes with the seasons because Earth’s axis is tilted relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. As a result, the Northern Hemisphere receives more direct sunlight during summer but less during winter. 3. How does day length vary with latitude and time of year (generally)? What is special about the equator, poles, and equinoxes in regards to day length? a. Day length varies with latitude and time of year, with less day light in the higher northern latitudes in the Winter season and more in the summer season (vice versa for Southern latitudes). b. The equator always receives 12 hours of day/night all year, the poles vary the most in regards to day length (solstices) and the equinox is when everywhere on earth receives 12 hours day/night (happens twice a year, spring and autumn) 4. What is meant by declination angle? Choose several different latitudes and think about how often the sun is directly overhead in a year at those latitudes.

a. Declination angle is the angle at which the sun is directly overhead (zenith). b. Sun is directly overhead more, closer to the equator and less nearer the poles 5. What is radiation intensity and what does it depend on? How does it help explain the amount of shortwave radiation received over a full 24 hours at different locations? Practice calculating radiation intensity for different angles, including converting to units of %. a. Radiation intensity is the amount of solar radiation hitting the ground compared to if the sun was directly overhead. b. Radiation intensity tells us how much shortwave (F sw ) is incoming in 24 hours c. Impacted by latitude (higher latitudes – less radiation intensity) and season 6. How do declination and latitude control the noon sun angle? Practice calculating the noon sun angle for different latitudes and times of year. See page 1-15 of your lab manual for suggested latitudes and times of year to practice. a. Zenith angle= Latitude – Declination angle, and 90-z= noon sun angle 7. What is albedo? How is it quantified? How does albedo affect the energy balance at the surface? a. Albedo is the reflectivity of a surface it represents F sw outgoing (reflected solar radiation) 8. How are temperature, energy, and wavelength of light related to each other? How does this relationship control the wavelength and amount of radiation emitted by the ground at any given time? How do the wavelengths of light from the Sun and from the Earth compare? What do we call these kinds of radiation? a. Temperature increase the energy and decreases the wavelength of light.

9. How do greenhouse gases in our atmosphere affect the energy balance and ground temperature? Which kinds of radiation move through the atmosphere without being absorbed and which are absorbed? What happens to light/energy absorbed by greenhouse gases? Which gases are important to Earth’s greenhouse effect? 10. How could you determine, based on measurements of incoming and outgoing radiation, whether the ground is likely warming or cooling? What is Q*? When does the peak ground temperature usually occur relative to the maximum in solar radiation? Why? 11. How do incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation typically vary over a day and over a year? What controls the shape of each? Module 2: Stratification and Vertical Motion 12. Define density. What units can it have? How does it control whether a fluid rises or sinks? a. Density is mass within a given volume (g/cm 3 ) greater density- fluid sinks and vice versa 13. Which two factors most affect air density? Which two factors most affect water density? How do each of those factors affect density (i.e., make density greater or less)? Why? a. pressure and temperature most affect the density of air- cold air is denser, higher pressure= higher density b. Salinity, temp and depth all affect water density. More salinity = higher density, higher temp= lower density, more depth= more density 14. What is meant by thermocline, halocline, and pycnocline? a. Thermocline: depth at which temp rapidly decreases

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

b. Halocline: depth at which salinity rapidly increases c. Pycnocline: depth at which density rapidly increase (depends on thermocline and halocline to make pronounced) 15. What circumstances in the real ocean might create a water column stably stratified by temperature? By salinity? a. Sun shines on ocean surface- warming it, this warmer water sits about colder denser water- temp. stratified b. The surface water in the ocean is less salty than deeper water, surface water floats above deeper water, creating salinity stratification 16. How could you determine whether a warmer saltier water mass was denser than a cooler fresher water mass? Could they have the same density? How is a T-S diagram used? a. 17. Draw a stable temperature in standard oceanographic format with axes labeled. Do the same for a stable salinity profile. 18. How does the salinity and temperature in the thermohaline pump oscillator experiment in the lab create a stable stratification? What causes the vial to move up and down? 19. Define atmospheric pressure. How does it vary with altitude? a. Atmospheric pressure is the weight of air above, it decreases with altitude, less air/atmosphere above the higher you get 20. How does temperature vary with altitude in the lower atmosphere? What happens to the temperature of a rising or sinking air parcel? Why?

a. Temp. decreases with altitude, due to expansion as it encounters lower pressure b. Rising air cools c. Sinking air warms 21. How does the amount of water air can hold relate to temperature? What is saturation? Relative humidity? Dew point? What circumstances allow water vapour to condense? a. The amount of water air can hold is relative humidity (water vapour actually in air/water vapor at saturation), as air cools its relative humidity increases  warmer air can hold more water vapor b. Saturation: maximum amount of water that air can hold at any given temperature c. Dew point: temp. for given water vapor content to be at saturation  dew forms d. As rising air cools, relative humidity increases  water vapor compresses  resulting in clouds and precipitation 22. What is a lapse rate? To what circumstances does the wet lapse rate apply? To what circumstances does the dry lapse rate apply? What causes the wet lapse rate to be smaller than the dry lapse rate? a. Lapse rate refers to the rate of cooling or warming of air as altitude changes b. Dry lapse rate is used for all rising air and all sinking air that is not at saturation

c. The wet lapse rate is used only for rising air that is at saturation. It is smaller because condensation adds heat to a system 23. Practice doing some calculations of air temperature as air masses rise or sink. See page 3-13 of your lab manual for suggested lapse rate problems to practice. 24. How do concepts of rising or sinking air, humidity, and condensation apply to a situation where air is being pushed over a mountain range? a. As air is being pushes over a mountain range it is undergoing orthographic lifting. As air rises it cools adiabatically and water vapor may condense into clouds or precipitation. Creates lots of rain and clouds on windward side  as air crest the mountain and sinks it warms  air lost much of its moisture  warms adiabatically  creates rain shadow on leeward side Module 3: Currents, Winds, and Weather 25. Why do horizontal density differences relate to vertical circulation cells? 26. What is a sea breeze? A land breezes? In what circumstances do they occur? What effect do they have on temperatures over the land? a. Land and sea breezes are caused by uneven heating of land and sea  land surfaces heat up and cool off more quickly than adjacent water. b. During the day: Hot air then rises over the land, producing a local low- pressure area. Cooler air from the sea flows inland to replace the rising air. Thus, on a hot sunny day, winds generally blow from the sea onto land c. At nice: opposite process occurs 27. How many atmospheric circulation cells exist in each hemisphere? Why is there more than one?

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

a. There are 3 atmospheric circulation cells in each hemisphere b. They occur at boundaries of high- and low-pressure zones and are impacted by the Coriolis force 28. What is an apparent force? How does this relate to the Coriolis force? a. An apparent force is a force that shows up as a result of a moving reference frame. The Coriolis force is an apparent force that is applies to rotating objects. 29. How does the Coriolis force affect motion in the Northern Hemisphere? In the Southern? a. RIGHT in northern hemisphere b. LEFT in southern hemisphere 30. Which forces affect wind direction high in the atmosphere? Which forces are important near the ground? Which forces are important in determining geostrophic current direction in the ocean? a. High in the atmosphere: Coriolis b. Low: Coriolis + friction (friction bends wind towards low pressure) 31. Practice determining the direction of the wind in the upper atmosphere (aloft) and near the ground for situations with parallel lines of constant air pressure in the Northern and in the Southern hemispheres. Practice determining the direction of the wind in the upper atmosphere (aloft) for situations with a circular low pressure or high-pressure zone in the Northern and in the Southern hemispheres. See pages 3-13 and 3-14 of your lab manuals for suggested wind direction problems to practice.

32. How does rising or sinking air affect air pressure at the ground? At what latitudes are regions of low and high air pressure typically found? How does this control the dominant wind directions at different latitudes? How does the dominant wind direction affect our climate and weather in Victoria? a. Rising air causes low pressure, sinking air causes high pressure b. Tend to see high atmospheric pressure at 30 N/S and poles and lower atmospheric pressure at 60 N/S and the equator c. These pressure zones impact the dominant wind directions  high pressure: trade winds and polar easterlies and low pressure  westerlies d. Victoria: westerlies, weather comes from the west 33. What latitude bands are usually characterized by wet weather? By dry? Why? a. Latitude bands from the equator to 30 degrees N and S are wet due to b. 34. What are the characteristics of a low-pressure system? Of a high-pressure system? a. Low- pressure system: generally, have clouds and precipitation b. High pressure: dry weather and mostly clear skies 35. What are the general names for these types of weather systems? a. Low pressure: cyclone b. High pressure: anti-cyclone 36. What are the different types of fronts and what causes them? Name three characteristics of each type of front.

a. Warm front: warm air rises over cold air  associated with a shallow wedge, light rainfall b. Cold front: cold air pushes under warm air  steep wedge  heavy rain c. Occluded front: formed when warm air is trapped and lifted between two cold air masses  precipitation occurs along both frontal boundaries, large zone of short-lived inclement weather 37. What are the different stages in the formation of a mid-latitude cyclone? Where are the fronts located and which way do the winds blow? a. The front develops b. Small disturbance (storm, topological feature, temp difference) causes a kink in the front c. Low pressure region and cyclonic circulation develop near kink  rotating cold and warm fronts 38. What is an Ekman layer? How does this layer move compare to the direction of the wind? How can you determine which direction it moves in? About how deep is it? a. Ekman layer is the layer of the ocean affected by the movement of wind-driven surface waters b. Ocean moved 90 degrees relative to the direction of the wind i. 90 right in NH ii. 90 left in SH (Coriolis) c. ~50m deep

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

39. Which wind band or bands affect the subtropical gyres in each hemisphere? The subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere? a. Subtropical gyres driven by trade winds and westerlies b. Subpolar gyres driven by westerlies and polar easterlies 40. Practice determining Ekman transport direction, convergence or divergence, and geostrophic current direction from different pairs of wind bands and in both hemispheres. A midlatitude cyclone develops along a front between polar air and a tropical air mass. (A) The front develops. (B) Some small disturbance such as a topographical feature, nearby storm, or

local temperature variation creates a kink in the front. (C) A low-pressure region and cyclonic circulation develop near the kink. (D) An occluded front form.

EOS 110- exam 1

Related Documents