Geo: Exam 3 (9-11) – Flashcards
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More solar radiation is absorbed by Earth's surface than by __________.
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The atmosphere
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What is the term for the total radiation that is reflected by a surface?
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Albedo
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Which of the following absorbs most incoming solar radiation?
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Forest
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Light-colored surfaces __________ than dark-colored surfaces.
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have higher albedo
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Of the 50% of incoming solar radiation that is not absorbed by Earth's surface, how much is lost to space by reflection and scattering?
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30%
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What is the coriolis effect?
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The Coriolis effect deflects north-south air movement. This causes the trade winds, as equator-bound air is deflected. This effect also causes the westerlies, as air moving north is deflected.
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A jet stream generally diverges above a low-pressure (warm) center. However, at Earth's surface, air converges at a low-pressure center. If the divergence of the jet stream is greater than the convergence of air at the surface low-pressure center below it, what will happen to the surface winds?
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The surface winds will likely get stronger.
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What other natural hazards are associated with tornado formation?
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Thunderstorms
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Why does air spiral parallel to Earth's surface during initial stages of tornado formation?
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Because of friction, surface winds move more slowly than winds higher in the air column.
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What can cause the horizontally rotating air spiral to become the vertical spiral of a tornado?
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Updrafts associated with thunderstorm clouds can tilt the horizontal column of spinning air.
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How are mesocyclones and tornadoes related?
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Mesocyclones can turn into funnel clouds. A funnel cloud that touches the ground is called a tornado.
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What is a front?
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the boundary between two air masses of different temperatures
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Where does rain occur in a warm front?
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Rain occurs along and in front of a warm front.
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Where does rain occur in a cold front?
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Rain occurs along and behind a cold front
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How are rain patterns different near warm and cold fronts?
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Rain near a cold front occurs over a smaller spatial area and is more intense than near a warm front.
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What determines whether a front is called a cold front or a warm front?
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The type of front is determined by which air mass is moving.
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Why does rain occur near a cold front?
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Rising warm air cools, resulting in cloud formation
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What is latent heat?
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Energy absorbed or released when a substance undergoes a change in state such as liquid to solid
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Which energy transfer process describes energy transferred from a hot pot to its handle?
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Conduction
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Which energy transfer process describes how the Earth gets energy from the Sun?
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Radiation
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Why do clouds form?
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The relative humidity of air gets high enough so that water vapor condenses to tiny water droplets.
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In which part of the atmosphere are the clouds found?
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Troposphere
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What is the weather that is generally associated with high pressure systems?
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Cool and Clear
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What drives the movement of wind?
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Pressure differences
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What does the Coriolis effect do?
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It causes an apparent change in wind direction due to the Earth's rotation.
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Low atmospheric pressure is associated with clouds and rainy conditions.
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TRUE
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What is wind shear?
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When wind direction or wind speed changes with altitude
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In which thunderstorm stage would you be most likely to see lightning?
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Mature Stage
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Which type of severe thunderstorm generally spawn the largest tornadoes?
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Supercell storms
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Where does hail come from?
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Rain freezes when updrafts lift it back up into the cloud.
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What does the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale use to classify tornadoes?
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Amount of damage
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In what part of the U.S. are tornadoes NOT commonly found?
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Nevada
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Which of the following actions in a rotating storm will define it as a tornado?
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A funnel cloud that touches the cloud
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How is a blizzard defined?
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In terms of wind speed and visibility
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In which situation will you see freezing rain, as opposed to snow or sleet?
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Snow falls through warm air and then into a small slice of below freezing air on the ground.
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Which natural hazard affects more people than any other?
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Drought
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Thunderstorm development stages are defined by the presence of updrafts and downdrafts in the storm.
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True
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An EF0 tornado is the most damaging on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
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False
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Fog is often found near bodies of water that are at different temperatures than the air around them.
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True
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In large urban areas, the temperatures can be much warmer than in the surrounding areas.
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True
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Which of the following hazards is NOT influenced by the weather?
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Earthquakes
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What should you do when a tornado watch is issued for your area?
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Keep informed and be ready to take cover if a tornado is spotted
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A tornado warning means that a tornado has been spotted and that people should take cover.
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True
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Conditions for tornadoes can be spotted on radar and tornadoes can be detected once they develop.
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True
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Saffir-Simpson Cyclone/Hurricane Scale
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It is a scale that classifies hurricanes by wind speed.
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When are storms/hurricanes named?
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Storms are named once their wind speeds exceed 39 miles per hour.
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Hurricanes typically form in waters with a temperature of
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80 degrees farenheit
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What Is Fetch
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FETCH is area of ocean or lake surface over which the wind blows
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Constructive Interference
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When two similarly sized waves intersect and produce a much larger wave such as a Rogue Wave
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Destructive Interference
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When two similarly sized waves intersect but cancel each other out. This is done by the trough of one wave connecting with the crest of another
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At what depth does circular motion of water movement stop in the ocean?
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0.5 wavelength
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When the ratio of wave height to length exceeds ___, waves become unstable and the waves break on the shoreline.
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1:7
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The bending of the wave front is called_______. This causes energy and erosion to concentrate on the _________.
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Refraction; headland.
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Eustatic sea level
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It is the global sea level. Controlled by processes that affect overall volume of water in the ocean and shape of the basins.
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Relative Sea Level
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Position of the sea at the shore. Influenced by movement of both the land and water
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Glacial Isostasy
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The movement of the mantle due to the weight of the glacial ice.
