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ENVS*2030 > Final Exam Emphasized Topics > Flashcards

Final Exam Emphasized Topics Flashcards

1
Q

Polar Front Theory

A
  • Stationary Front
  • Frontal Wave
  • Open Wave
  • Mature (initial occlusion)
  • Advanced occlusion
  • Cutoff cyclone
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2
Q

Rossby waves are:

A

Long waves

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3
Q

Corriolis force is stronger at ___ making winds faster

A

Ridges

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4
Q

Wind slows during ___
Wind speeds up during ___

A
  • Convergence
  • Divergence
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5
Q

What is the Rossby Redox

A
  • Short waves move faster
  • Short waves are embedded in the background of longwaves and are much more active
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6
Q

How do short waves cause storms (cyclones)?

A
  1. Begins with stationary polar front and a steady flow above
  2. As the shortwave moves through the upper air flow, convergence and divergence generate high and low centers
  3. This starts. the polar front moving, generating a warm front with air moving N and cold front where it moves S
  4. Storm dissipates when the surface low isolates from the upper air divergence
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7
Q

Barotropic/ Baroclinic

A
  • Temperature contours and isoheights are parallel
  • no advection = Wind transported horizontally by the wind
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8
Q

Baroclinic Instability

A
  • Short wave pushes south across temperature contours
  • Cold air is transported into region of convergence deepening the trough
  • Warm air is brought into region of divergence, strengthening the ridge
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9
Q

Cooling air ___, whereas warm air ___

A

compresses down
Warm air expands up

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10
Q

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP)

A

Considers:
- domain size
- resolution
- initial conditions
- model assumptions

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11
Q

Watch

A

Atmospheric conditions are favorable for hazardous weather although location and time are uncertain

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12
Q

Warning

A

Hazardous weather is actually occuring or imminent within the forecast area

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13
Q

What developes a tropical disturbance into a tropical cyclone

A
  • Warm sea surface
  • Adequate Coriolis effect: 5 degrees from the equator
  • weak vertical wind shear: no strong upper tropospheric flow
  • humid air in mid troposphere
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14
Q

What does the saffir simpson scale measures…

A

Rates tropical storm strength on a scale from 1-5

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15
Q

Easterly Waves

A
  • Travel east to west in the trade winds
  • troughs in mid-latitude upper flow - winds slows when entering easterly wave
  • Convergence -> wind increases when exiting easterly waves
  • Divergence -> low level convergence causes upward motion
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16
Q

Requirements for tropical storm/cyclone formation

A
  • Storm is powered by latent heat release in clouds
  • adequate coriolis effect provides rotation
  • weak verticle wind sher required allowing deep vertical orginization and development
  • Moist mid-troposhere
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17
Q

Hurricanes weaken or die when…

A

They loose their source of moist air by moving over land, or over colder water
- this reduces the supply of latent het that powers the storm

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18
Q

How does cyclic flow in the lower troposphere, becoming anticyclonic in the upper troposphere

A

Wind are strongest in the lower troposphere, then decrease in the upper troposphere until they turn and circulate in the opposite direction at the top of the storm

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19
Q

Cyclostrophic Flow

A

Pressure-gradient + Coriolis effect + friction = V2/R

  • At the eye wall of a hurricane
  • pressure gradient much larger than friction
  • weak Coriolis
  • parcels move rapidly in a tight circle
  • parcels cannot make ny further inward progress, so winds in the eye are weak
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20
Q

True or False: the eye of the storm is almost cloud free

A

True

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21
Q

Cyclostrophic Radius

A

some air descends to replace eye air fed into base of eye wall clouds

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22
Q

What are the pressure trends as the eye approaches

A

pressure drops as the eye approaches and winds peak near the eye wall

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23
Q

Storm Surges

A
  • strong onshore winds
  • shallow sloped shore
  • narrowing bay
  • high tide
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24
Q

Region of Maximum heating

A
  • Where the solar altitude angle reaches 90 degrees
  • varies between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn
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25
Q

Describe the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

A

Low pressure area where trade winds converge and air rises causing intense convective precipritation

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26
Q

The Doldrums

A

ITCZ
- unreliable winds, frequent rain

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27
Q

Horse Latitudes

A
  • Lack of wind
  • lack of preciprittion
  • subtropical highs
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28
Q

Why are deserts found in the horse latitudes

A

due to the lack of wind and precipitation

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29
Q

Why are rainforests found at the ITCZ

A

due to the frequent rain

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30
Q

Why does the ITCZ shift with the seasons?

A
  • The sun moves with the seasons
  • this moves the source of max sensible and latent heat at the bottom of our thermally driven circulation
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31
Q

What is the trade wind inversion

A
  • What aspect of tropical climate does it help to explain
  • layer where T increases with height
  • Air stops rising: clouds stay as cumulus and do not develop into thunderstorm clouds (cumulonimbus)
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32
Q

What forms trade winds

A
  • Subsiding air (subsidence inversion)
  • profile of air descent in region of high pressure -> subsidence decreases close to surface can not continue descent
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33
Q

Why is there a large seasonal shift in the ITCZ over southern asia

A
  • It has to do with the monsoon wind system -> seasonally change
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34
Q

What is the monsoon wind system

A

giant land/sea breeze
- seasonal reversal of winds

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35
Q

Describe the development of a “sea breeze”

A

Day time
- land heats more rapidly than water
- warmer air expands over land and lifts upper pressure surfaces
- Divergence over land and convergence over sea
surface flow from sea to land = sea breeze

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36
Q

Describe the development of land breeze

A

Night time
- land cools more rapidly than water
- land air column shrinks and upper pressure surface descends
- convergence aloft over land
- divergence aloft over sea
land surface pressure increases
- sea surface pressure decreases
- surface flow from land to sea

37
Q

Monsoon circulation - winter

A

winter - land colder than ocean -> giant land breeze -> augments the northernly trade winds (dry season) -> ITCZ stays south

38
Q

Monsoon circulation - summer

A

land warmer than ocean -> giant sea breeze -> augments the southernly trade winds (wet season) -> ITCZ moves north

39
Q

Southern Oscillation

A

pressure gradient that oscillates from weaker to stronger with an irregular period

40
Q

El nino

A
  • occurs with a weak SOI
  • warm phase of southern oscillation
  • alterations in P pattern and winds
  • warm water sloshes towards south america
41
Q

La nina

A
  • Occurs with a strong SOI
  • cool phase of the southern oscillation
  • warm water pushed towrds indonesi
42
Q

Primary sources of air pollution

A
  • enter atmosphere directly
  • hazardous ir pollutants (toxic at low conc. emitted by accident
  • criteria air contaminants - allowed but regulated
43
Q

Secondary air pollutants

A
  • form due to reaction between primary pollutants and other air components
44
Q

Name the 6 criteria air contaminants

A
  • Ammonia
  • carbon monoxide
  • volatile organic compounds
  • sulfer oxides
  • nitrogen oxides
  • particulate matter
45
Q

Ammonia main sources

A

Agricultural livestock, fertilizer application

46
Q

Carbon monoxide main sources

A

transportation

47
Q

Volatile organic compounds

A

transportation, oil and gas, solvent use

48
Q

Sulfer oxides

A

mining, coal fire power generators

49
Q

nitrogen oxides

A

transportation, oil and gas

50
Q

particulate matter

A

wood combustion, diesel use

51
Q

increased wind speed has what effect on air pollution?

A

brings cleaner air and dilutes the concentration of a pollutant

52
Q

how does an unstable environment affect pollution

A
  • pollutants rise, mix, and disperse downwind
53
Q

How does stable environment affect pollution

A
  • shallow mixing depth and pollutants are trapped within inversion.
54
Q

Elevated Subsidence Inversion

A

Down Slope of a mountain causes sinking of air, which results in subsidence inversion

55
Q

What sort of plume would arise during a clear night with poor vertical mixing (stable)

A

Fanning shape that spreads in the horizontal, but not vertical

56
Q

What plume type would you expect to arise during a clear day with good vertical mixing? (unstable)

A

Looping plume type where the plume rises and sinks rapidly and is widespread cross the vertical

57
Q

What type of plume would you expect to arise on a cloudy day or night with modest mixing? (neutral)

A

Coning plume type that is spread evenly in both the vertical and horizontal creating a cone shape

58
Q

Sigma Z is the measurement of __ plume dimension

A

Vertical

59
Q

Sigma y is the measurement of ___ plume dimension

A

horizontal

60
Q

True or False: Ozone is a secondary air pollutant?

A

true

61
Q

What causes ground level ozone smog?

A
  • Sunshine (UV to dissociate NO2)
  • Warmth
  • southernly winds that import extra O3, VOCs and NOx
62
Q

What are the 4 main green house gases, and their sources

A
  1. carbon dioxide - fossil fuel use, land use change
  2. Methane - agricultural activities, waste and energy
  3. Nitrous Oxide - agriculture and fertilizer
  4. Fluorinated gases - industrial processes and refridgeration
63
Q

Name 2 factors that govern climate

A
  • Effect on global energy budget (changes in energy coming in or going out)
  • Internal interactions and feedback effects (ocean and air circulation)
64
Q

Millennial Time Scale - Eccentricity

A

The variation in the earth’s distance from the sun

65
Q

Millennial Time scale - Obliquity

A

Earth’s tilt on its axis

66
Q

Millennial Time scale - Precession

A

Wobble in the earths axis that changes the position of hemispheres and there distance from the sun

67
Q

In winter for the ice age…

A

Higher radiation -> more evap. -> more clouds -> more snow

68
Q

In summer for an ice age…

A

Weaker radiation -> less snow melt

69
Q

Cold starts with… (Millennial Time scale)

A
  • high eccentricity
  • small tilt
  • Big E-S distance in summer (NH)
70
Q

Cold ends with… (Millennial Time scale)

A
  • lower eccentricity
  • bigger tilt
  • smaller E-S distance (NH)
71
Q

Do sunspots increase the total amount of sun radiation or decrease it? why?

A

Sunspots emmit less radiation, but around them there is more radiation being emmited there fore they increase amount of solar radiation emmited

72
Q

Why are there uncertainties due to instrumental record?

A
  • changes in the accuracy of sensors over time
  • changes in location of stations
  • changes in land use around stations (urbanization)
  • lack of observation over oceans and poles
73
Q

Positive feedback ___ change, where as negative feedback ___ change

A

enhances, decreases

74
Q

Polar Amplification

A

More warming in higher latitude regions due to albedo feedback

75
Q

What evidence is there for climate change? (4)

A
  1. sea level rise
  2. warming oceans
  3. globally water vapor in the atmosphere has increased at a rate consistant with prediction climate models
  4. global T rise
76
Q

How is the jet stream changing due to climate change?

A
  • the decrease in temperature contrast has causes weaker jet stream creating a wavy omega pattern
77
Q

General Circulation Models/ Global Climate Models (GCM):

A

Computer programs that simulate how components of the climate system work and interact
- use 3D grid
- similar to numericl weather forecasting models
- used to understand how climate changed in the past and how it will change in the future

78
Q

Radiative Forcing:

A

Any change in average net radiation that is due to some change in the climate system is called radiative forcing

79
Q

Units for radiative forcing

+ means…
- means…

A

energy surplus = warming
energy deficit = cooling

80
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback: Ice albedo

A

+

81
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback: CO2 and/or methane released from permafrost

A

+

82
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback: CO2 and/or methane released from/to vegetation causing
1. more growth
2. more fire

A
  1. -
  2. +
83
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback: Water vapour from
1. ocean evaporation
2. From vegetation

A
  1. +
  2. -
84
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback:
1. Thick low clouds
2. thin high clouds

A
  1. -
  2. +
85
Q

Does the following have positive or negative feedback: Ocean feedbacks
1. increased T = increase photosynthesis
2. freshening sea water/ slowing of the Atlantic conveyer belt

A
  1. -
  2. -
86
Q

According to polar front theory, when does a storm begin to dissipate?

A

When the low pressure center on the surface becomes isolated from upper air divergence

87
Q

How is the strength of trade winds determined?

A

By the pressure gradient between Tahiti (high P) and Darwin (low P)

88
Q

Describe the bergeron-findestein process (process of growing ice crytsals)

A
  1. Water vapour pressure gradient between supercooled droplet and ice crystal
  2. Vapour is pushed from drop to ice crystal due to pressure difference
  3. this increases evaporation
  4. droplet is consumed by ice crystal.

ENVS*2030 (2 decks)

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