Introdunction to Climate Science Flashcards
(134 cards)
1
Q
Consists of the short-term (minutes to months) changes in the atmosphere.
A
Weather
2
Q
The average weather for a particular region and time period, usually taken over 30-years
A
Climate
3
Q
Temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure determine what the ______ is like at a given time and location.
A
weather
4
Q
Averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather that occur over a long period in a particular place.
A
climate
5
Q
it is what you get
A
weather
6
Q
it is what you expect
A
climate
7
Q
condition of the atmosphere over a short period of time
A
weather
8
Q
how the atmosphere behaves over a long period of time and space
A
climate
9
Q
can change within minutes or hours
A
weather
10
Q
average regional weather pattern over decades
A
climate
11
Q
Measure of the distance you are located from the equator.
A
latitude
12
Q
Locations at lower latitudes receive ______ and ______than locations near the poles
A
stronger and more direct sunlight
13
Q
main driving force in the atmosphere
A
energy input from the sun
14
Q
The earth’s axis of rotation is tilted about _____ degrees compared to the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun.
A
23.5
15
Q
The earth’s _____ is responsible for the seasons we experience.
A
tilt
16
Q
24 hours daylight
A
arctic circle
17
Q
13.5 hours daylight
A
tropic of cancer
18
Q
12 hours daylight
A
equator
19
Q
10.5 hours of daylight
A
tropic of capricorn
20
Q
0 hours of daylight
A
antarctic circle
21
Q
6 months of day
A
polar day
22
Q
6 months of night
A
polar night
23
Q
june 21, 2024
A
summer solstice
24
Q
december 21
A
winter solstice
25
24 hours of darkness
arctic circle
26
13.5 hours of darkess
tropic of cancer
27
12 hours of darkness
equator
28
10.5 hours of darkness
tropic of capricorn
29
0 hours of darkness
antarctic circle
30
Types of Solar Eclipse
Total Solar eclipse, Annual Solar Eclipse, Partial Solar Eclipse, Hybrid Solar Eclipse
31
After April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, the next total solar eclipse will be on _____
Aug. 23, 2044
32
The _____ of the Earth varies as one moves upward from the surface of the Earth.
temperature
33
Region where nearly all water vapor exists and essentially all weather occurs.
troposphere
34
On the average, the temperature decreases with height in the troposphere at the rate of approximately _____ of altitude.
6.5°C per 1000m
35
Temperature decreases with altitude since troposphere's gases absorb _______ of the incoming solar radiation.
very little
36
Heating is most effective near the ground.
troposphere
37
Region above the troposphere and a region where temperatures actually increase with increasing height.
stratosphere
38
Temperature remains isothermal until about 20 km.
stratosphere
39
directly warmed by the Sun unlike the troposphere.
stratosphere
40
It has higher concentration of ozone, an effective absorber of solar ultraviolet radiation.
stratosphere
41
Approximately _____% of the ozone in the atmosphere resides in the stratosphere
90%
42
Ozone concentration in the this region is about 10 parts per million by volume (ppmv) as compared to approximately 0.04 ppmv in the troposphere.
stratosphere
43
Air is very thin at this height and temperature decreases with increasing height.
mesosphere
44
The thin air and small amounts of ozone prevent the air from warming much.
mesosphere
45
The region of the atmosphere where the most energetic solar energy is absorbed.
thermosphere
46
Ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and high-energy gamma radiation are all absorbed by the ______, which causes the few particles present to heat up considerably.
thermosphere
47
Amount of water in the air relative to the saturation amount the air can hold at a given temperature multiplied by 100.
relative humidity
48
A higher value of RH means that the atmosphere is ______, a lower value means the atmosphere is _____.
nearing saturation; far from saturation
49
In the atmosphere, the molecules in the air apply pressure to everything on earth, including us.
air pressure
50
______ in the atmosphere causes the air to compress and sink, leading to clear skies and calm conditions.
High pressure
51
Measures the ‘heaviness’ of an object or how closely ‘packed’ the substance is
density
52
Measure of number of air molecules in a given area.
density
53
Higher the number of molecules, ______the air is.
denser
54
the transfer of heat through a solid, liquid or gas by direct contact.
conduction
55
transfer of heat from a warmer region to a cooler one by moving warm liquid or gas from the heated area to the unheated area.
convection
56
transfer of energy through air and space by light waves (visible, ultraviolet and infrared waves).
radiation
57
Visible light
Contains higher amounts of energy
E.g. Sun’s radiation
shortwavve radiation
58
Infrared light
Contains smaller amounts of energy
E.g. Earth’s radiation
longwave radiation
59
amount of energy that is reflected by a surface is determined by the reflectivity of that surface
albedo
60
Something that appears white reflects most of the light that hits it and has a _____
high albedo
61
something that looks dark absorbs most of the light that hits it, indicating a ______
low albedo
62
process of evaporating water from leaves through plant transpiration during photosynthesis.
evapotranspiration
63
Responsible for 15% of the atmosphere’s water vapor.
evapotranspiration
64
as _____ increases, the rate of evapotranspiration increases.
temperature
65
If the air around the plant is too humid, the transpiration and evaporation rates drop.
humidity
66
If the air is moving, the rate of evaporation will increase.
wind speed
67
if the soil is dry and there is no standing water, there will be no evaporation.
water availability
68
For areas where the ground is covered by vegetation, the rate of transpiration is considerably higher than the rate of evaporation from the soil.
soil type
69
Describes how the incoming energy from the sun is used and returned to space.
EARTH’S ENERGY BALANCE
70
If incoming and outgoing energy are in balance, the earth's temperature remains ____
constant
71
The ______ drives the weather and life on earth.
energy balance
72
the atmosphere contains:
Gases (permanent and variable)
Water droplets (clouds and precipitation)
Microscopic solid particles (aerosols)
73
permanent gases
nitrogen, oxygen, argon
74
variable gases
water vapor
75
trace gases
carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, CFCs
76
form a constant proportion of the atmosphere, and have long residence times (thousands to millions of years).
permanent gases
77
vary in atmospheric concentration in both time and space.
variable gases
78
Extremely important variable gas with short residence time (~10 years).
water vapor
79
Invisible gaseous phase of water.
water vapor
80
Atmospheric concentration highest near _________ in tropics (~4%).
ocean surface
81
Atmospheric concentration lowest in _____ and at ______ (near 0%).
deserts; high altitudes
82
An important greenhouse gas with concentration of 0.0386% (386ppm) and residence time of 150 years.
carbon dioxide
83
source and sinks of carbon dioxide
sources:
1. plant and animal respiration
2. volcanoes
3. organic decay
4. combustion
sinks:
1. photosynthesis (plants)
2. Oceans
84
beneficial and harmful variable gas.
ozone
85
Ozone concentrations in the _____ (~10-30 miles above sea level) are relatively high (15 ppm), occurs from natural chemical reactions (absorbs UV radiation).
stratosphere
86
Ozone concentration near ______ is usually near zero, but can increase to 0.15 ppm through chemical reactions in polluted air (irritant).
earth’s surface
87
variable gas with residence time of ~10 years that has high potential for greenhouse warming
methane
88
sources and sinks of methane
sources:
1. rice cultivation, wetlands
2. mining
3. biomass burning
4. fossil fuel extraction
5. animal digestion
sinks:
1. atmospheric chemical reactions
89
Small solid particles
aerosols
90
typical concentration of aerosols
17,000/in^3
91
typical life span of aerosols
days to weeks
92
Mostly from natural sources.
aerosols
93
primary sinks of aerosols
dry and wet deposition
94
Act as cloud condensation nuclei
aerosols
95
Horizontal movement of air from an area of an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.
wind
96
All winds are caused by differences in air pressure
wind
97
Most differences in air pressure are due to _______ in the atmosphere.
unequal heating
98
______ dense air sinks and has higher air pressure.
Cool
99
_____ less dense air rises and has lower pressure.
Warm
100
As the ____ air sinks, it creates areas of high pressure around the poles. This cold polar air then flows toward the equator.
cold
101
Pressure belts are found every ____.
30°
102
_____ are separated by pressure belts, bands of high and low pressure.
Convection cells
103
Caused by global convection currents.
global winds
104
blow steadily from specific directions over great distances.
global winds
105
The high pressure cool air at the poles tries to fill in the low pressure areas at the high equator.
global winds
106
Wind belts that extend from the poles to 60° latitude.
polar easterlies
107
Formed from cold sinking air moving from the poles creating cold temperatures.
polar easterlies
108
Wind belts found between 30°and 60° latitude.
westerlies
109
Flow towards the poles from west to east carrying moist air over the United States.
westerlies
110
Wind that blow from 30°almost to the equator.
trade winds
111
Called the _____ because of their uses by early sailors.
trade winds
112
Located along the equator where no winds blow because the warm raising air creates and area of low pressure.
doldrums
113
Located 5° N and S of equator.
doldrums
114
Located 30° N and S latitude.
horse latitude
115
creates dry environments and mostly deserts like the Sahara Desert, Atacama Desert, Kalahari Desert, and the Australian Desert.
horse latitude
116
both are ocean areas characterized by weak or nonexistent airflow for a prolonged period of time.
doldrums and horse latitudes
117
air existing in doldrums is ______, while horse latitudes’ air is ____
moist, dry
118
can cause extreme weather like squalls, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.
doldrums
119
cause the formation of deserts and other hot and dry areas.
horse latitudes
120
result of scenery such as mountains, vegetation, water bodies, and so on.
local winds
121
usually change very often, and the weather forecast people talk about this kind on the TV every day.
local winds
122
cover very short distances.
local winds
123
warm air over the land will rise throughout the day, causing low pressure at the surface.
sea breeze
124
The air over the ocean is now warmer than the air over the land.
land breeze
125
The air on the land is warmer than air over ocean.
sea breeze
126
land loses heat quickly after the sun goes down and the air above it cools too.
land breeze
127
valley floor warms during the day, warm air rises up the slopes of surrounding mountains and hills to create a _____
valley breeze (warm)
128
At night, denser cool air slides down the slopes to settle in the valley, producing a ______
mountain breeze (cold)
129
Happens as a result of earth’s rotation, causes moving particles such as air and water to be deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere
coriolis effect
130
The Climate of the Philippines is ___
tropical and maritime
131
two pronounced seasons: dry from November to April, wet during rest of the year
Type I
132
No dry season with a very pronounced rainfall from November to April and wet during rest of the year
Type II
133
seasons are not very pronounced; relatively dry from november to april, wet during rest of the year
Type III
134
rainfall is more or less evenly distributed through the year
Type IV
