Download GPH 111 - Review Sheet for Midterm II - about 35 questions

GPH 111 - Review Sheet for Midterm II
RADIATION & ENERGY TRANSFER THROUGH THE EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE
TERMS:
electromagnetic spectrum, solar radiation, wavelength,
ultraviolet radiation, visible wavelength radiation,
thermal (IR) radiation, long-wave radiation, short-wave
radiation, terrestrial radiation, counter-radiation,
greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane,
chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxides), ozone layer, solar
insolation, Solar Constant, radiation, absorption,
scattering, reflection, albedo, calorie, blackbody, StefanBoltzmann law, Wein's Displacement Law, net radiation
CONCEPTS:
electromagnetic spectrum; general laws regarding emission
of radiation (Wein's and Stefan-Boltzmann); solar constant
(what it is, not the number itself); why is the sky blue?
sunset red? greenhouse effect; why high latitudes receive
less radiation than low latitudes, how is the atmosphere
heated?
ENERGY / HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE
TERMS:
Diffuse vs. direct radiation, latent heat, sensible heat,
condensation/evaporation, melting/freezing,
deposition/sublimation, radiation, conduction, convection,
advection
CONCEPTS:
Methods of heat transfer, latent heat released or used
during the various phase changes
TEMPERATURE AND HEAT
TERMS:
Fahrenheit scale, Celsius scale, Kelvin scale, isotherms,
temperature lag, continentality, continental, maritime,
radiation inversion, specific heat, radiation, insolation,
zonal flow, meridional flow, aspect, temperature range
CONCEPTS:
temperature lag with respect to maximum insolation;
differential heating of land and water; factors that
influence the daily high temperature; factors that
influence night-time cooling and radiation inversions;
temperature inversions; maritime vs. continental
temperatures over the year (influence on annual temperature
range), effect of ocean currents, elevation, latitude,
cloud cover, wind patterns, topography
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
TERMS:
atmospheric pressure, anticyclone (high pressure), cyclone
(low pressure), isobars, barometer, sea-level pressure,
surface weather map (constant height map), upper-air map
(constant pressure surface), pressure ridge, pressure
trough, pressure gradient, pressure gradient force,
isobaric analysis, coriolis effect, friction, geostrophic
wind, surface wind, semi-permanent highs and lows, Hadley
Cell, Ferrel Cell, Polar Cell, Westerlies, Polar
Easterlies, NE Tradewinds, SE Tradewinds, Doldrums, Horse
Latitudes, Polar Front, Polar Front Jet Stream, Subtropical
High, Subpolar Low, Equatorial Low, Polar High,
Intertropical Convergence Zone, Monsoon, Buy-Ballot's Law,
Types of Local Winds (Land/Sea Breeze, Mountain/Valley
Breeze, Asian Monsoon, Chinook/Santa Ana winds, etc),
Divergence, Convergence, Leeward, Windward, rainshadow
CONCEPTS:
circulation around highs and lows in both hemispheres,
pressure changes with height, reduction of station location
to sea level - why do we do this? surface maps; upper air
charts - what's the difference in what they show and how
they are defined. what is a pressure gradient? Also, know
about Pressure Gradient Force: direction of flow,
relationship to wind speed, etc. see notes for info on PGF.
pressure gradient and relationship to wind speed; the
factors that influence the amount of coriolis deflection,
coriolis and friction - how these forces work to produce
the winds (geostrophic and surface); circulation around
highs and lows in both hemispheres, conditions on west vs
east side of large subtropical high pressure cells, single
cell vs 3-cell model, World pressure belts, world wind
belts, polar front/polar jet relationship, day vs night
wind reversals (land/sea breeze, mountain/valley breeze)
and how they work, Atmospheric circulation and shifting
with season, local winds; surface maps; upper air charts
HUMIDITY, CLOUDS, CONDENSATION FORMS
TERMS:
evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration, potential
evapotranspiration, humidity, saturation, relative
humidity, specific humidity, dew point, vapor pressure
(actual and saturation), adiabatic heating and cooling,
condensation nuclei, orographic precipitation, radiation
fog, dew, frost
CONCEPTS:
condensation/evaporation; adiabatic (without heat exchange)
warming and cooling; temperature/water vapor capacity
relationship; temperature/relative humidity relationship;
distribution of world precipitation
LAPSE RATES AND STABILITY
TERMS:
lapse rate, inversion, dry adiabatic lapse rate, wet
adiabatic lapse rate, environmental lapse rate, stability,
instability, conditional instability, Lifting Condensation
Level (LCL), air parcel, convergent lifting, convection
lifting, orographic lifting, frontal lifting
CONCEPTS:
expansion/contraction of air as height changes and
resulting effect on temperature; adiabatic process,
determination of atmospheric stability using lapse rates
(between dry, wet, and environmental) or using the parcel
method; what does it mean if a parcel is stable or unstable
in terms of parcel motion, lifting mechanisms (convergence,
convection, orographic, frontal)
PRECIPITATION PROCESSES AND FORMS OF PRECIPITATION
TERMS AND CONCEPTS: types of precipitation, collisioncoalescense process, Ice crystal (Bergeron) process; causes
of precipitation; precipitation theories (collisioncoalescence vs Bergeron Ice crystal); U.S. and world
precipitation distribution