Download Weather and Climate Study Guide (Matt)

Introduction to Geography - GEOG 1010
Study Guide for Atmosphere Week
For your test, you are expected to understand the following topics and be able to answer related questions.
OUR ENERGY SOURCE
What is the name of the law that describes the effect of temperature on energy emission from a blackbody?
What is the name of the law that describes the effect of temperature on the distribution of wavelengths
emitted from a blackbody?
On what date(s) do(es) the whole world have a daylength of approximately 12h?
On what date(s) do(es) the north pole have 24h of darkness? How about the south pole?
When are we closest to the sun?
When is the hottest part of the day?
Briefly describe how the addition of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere would warm the global climate.
WEATHER VS. CLIMATE
Define weather.
Define climate.
Given an unlabelled climograph from a temperate rainforest, temperate grassland, temperate broadleaf
forest, or tropical rainforest, you should be able to identify which it is.
Given a list of surface types, you should be able to identify which has the highest albedo, and which has the
lowest.
In which layer of the atmosphere does all of our weather occur?
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
You should be able to identify the main wind zones of the earth (easterlies, westerlies, trade winds etc.)
You should understand what the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is, and how the zone migrates
during the northern hemisphere summer and the northern hemisphere winter.
You should understand how the pressure gradient force, inertial Coriolis force and friction force affect the
motion of air between high and low pressure centres.
You should understand the vertical distribution of winds in a cross-section of high and low pressure centres
(ie., rising air in low pressure system, converging at surface, diverging aloft and reverse for high pressure
system).
You should understand the rate at which air pressure decreases with altitude and its effect on temperature.
WATER VAPOUR
Is heat released to the environment, or taken up from the environment during (i) evaporation and (ii)
condensation ?
Define relative humidity.
Define vapour pressure, and understand how saturation vapour pressure changes with temperature.
INSTABILITY AND CLOUD FORMATION
Understand the difference between the MALR, DALR and the ELR.
Given a graph showing the MALR, DALR and ELR, you should be able to determine whether the
atmosphere is absolutely unstable, absolutely stable or conditionally unstable.
You should be able to explain the chinook effect.
Understand the reasons for the heavier, shorter precipitation associated with a cold front and the longer,
lighter precipitation of a warm front.
Understand how the atmospheric temperature distribution affects precipitation type.