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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