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LEARNING MODULE 13 – GEOGRAPHY of UTAH
ATMOSPHERE I (first of two lectures)
Earth’s subsystem – the ATMOSPHERE- WEATHER - CLIMATE, and Utah geography.
THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS MODULE IS:
To provide knowledge about Utah’s climate and weather.
The five subsystems of Earth systems, interact. The ATMOSPHERE, the gaseous Earth, gives
Utah its weather and climate in conjunction with the other four subsystems of Earth systems, in
the context of the five themes of geography, and with impacts to the seven perspectives of
social/behavioral sciences.
WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW INCLUDES:
Five themes of GEOGRAPHY…
Two of five subsystems of Earth systems: Geosphere, Hydrosphere, …
LM13-CC00 – Overview of the module – Subsystem: ATMOSPHERE and Geography of
Utah
By the end of this Learning Module, you should:
 Understand some basics about the ATMOSPHERE (weather and climate).
 Understand some spatial patterns of Utah’s weather and climate (observations).
 Understand LOCATION / ATMOSPHERE interactions and Utah geography
(analysis).
 Understand the concept of “Where weather is born.”
 Enjoy watching weather patterns even more than before this lecture.
Organization of the lecture:
Definitions; evidence; analysis; evidence; so what; evidence; analysis… so what.
So What?
To understand Utah’s physical and human geographies, today, requires and understanding of
Utah’s weather and climate. To prepare for changes of Utah’s physical and human geographies
due to global forcings, become empowered by some concepts of physical geography.
LINKS (LM = learning module; CC = content chunk)
LM CC
Lecture Notes
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Overview – of the module
Atmos subsystem = weather/climate
Atmos 101 basics
Global/National patterns
Concepts applied to Utah
Utah’s 4 regions based on atmosphr
Air quality: history - Wasatch front
Joy factor – weather links
Spatial patterns - expectations
So What
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LM13CC01 Five subsystems, Intro to the Atmosphere – weather and climate
Thought questions: what is the difference between weather and climate?
From my all time favorite blog – www.wasatchweatherweenies by Jim Steenburgh of UofU
meteorology… from what meteorologists quip: “Climate is what you expect… weather is what
you get.”
Content
Some Terms:
 CLIMATE... long-term weather
 WEATHER... day to day status of the atmosphere (remember those spheres!)
 SUNSHINE... the sun drives weather, uneven distribution of heat
 SKY COVER... cloudiness
 TEMPERATURE... measure of how hot or cold
 EVAPORATION... water cycle concept and more than that
 PRECIPITATION... water cycle concept
 WIND... air in motion, driven by differences in pressure (density of air, air masses)
So what
The atmosphere is the Anthrosphere's security blanket! It is the gaseous envelope that protects us
from inhospitable radiation and regulates Earth's temperature. It makes life as we know it
possible... and life has greatly affected it. The atmosphere is dynamic and closely coupled with
the hydrosphere, biosphere, anthrosphere, and geosphere. It's a system. It's the 'most' dynamic of
Earth's subsystems. What changes? Atmospheric pressure, moisture, precipitation, humidity,
wind speed and direction temperature, and rate of change changes. Drivers of the system: solar
energy, Earth's rotation, gravity.
LM13CC02 Atmosphere 101 - basics
Thought questions – Where does the atmosphere begin and end? Why does the atmosphere affect
weather and climate? How does the atmosphere affect weather and climate? Why are
atmospheric conditions so changeable?
Content (MandM refers to text Moran and Moran )
Structure of the Atmosphere – compare structure of the geosphere – structure of the hydrosphere.
Anderson - Layered. LINK to animation of layers.
SCALE – global; continental scale = synoptic; regional = mesoscale (intermountain); local and
ground level.
MOVEMENT of atmosphere – big concepts… push/pull; to/from; barriers;
Density = push… uneven distribution of Earth’s heat, especially that from the sun.
Anderson-Sunlight for US
Oceans - water heat capacity. global patterns of oceans vs continents; GoogleEarth live... perhaps - MandM Summer HiLo
Water sources – Anderson U.S. Precip
Barriers – Anderson RainShadow
Planetary circulation MandM-Planetary circulation –;
WINDS transfer energy… move from higher pressure to lower pressure Anderson-Wind.
The Gas Law. PV = (constant)(T). P = pressure (a force per unit area); barometric pressure
measures the weight of the column of air being held up by an area of Earth's surface (such as
your head). When people goes up an elevator of a skyscraper and their ears pop... what is
happening?
HYDROSPHERE – ATMOSPHERE interactions
The water cycle… very big deal. USGS Colored version
So what
Weather results from conditions and forces that we approximately understand…
LM13CC03 Global and national patterns of atmosphere-related … temp and precip
Thought questions: How do aspects of weather / climate vary spatially… globally and locally?
Based on these patterns… what might you expect for Utah?
LOCATION:
Mid latitude
Continental
Inland
Topography (GEOSPHERE)
Patterns:
West versus East contrasts LINK to NOAA - US mean temperatures
 Eastern US, climate zones run east-west. Broad. Gradational. Perpetual sunshine in the south,
frigid winters in the north. Simple pattern, broad bands. Even precipitation: NOAA - US
precipitation
 Western US, climate zones run north-south. Parallel the Pacific Ocean, the Cascades and
Rocky Mountains,
WIND… transfers energy / heat globally and locally.
Winds move from higher pressure to lower pressure. Anderson
Pressure systems – colder is more dense... thicker is more mass. So... the same volume of cold air
mass exerts more pressure than a warm air mass; AND a thicker mass of air exert more pressure
(referred to by weather folks as a ridge of high pressure) than a thinner mass of air (referred to by
weather folks as a trough of low pressure). SkinnerHighsLows
Where, globally and locally, will cold air masses be?
AIR MASSES are masses of air with internally similar temperature, pressure, moisture content,
and stability. Stability. Air masses bring weather. Weather "is carried by air masses that come
from ...” Storm tracks are typical paths that storms take, not how Utah is under-represented on
this map.
FRONTS when air masses collide.
WHERE WEATHER IS BORN
Location in northern hemisphere, mid latitude… so most weather come to us from the west. …
the Pacific…. Dominates.
Winter, low pressure systems bring snow to our ski resorts. High pressure systems (and
geosphere and anthrosphere) bring inversions: Deseret News geog and air Onton inversion
The Rocky Mountains shelter the West from most arctic blasts of cold… but not all
Monsoons of southwestern U.S. LINK NOAA high pressure .
Weather hazards and Utah: not tornado alley; winter: avalanches and slick roads; summer:
lightning and flash floods.
Climate hazards: wet cycles: flooding and landslides; dry cycles = drought
Summary:
Latitude – seasonality (amount of sun and variability of sunshine)
Oceans vs Continents – potential precipitation – where weather is born (see below)
Inland – distance from sea matters
Mountains - complexity, cold, disruptions
So What? Seven perspectives of soc/behave
Economics… for example – cost of weather-related hazards… benefits of snow…
LM13CC04 Concepts… applied to Utah … weather / climate / atmosphere
Thought questions; Why is Utah’s climate varied? How does it vary spatially and temporally?
Where are Utah’s hottest temperatures and why? and coldest?
Content:
REVIEW: Geog concept: MAUP - Modified Area Unit Problem... Planetary = global scale;
differs from Synoptic = continental or oceanic scale; Mesoscale = regional scale; and local, and
Ground level…
REVIEW “regions” (one of five themes of geography)
What might be the criteria for classifying Utah ’s regions based on characteristics and effects of
the Atmosphere? Won't get there until next learning module...
REVIEW Utah’s situation: which of these makes a logical basis for a region?
Latitude... distance from the equator (equator has the most incoming solar energy)
Distance from oceans (continentality... Utah's land is warmer in summer and colder in
winter than oceans)
Elevation (higher is colder... and rougher terrain)
Clouds... air masses appear when water vapor is below dew point and condenses.
Winds transfer energy / heat globally and locally.
Precipitation.
Evaporation.
How draw regions on climate... Troubles... Utah's climate is seasonal... (evidence - observations)
Climate: origin of word “climate” in Greek… an angle (of sunlight, due to Earth’s tilt) winter is
due mainly to TILT of Earth's axis not proximity to the sun.
Winter… less sunshine… less intense sunshine.
Winter... Continental landmass cold compared to oceans
Winter... Low-pressure cyclonic systems originating across Pacific Ocean sends storms
inland Google Earth
Utah - Winter... High-pressure systems and cold weather bring inversions, trap pollutants
Utah - Winter... Meridianal (swings) Summer Zonal
Summer... Continental landmass warmer than oceans
Utah -Summer... Arizona/Mexico monsoons, streams of moisture southwest to northeast.
LINK NOAA-July-Monsoons
Utah Summer... Zonal flow - across country. Moist air masses from south - southwest
EFFECTS: Spatial Patterns we can observe... (still in the section... what would you use to
classify regions... )
SUNSHINE LINK to Atlas p. 56
SKY COVER… cloudy days, foggy days LINK to Atlas p. 57
TEMPERATURE
Temperatures below 32 degrees LINK to Atlas p. 60 and Temperatures above 90
degrees
Freeze free days LINK to Atlas p. 62
EVAPORATION
Utah: Lake evaporation (annual potential evaporation) LINK to Atlas p. 61 and
Utah: May through October evaporation as a percentage of yearly evaporation
PRECIPITATION
Utah: October – April LINK to Atlas p. 68
Utah: May – September LINK to Atlas p. 69
Utah: Snowfall LINK to Atlas p. 70
UTAH precipitation, annual, LINK to Atlas p. 66
So what
Which would make the most sense... most related to seven perspectives of Soc/Behav sci?
LM13CC05 Utah’s four regions based on weather/climate (atmosphere).
UTAH – FOUR CLIMATE ZONES – why these boundaries?
REGIONS delineating boundaries / climate zones takes judgment; this map is from Atlas of Utah
, by Arlo Richardson, former State Climatologist. LINK to Atlas p. 55
FOUR CLASSES for the regions: LINK to GEOG3600- DEM base, Atlas climate regions:
 Desert = Average annual precipitation is less than half of annual potential evaporation.
Average annual precipitation is on the order of 5 – 8 inches / year.
 Steppe = Average annual precipitation is less than annual potential evaporation but not
less than half. Average annual precipitation is on the order of 8 – 14 inches / year.
 Highland AND
 humid continental = Average annual precipitation exceeds average annual potential
evaporation. Average annual precipitation of mountains of the Wasatch Front and of the
High Uintas is over 40 inches / year.
33% of Utah is true desert LINKS … HAMBLIN Basin and Range, Canyonlands
Hot summers, cold winters… colder winters by latitude and elevation
St George … mean annual temperature 61.5 degrees
24% of Utah is highland (montane) climate, LINKS … HAMBLIN High terrain of Rocky
Mountain physiographic province, e.g., Mt Powell; and High Plateaus of Colorado Plateau plus
outlier mountains of Colorado Plateau
40% of Utah is intermediate, steppe - Grand Staircase … HAMBLIN Semi-arid. Discuss DRC
hemi-arid Mostly in regions of freezing winters
3% of Utah is the humid continental of Wasatch Front LINK … HAMBLIN SLC Mt Olympus
Cold winters
Hot summers
Why these patterns… so why these regions. Note judgment. Note utility of classifications.
REVIEW LOCATION... Sterner DEM what about location... remind yourself... you know this!
AIR MASSES (regional patterns – where weather is born) LINK
ELEVATION: USU
TOPOGRAPHY Ridd
So what – regions make comparisons and generalities understandable. … or at least more
understandable.
LM13CC06 Air Quality – some concepts / trends / challenges along Wasatch Front
Thought questions – how does UTA justify its priorities? How much worse are our inversions
today than decades ago?
(I appreciate assistance from scientists of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality,
especially Robert Dalley) .Data are up to date perhaps to 2005. But some info is stale.
SUMMERTIME Ozone
Lake / valley – Mountain breezes ... schematic for ocean... or for GSL MandM NightDay over
lake
· Nighttime inversions over by 9 – 10 AM during the summertime.
· Vehicles emit chemicals that in 5-7 hours plus sunlight result in elevated ozone
· Morning rush hour along the Wasatch Front… which way are canyon and valley breezes
blowing along Davis, Salt Lake and Utah Counties?
· After 5 – 7 hours… what time is it and which way are the breezes blowing? Have you seen
this?
· Most areas of U.S. don’t share this problem.
· Research by DEQ-AQ. Contract to North American Weather Consultants. Report of 1996
monitoring of ground level ozone using a van, and higher altitude ozone using an airplane. Air
masses are 1000s of feet deep and can spill over into adjacent counties.
WINTER INVERSIONS: Winter: not flushed out so easily Anderson, InversionInValley
Flushed by strong frontal passage that “scoops” out the stagnant air mass OR by heating of the
valleys land surface that results in mixing air masses.
· Cold weather increases strength of inversions
· High pressure anticyclonic systems increase strength of inversions
· Snow cover increases strength of inversions
· Zonal versus meridional storm patterns (jet stream – wandering westerlies) increase strength of
inversions
· Does pollution itself increase strength of inversions? Positive feedback loop? Probably.
BIG winter problems
· Particulates
· Carbon monoxide
BRIEF HISTORY OF AIR QUALITY AND THE WASATCH FRONT
We breathe what we produce… and what Mother Nature produces.
Think Earth systems thoughts: interactions among geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere,
anthrosphere AND the atmosphere.
1840s-60s
· Reports of pioneers as they headed across Great Salt Lake desert toward Pilot
Peak, Nevada. So named because it piloted them. Sometimes in the summer they
couldn’t see the peak. Why?
1890s-1900
· Smoke corridor. Alfalfa farmers grumpy.
· 19 smelters in Salt Lake Valley
1910-15
· Legislation passed the Utah legislature to ban smelting of ores with greater than
20% sulfur. About half the smelters shut down. Photographs of conditions.
National example.
1900-40s
· Coal and fuel oil. Winter heating and industry.
· LOTS of particulates. Ash, soot, haze, smokes.
· SLC “smoke officer.”
· Spring-cleaning of my youth (1946-54) had real meaning.
· Stories of stratified snow / ash / snow.
· Kennecott and the Oquirrhs
1940s-50s
· Home heating: from coal and oil to natural gas
· Increase in automobile usage. Lessons of Los Angeles.
· 50 – 60 days per year that valley conditions exceeded today’s standards
· Kennecott and the Oquirrhs
1970s
· EPA regulations
· I&M standards (inspection and maintenance)
· Kennecott and the Oquirrhs
· Decrease in number of days per year that valley conditions exceed today’s
standards
1980s
· Lots of days with inversions during the winter
1990s
· Relatively “clear” weather patterns
AIR QUALITY TRENDS LINK to Utah DEQ Air Pollutants (go to lower part of page)
http://www.airquality.utah.gov/Public-Interest/about_pollutants/About_pollutants.htm
OLDER VERSIONS CarbonMonoxide; Ozone (good ozone vs bad ozone); PM10; Sulfur
Dioxide;
LM13CC07 Joy factor – weather links and so what
LINKS to a few of my favorite weather web sites
NOAA - Weather service - SLC International http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=slc&textField1=40.79&textField2=111.97&zone=1
NOAA- Weather service - discussion of weather
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/forecast/textproduct.php?pil=afd
DAILY weather map... and archived - http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/
WIND across Great Salt Lake http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/current/meso.nwut.php
REAL-TIME weather data and graphics NCAR http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/
DATA disaggregated... meaning you can see just temperature or just pressure
http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/
PREDICTION center National Weather Service - NOAA http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
WESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER - Desert Research Institute http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/
CLIMATOLOGY of the UNITED STATES http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/documentlibrary/clim81supp3/clim81.html
AIR QUALITY - real time - U.S. http://www.airnow.gov/
RADAR and emergency alert site - http://www.emergencyemail.org/weatherradarWANG1.asp?
SNOTEL - Trial Lake (Uinta Mountains, headwaters of Provo, Weber, and Duchesne Rivers)
1983; 2009, 2010
CURRENT WATER YEAR data - http://www.ut.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/data/current.html
Utah Water NEWS - http://utahswaternews.wordpress.com/ (many links)
DROUGHT monitor - http://drought.unl.edu/DM/
SNOWPACK - USDA - NRCS - http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/westsnow.pl
And I'm sent this report every week... example for 2/22/2010
Weather Underground... a new site for me
http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/US/2xFronts.html
So what? Empowered to second-guess weather folks.
LM13CC08 – Spatial trends, expectations
Thought questions – let’s explore some county differences. Sterner DEM.
Content:
MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS - which counties...
Winter inversions
Summer ozone
Point sources...
MAP non-attainment areas
LM13CC09- So what –…
Explore the 17 words.
First… interactions with the five subsystems of Earth systems.
How does climate matter to … five subsystems of Earth systems and vice versa?
****Geosphere – determines erosion; determines soils; related to steepness; climate
change
****Hydrosphere – water cycle… precipitation, run-off,
(Atmosphere)
****Biosphere – moisture, freeze, heat, … in fact some climate zones named for
vegetation regimes.
****Anthrosphere – migration, settlement, development; quality of life; some hazards;
discussions of weather and predictability of weather.
Second… seven perspectives of Soc/Behav science