Download Skinner Chapter 13

Fall 2000
Lohrengel
Geology 1013 - Earth System Science
Chapter 13 - Study
Instructions:
Read each question carefully before answering. Work at a steady pace, and you should
have ample time to finish.
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1. Friction between air and the ground slows winds and therefore
increases the Coriolis effect.
2. Windchill is what happens when the air temperature drops as a result
of strong winds.
3. If the Earth did not rotate and there was no topographic variation,
winds would blow essentially in a straight line.
4. Air spiraling around a low-pressure center is called a cyclone; air
spiraling around a high-pressure center is called an anticyclone.
5. Air pressures vary both horizontally and vertically in the
atmosphere.
6. A westerly is a wind that flows toward the west.
7. The speed of a moving object influences the magnitude of the
Coriolis effect on the object.
8. The outward spiraling flow in an anticyclone causes convergence,
with upward movement of air and divergence aloft.
9. The process that creates Ekman spirals is basically the same in the
atmosphere as in the ocean.
10. Isobars are lines on a map connecting places of equal air
temperature.
11. The highest wind speed ever recorded on the surface of the Earth is
a. 92 km/h
b. 372 km/h
c. 118 km/hr
d. 585 km/h
12. Which one of the following statements is false?
a. The outward spiraling flow in an anticyclone causes a zone of
convergence, with divergence aloft.
b. The inward spiraling flow in a cyclone causes a zone of
convergence, with divergence aloft.
c. The outward spiraling flow in an anticyclone causes a zone of
divergence, with convergence aloft.
d. All of these statements can be true under certain circumstances.
13. Which one of the following does not affect wind speed and
direction?
a. the Coriolis effect
b. the Bergeron effect
c. the air pressure gradient
d. friction
14. Which one of the following does not belong with the others?
a. katabatic wind
b. mistral
c. trade wind
d. bora
15. Winds that result from a balance between pressure-gradient flow and
the Coriolis deflection are called
a. geostrophic winds.
b. Hadley cells.
c. Ferrell cells.
d. convergent and divergent flow.
16. Which one of the following is not a type of local wind system ?
a. chinook
b. Santa Ana
c. katabatic
d. geostrophic
17. Which one of the following does not belong with the others?
a. chinook
b. Santa Ana
c. f\Cöhn
d. jet stream
18. Monsoons are
a. characteristic of regions where local conditions bring about a
seasonal reversal of the direction of surface winds.
b. most distinct in Asia and Africa.
c. responsible for hot, humid weather and torrential rains during
the summer months in Asia.
d. All of these are true.
19. An area of relatively high air pressure, characterized by diverging
winds, is called a
a. Hadley cell.
b. geostrophic wind.
c. tradewind.
d. high.
20. A line connecting places of equal air pressure at sea level is
called a(n)
a. equilibrium line.
b. front.
c. isobar.
d. convergence zone.
21. Which one of the following is not a variable that influences wind
speed or direction?
a. air pressure gradients
b. windchill
c. the Coriolis effect
d. friction
22. A zone of low precipitation that occurs on the downwind side of
mountain ranges is called a
a. desert.
b. continental desert.
c. chinook.
d. rainshadow.
23. At high altitudes, air flow is basically a balance between
pressure- gradient flow and Coriolis deflection, but at low altitudes
the flow is complicated by
a. Ekman spiraling.
b. convergence and divergence.
c. windchill factors.
d. frictional effects.
24. Which one of the following does not belong with the others?
a. hurricane
b. tornado
c. funnel cloud
d. F-scale
25. Which one of the following does not belong with the others?
a. cyclone
b. monsoon
c. typhoon
d. hurricane
26. Which one of the following does not belong with the others?
a. Hadley cells
b. jet stream
c. intertropical convergence zone
d. tradewinds
27. Cloudy, unsettled weather is typically associated with the presence
of a
a. low-pressure center.
b. high-pressure center.
c. geostrophic wind.
d. tradewind.
28. The most extensive deserts on the Earth are located
a. between the latitudes 20\C° and 30\C°.
b. in the rainshadows of great mountain ranges.
c. where Rossby waves create huge zones of warm, dry air.
d. in the Ferrel cells.
29. Hurricanes start as
a. cyclones over warm ocean water.
b. anticyclones over coastal zones.
c. spiraling columns of air that extend downward from cumulonimbus
clouds.
d. cold, dense air masses that flow under the influence of gravity.
30. A violent, upward-spiraling column of air associated with
cumulonimbus clouds is called a(n)
a. thunderstorm.
b. monsoon.
c. tornado.
d. Ekman spiral.
31. Wind speeds and wind directions are controlled by _______________,
_________________, and __________________.
32. A line connecting places of equal air pressure at sea level is
called a(n) ________________.
33. In local wind systems, the flow of cold, dense air under the
influence of gravity is called a(n) __________________ wind.
34. A tornado funnel is called a(n) _________________ if it stays aloft
and a(n) _________________ if it hits the ground.
35. Spiral air flow directed in towards a low-pressure area is called
a(n) __________________.
36. Spiral air flow outward from a high-pressure area is called a(n)
_________________.
37. Cyclones rotate in a(n) _________________ direction in the northern
hemisphere and in a(n) ________________ direction in the southern
hemisphere.
38. The zone of low precipitation that occurs on the downwind side of
mountain ranges is called a(n) __________________.
39. Upper-atmosphere westerly winds associated with the steep pressure
gradient over the polar front are called the ______________________.
40. The low-pressure zone of convergence located along the Equator is
called the ________________________.
41. What are the five types of desert? Give an example of each.
42. Explain how windchill works.
43. What are the four major variables that control the formation of
large air masses?
44. What are the names and characteristics of the four basic types of
air mass?
45. What is a katabatic wind? Give an example of a katabatic wind.
46. What causes lightning and thunder? Why do they occur together?
47. What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?
48. What are some of the major problems with wind power?
49. What types of weather are normally associated with atmospheric
low-pressure and high-pressure zones?
50. What would atmospheric convection be like if the Earth were a
nonrotating sphere?
51. What is a Hadley cell? Describe the relationship among Hadley cells,
the intertropical convergence zone, and the northeast and southeast
trade winds.
52. What is a Rossby wave? How are Rossby waves responsible for altering
the jet streams?
53. Describe four important types of local wind systems.
54. Explain how the flow of air across a desert surface can initiate a
dust storm.
55. What is a jet stream? Explain how they form, and why they occur
where they do.
56. Discuss the role of friction in influencing wind speed and
direction.
57. In what ways is circulation in the atmosphere like (and unlike)
circulation in the oceans?
58. Explain the process of monsoon formation in Asia. Do monsoons occur
in North America?
_____________________________________________
Fall 2000
Lohrengel
Geology 1013 - Earth System Science
Answer Key: Chapter 13 - Study
1. F
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. T
6. F
7. T
8. F
9. T
10. F
11. B
12. A
13. B
14. C
15. A
16. D
17. D
18. D
19. D
20. C
21. B
22. D
23. D
24. A
25. B
26. B
27. A
28. A
29. A
30. C
31. air pressure gradients...the Coriolis effect...friction
32. isobar
33. katabatic
34. funnel cloud...tornado
35. cyclone
36. anticyclone
37. clockwise...counterclockwise
38. rainshadow
39. polar front jet stream
40. intertropical convergence zone
41. The five types of deserts are: (1) subtropical: Sahara, Sind,
Kalahari, Great Australian; (2) continental: Gobi, Takla Makan; (3)
rainshadow: deserts on the sheltered side of Sierra Nevada,
Cascades, and Andes; (4) coastal: coastal Peru and southwestern
Africa; and (5) polar: northern Greenland, ice- free areas of
Antarctica.
42. Immediately adjacent to the human body is a thin layer of still air
called a boundary layer. Heat escaping from the body must pass
through the boundary layer by conduction. Because air is a poor
conductor, the boundary layer serves as an effective insulator. As
windspeed increases, the thickness of the boundary layer decreases,
thereby reducing its effectiveness as an insulator and increasing
the rate at which heat is lost from the body. For a given air
temperature and given wind speed, the windchill factor is the air
temperature at which exposed parts of the body would lose heat at
the same rate if there were no wind.
43. The four major variables that control the formation of large air
masses are whether the air mass forms (1) over a continent (c), (2)
over a maritime region (m), (3) in the tropics (T), or (4) in polar
regions (P).
44. (1) continental polar (cP); cold temperature, low humidity; (2)
maritime polar (mP); cold temperature, high humidity; (3)
continental tropical (cT); hot temperature, high humidity; (4)
maritime tropical (mT); warm temperature, high humidity
45. Katabatic winds are masses of cold, dense air that flow under the
influence of gravity. They occur in places where a mass of cold air
accumulates over a high plateau or in a high valley in the interior
of a mountain range. As the cold air accumulates, some eventually
spills over a low pass or divide and flows down valleys onto the
adjacent lowlands as a high-speed, cold wind. Examples include the
mistral in the Rhone Valley; the bora in Yugoslavia; and Cape
Dennison in Antarctica.
46. Lightning and thunder are created by electrical charges that form
during the growth of a cumulonimbus cloud. The turbulent movement of
precipitation inside the cloud causes particles in the upper part to
become positively charged and particles in the lower part to become
negatively charged. The charges can be released by a lightning
strike either to the ground or to another cloud. As the lightning
strike passes, it heats the surrounding air so rapidly that the air
expands explosively and we hear the effect as thunder.
47. There is no difference; violent oceanic cyclones are called
hurricanes when they occur in the Atlantic, and typhoons when they
occur in the Pacific.
48. (1) Winds blow only intermittently, so wind-driven generators need
to be used in conjunction with other power sources. (2) Electricity
is most needed in cities, but land near cities is expensive, and no
one wants to live near a wind farm because they are noisy, so wind
farms have to be in isolated areas. (3) Birds sometimes get
entangled in the blades.
49. Lows are generally associated with cloudy, unsettled weather, and
highs are generally associated with clear, dry weather.
50. [See Fig. 13.11 in the text.] If the Earth were nonrotating, one
convection cell would carry heat from the equator all the way to the
poles to even out the energy imbalance (more solar energy hitting
the equator than the poles). Warm, low-density air rising above the
equator would flow poleward, and cool polar air would flow back
across the surface toward the equator.
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