Geography 370: CLIMATOLOGY

Most, if not all, of the following topics and terms will appear on the second midterm, Wednesday, April 8th . This two-hour test will consist of ten multiple choice questions, five short answer questions, a diagram or map question, and one essay with diagrams. The material covered includes Chapters 5, Atmospheric Moisture, through Chapter 8, Atmospheric Circulation and Pressure Distributions, in Aguado and Burt. Except for elaboration of General Atmospheric Circulation thru p. 225, Chapter 8 , topics from Monday's lecture (April 6th) will be on the final exam.

You are responsible for concepts in the text as well as in lecture, so be sure to have read all of these chapters.

How to study for this test: Go over your notes and compare with readings in the text. Fill in any blanks. Look at all the illustrations, diagrams, and tables in the text. Ask yourself questions about the material, and see if you can answer fully. The test will focus on both material from the lectures and additional material from the text on topics that were covered in lecture. It will emphasize both concepts and definitions.

Topics and Concepts --

Water

Hydrologic Cycle
Evaporation from oceans, Vapor rises and condenses into clouds
advection, precipitation, evapotranspiration, surface and groundwater, aquifers, returns to oceans, ocean currents, glacial ice
Approx. residence time of water molecules in each phase

Humidity -- amount of water vapor in the atmosphere -- no greater than ~4%, in tropics

Modes of measuring humidity

Vapor pressure, Saturation vapor pressure
Absolute humidity
Specific humidity, Saturation specific humidity
Mixing ratio
How saturation vapor pressure varies with temperature
Relative humidity (how it is calculated)
How RH changes with air temperature

Dew point -- temperature at which an air parcel becomes saturated

Dew, frost

Haze

Fog, radiation, advection, orographic (upslope)

Fog dispersal, how/why fog "burns off"

Cloud classification: altitude, form

Cirrus, alto, low; stratus, cumulus, nimbo- and various combinations; unusual clouds

How to interpret clouds, implications re weather, upper level winds

Atmospheric Stability, stable and unstable conditions

Causes of stable air or unstable conditions
Characteristics of stable and unstable conditions, weather
Environmental lapse rate
Temperature inversions

Diabatic processes

Adiabatic processes

How air cools adiabatically
How air warms adiabataically
Dry adiabatic lapse rate
Moist adiabatic lapse rate

Explain Reasons for differences between adiabatic rates

Stable environmental lapse rate
Absolutely unstable environmental lapse rate
Conditionally unstable environmental lapse rate
Be able to draw lapse rate diagrams for each

Be sure to keep in mind latent heat storage and release during evaporation/condensation/freezing

Cloud Development

Mechanisms for cloud formation, uplift
Convective, orographic, frontal, convergence
Rain shadow effect

Precipitation

Condensation -- water vapor to water droplets

Condensation nuclei, ice nuclei
Solute effect -- dissolved salts in water droplets
Effects of curvature of water droplets

Modes of raindrop formation

Warm cloud -- collision-coalescence
Cold cloud -- Bergeron (ice crystal) process
Role of saturation vapor pressure over ice and liquid water

Types of precipitation -- rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, hail, -- conditions associated, environmental lapse rates

Distribution of precipitation globally (relate to global atmospheric circ. etc.)

Spatial and seasonal variations, causes of precipitation (e.g. atmospheric circulation patterns, insolation)

Potential Evapotranspiration versus Actual Evapotranspiration
Potential Evap controlled by temperature (energy available)
Actual Evap controlled by water supply, is there water to evaporate?
Where is PE high, low?
Where might PE = AE, under what circumstances is PE > AE?
Can AE>PE? Why or why not?

Atmospheric Circulation and Semipermanent Pressure Cells

Surface winds, flowing into Low, out of High, crossing isobars -- why?

Convergence and Divergence, at surface and aloft

Conservation of Angular Momentum (mass times velocity times radius)

General Atmospheric Circulation patterns

Tropics:

Hadley Cells, rising arm, descending arm
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
NE and SE Trade winds, doldrums, horse latitudes
Subtropical Deserts,
Subtropical inversion
Subtopical jet stream

Seasonal variations of Hadley Cells

Midlatitudes:

Semipermanent Highs and Lows, Pacific High, Bermuda High, Icelandic Low, Aleutian Low
Midlatitude Westerlies, Polar Front,
Polar jet stream, Rossby Waves
Briefly: zonal and meridional flow

Polar:

Polar High, Polar Easterlies, Icelandic and Aleutian Lows

Poleward energy transport, atmospheric and oceanic

Rossby Waves, meridional and zonal flow, ridges and troughs

Cut-off Highs, Lows

Migration of circulation patterns with high sun, waxing and waning of Hadley cell circulation in summer/winter

 

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Last updated 4/4/09