Review Exam 2 - Full

Uneven

Due to rapid circulation on (and in) the surface and in the atmosphere

30%

69 percent

Lake Mead

Bonding through sharing of electrons (very strong)

Electric charge causing attraction and repulsion (e.g: magnet)

Bonding between water molecules (weaker than covalent, but still strong)

Solid - Gas phase

Solid - Liquid phase

Liquid - Gas phase

The amount of water vapor in the air

RH

100%

Dew Point temperature

Is the air pressure made up of water vapor molecules

Is air that contains as much water vapor as possible at a given temperature

Mass of water vapor per mass of air at any specified temperature

Rises and expands

Sinks and compresses

Tendency of an air parcel to remain in place or change vertical position

True

Unstable air rises until it reaches an the altitude where the surrounding air has same density & temp

Temperature

Temperatures change inside the parcel but no exchanges of heat with the surrounding environment

Cools by expansion (reduced pressure at high altitudes)

By compression (e.g: Santa Ana's)

When air is not at saturation

When air is at saturation

Form because air is saturated with water

Need nuclei cloud condensation nuclei

Altitude and Shape

Low:Stratus and Nimbostratus

Middle Clouds: Altostratus and Altocumulus

High Clouds: Cirrus and Cirrostratus

Cumulus and Cumulonimbus

Cloud layer on the ground

Nearly the same

Radiation, Advection, and Evaporation

Moist / wet ground cools at night
Air temperature reaches dew point
temperature
Short duration, often dissipates by
afternoon
Typically remains in one place
Common in CA Central Valley

Air in one place migrates to where it can condense
Example: Warm, moist air moves over cooler ocean
currents
Layer of migrating air becomes chilled to dew point
Can last for several days
Can cover large areas

Moist Air flows to higher elevation along a hill or mountain - cloud form as air is pushed up

Ex: Found along places like the Rockies

Cool air is denser than warm air settles in low lying areas

Also known as sea smoke

Water evaporates from water surface cold air overlaying water surface condensation

Weather
Short-term, day-to-day atmospheric conditions
‘Snapshot’ of atmospheric conditions

Climate
Climate is the long term weather trends in a region
Averages (including extremes)

Subtropical, Hot Desert

Distinctive body of air, with characteristics of its source
region (named after its initial source region)

 N. Hemisphere only
 Most developed in the winter
 Middle- to high-latitude weather
 Dense, cold air displaces moist, warm air,
lifting and cooling this warm air
 Cold, stable air, clear skies, high pressure

 Sit over northern oceans
 Cool, moist, unstable, low pressure
 West: heavy rains as cool, moist air flows
over mountains
 East: not as developed as the west

Gulf/Atlantic: Extremely unstable, high
energy, moist, a lot of rain from late
spring to early Fall
Pacific: stable to conditionally stable,
lower in moisture and energy, low
average precipitation compared to
mT Gulf/Atlantic

As air masses move from their source region, their
temperature and moisture characteristics change with
the regions they come in contact with

For air masses to cool adiabatically (by
expansion), reach dew-point temperature,
saturate, condense, form clouds, and
precipitate, they must *lift* and rise in altitude

 Low pressure system
 Air flows (from different directions) toward an area of low pressure
 Air is displaced upward (ascending)
 Tropical convergent lifting of warm, moist air can produce a storm
 Equatorial regions (ITCZ)
 SE and NE trade winds

 Low pressure system
 Air is stimulated by local surface heating
 Maritime air mass moves over continent, land surface warms mass
 If lifting continues (unstable), clouds form
 Florida and Gulf of Mexico
 Southwest Monsoons

Air forced over a topographic barrier (e.g,. Mountains)
Upward lift over the mountain
Snow and rain on top
Rain Shadow – leeward side
Example: Sierra Nevada Mountains
This is why Las Vegas is dry

Lifting caused by the collision of two air masses
Cold front – dense air forces lighter warm air aloft (up)
Warm front – warm air moves up and over dense cold
air

 Cold front – dense air forces lighter warm air aloft (up)
 Can cause severe precipitation, thunderstorms, and tornadoes

 Warm front – warm air moves up and over dense cold air
 Gentle lifting – progression of clouds
 Warm front may be much more mild, causing drizzly rain showers

Also called extratropical cyclones or wave cyclones
Not a hurricane nor a tropical storm
Conflict between 2 contrasting air masses
Migrating low pressure weather systems at mid latitudes
Converging, ascending air spiraling inward
counterclockwise in N. Hemisphere

Ice Storms and Blizzards
Thunderstorms
Tornadoes
Tropical Cyclones

Generally confined to the mid to high-latitude regions

Ice storm is a winter storm with a minimum of 6.4 mm
(0.25 in) of ice accumulates on exposed surfaces

Blizzards are snowstorms with high winds

Turbulent weather accompanied by lightening and
thunder, and high wind speeds
May develop within an air mass, in a line along a front,
or mountain slopes
1000’s can occur on Earth at any given moment
Giant cumulonimbus clouds and heavy rain (including
blustery winds, hail, and tornadoes)
In N. America, occur in areas dominated by mT air
masses

 Fueled by rapid upward movement of warm, moist air (updrafts)
eventually cools and condenses to form clouds and precipitation
 Energy is released due to latent heat from condensation, which
heats the air and causes violent updrafts and downdrafts

Turbulence →created by mixing of different air densities
or by layers of air moving at different speeds and
directions

Wind sheer →extreme and sudden variation in wind
speed (and direction)
High wind sheer (extreme/sudden variation) →Hail and
tornadoes

(build up of electrical energy) and thunder
(shock waves)

1. Begins when wind shear produces rotating
body of air
2. Spinning tube (vortex) is lifted when it
encounters the moist rising air of updraft
3. This forms a mesocyclone →a spinning,
cyclonic, rising column of air, which is typical
for a large storm
4. Most thunderstorms do not produce
tornadoes

A funnel cloud (rotating column of air) is formed
extending from the thunderstorm base

Once it contacts the ground, it becomes a tornado

A waterspout

Mid/ Central US

N. America →Hurricanes
W. Pacific (Japan, Phillippines) →Typhoons
Indonesia, India, Bangladesh →Cyclones

23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south

 Surface air flow converges into low-
pressure area, ascends, and flows
outward as it diverges aloft
 Coriolis force deflects the wind
slightly away from the center,
causing the wind to rotate around
the center (the eye wall), leaving
the center (the eye) calm

Yes it is renewable but it is not distributed evenly

1. Precipitation (P)
2.Evapotranspiration
Actual Evapotranspiration (AE)
Potential Evapotranspiration (PE)
3. Defecit
4. Surplus
5. Change in soil-moisture (△S)

Any form of moisture on the earth

Rain, Sleet Snow, Hail

With rain gauges

These are devices that capture precipitation and allow it to be measured by depth weight or volume

 Evaporation – loss of moisture from a wet surface
 Transpiration – loss of moisture from vegetation (stomata)

Evaporation Pan

Lysimeter

Water demand

Amount of water that would evaporate and transpire under optimum moisture conditions

Based off of monthly mean air temperature and day length

Demand exceeds the moisture from precipitation (P), irrigation, and that stored as soil mosture

Droughts

Additional water beyond potential evapotranspiration demands

Creates and sustains sources of surface water (runoff) and replaces lost soil and ground water

Differences in the ability of soil to capture and store moisture defines the type of soil

+ recharge
- Soil mosture loss

Snow
Ice
Rivers
Lakes
Welands

Snow and Ice

Not economically accessible

The melting of snow

This is essential for something like the CO river

Dams

Vast arterial network of surface runoff

Bodies of water fed by precipitation, streamflow, and groundwater

An area that is permanetly or seasonally saturated with water and characterized by vegetation adapted to saturated soils

Anaerobic bacteria which are oxygen free meaning they do not require oxygen

Catchment or Watershed

Drainage divide (something like high mountains)

Most plant roots cannot

Spaces or voids between particles in a material such as soil or rock

Ability of water to flow through soil or rock

Subsurface body of permeable rock or sediments thorough which water can flow in amounts adequate for wells and springs

1. Drawdown
2. Groundwater mining
3. Land subsidence
4. Earth Fissures
5. Saltwater encroachment

Lowering of water table; reversal of flow

Over pumping of an aquifer beyond its
capacity

Sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of
the Earth’s surface

A crack, break or fracture in the rocks associated
with land subsidence

The intrusion of saltwater into the ground
with the removal of fresh groundwater

Trend of weather over a long period of time (regional)

Areas with similar weather statistics

Temperature and precipitations are the 2 biggest

Smaller components include insolation, energy availability, air pressure, and air mass.

Incoming solar radiation (energy input)

Energy surpluses at equater and energy deficits at poles causes global circulation of winds and currents

Land-water heating differences
Latitude
Elevation
Cloud Cover
Ocean currents

From high to low

Atmopsheric circulation and movement of air masses

Bodies of air over oceanic and continental source regions taking on the characteristics of their source region

When air masses meet, precipitation or violent weather may occur

Transfers moisture though earths climate system

Evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and precipitation

Based on statistical weather data

e.g precipitation, temperature, potential, evapotranspiration

Based on causative factors (e.g interaction of air masses)

This is why certain mix of climatic ingerediants in certain locations occur

Based on empirical approach
Moisture and vegetation types

Most Widely used system
Based on an empirical approach
Originally heavily based on vegetation but later changed to depend on weather data

Include:
Tropical: tropical latitudes, winterless
Mesothermal: midlatitudes, mild winters
Microthermal: mid- and high latitudes, cold winters
Polar and Highland: high latitudes and polar regions
Dry: permanent moisture deficits at all latitudes including deserts
(arid) and steppes (semi arid) regions

Show monthly temperature and precipitation for weather stations of selected cities

Most extensive (36% of Earth’s total surface)
Straddles the equator (ITCZ); 20ºN to 20ºS
Consistent day length and insolation
Warm with all months above 18°C (64.4°F)
Winterless
Water supply exceeds demand
Warm ocean temperatures and unstable maritime air
masses

Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical Monsoon
Tropical Savanna Climates

Middle temperatures
Warm and temperate (moderate/mild) climates
More than ½ the worlds population reside here
Great weather variability (greatest air mass interaction)
Latitudinal effects on insolation and temperature
Maritime and continental air mass shifting
Migration of low-pressure and high-pressure systems
Monthly average temperatures never dip below freezing

Humid Subtropical Hot-Summer
Humid Subtropical Winter-Dry
Marine West Coast
Mediterranean Dry-Summer

Experience great temperature ranges related to
continentality and air mass conflicts
Latitudinal effects on insolation and temperature
Mid and high latitudes, cold winters
Four distinct regions
Humid Continental Hot-Summer (Warmest month >22ºC)
Humid Continental Mild-Summer (Warmest month <22ºC)
Subarctic – cool summer (Warmest month ~ <10ºC)
Subarctic – extreme, very cold winters

Low sun altitude
No true summer (Warmest month <10ºC)
Not much tree growth
Low humidity; frozen desert; high albedo
Four distinct regions
Tundra
Ice Cap and Ice Sheet Climates
Polar Marine Climate
Highland – Cold climate due to elevation

Dry climates subdivided into deserts and steppes
Deserts – greater moisture deficit
Steppes – semiarid grassland, less of a moisture deficit but
permanent water shortage
Potential ET exceeds precipitation
Desert Controls/Characteristics
Latitude, continentality, rain shadow
Xerophytes (needs little water) and phreatophytes (tap root to
find the water)

 Arid – Tropical, subtropical hot
desert
 Arid – Midlatitude cold desert
 Semiarid – Tropical,
subtropical hot steppe
 Semiarid – Midlatitude cold
steppe

Study of earths past climates

Using pieces of information found in the
natural environment to reconstruct historic climates

Trapped gas bubbles in
glacial ice
Fossil plankton in ocean
sediments
Tree growth rings
Speleothems

Investigation of changes in the
concentrations of certain atomic isotopes

“light” →most common ~99.76%

“heavy”

Oxygen (O) = 8 protons, 8 electrons, 8 neutrons
However, it can also have 9 or 10 neutrons
Atomic mass (protons + neutrons) varies 16-18

condences less easily

condense

O18

O16

Marine microorganisms

Cold

Warm period

Tree rings
Speleothems

Dendrochronology

Shape of orbit around
sun (100,000-yr cycle)

(or wobble) →resulting
from changes in the time of year
when the Earth is closest to the sun
(26,000-yr cycle)

(or obliquity): axis tilt; varies from
21.5 to 24.5 (41,000-yr cycle)

Continental position and topography

Continental position and topography

Amplifies system changes

Inhibits system changes

Increasing temperatures over land and ocean surfaces
and in the troposphere
Increasing sea-surface temperatures and ocean heat
content
Melting glacial ice and sea ice
Rising sea level
Increasing humidity