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IES Exam 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Vapor Pressure | Pressure exerted by water vapor |
| Saturation Vapor Pressure | Max capacity of air to hold water vapor |
| Saturation Vapor Pressure Increases | Exponentially with temperature |
| Relative Humidity | Water vapor pressure relative to saturation vapor pressure (%) |
| Specific Humidity | Water vapor mass relative to total air mass (g H2O / kg air) |
| Dew Point | Temperature at which air of given vapor pressure becomes saturated |
| Hot Desert | High relative AND specific humidity |
| Cold and Snow | High relative humidity, LOW specific humidity |
| Cloud Formation | Air mass passes dew point: add moisture or cool air Requires cloud condensation nuclei |
| Cloud Condensation Nuclei | Particles that are 0.2 um |
| Nimbus Clouds | Bring rain Column of rising air, condenses water quickly -> big droplets |
| Cumulonimbus Clouds | Produce hail, thunder, and lightning |
| Stability | Tendency of air parcel to remain in place (stable) or rise upwards (unstable) |
| Air Parcel SINKS | More dense than surrounding air |
| Air Parcel RISES | Less dense than surrounding air |
| Destabilizing an Air Mass | Warming or adding water vapor |
| Adiabatic Processes | Processes that occur with no net heat energy exchange between air parcel and environment |
| Rising Air Parcel | expands as air pressure drops |
| Hot Air Balloon Example | Air parcel moves up Areas above have lower pressure, so outside pressure gets weaker as height increases Air mass gets BIGGER in volume since inside pressure is the same Temp decreases |
| Sinking Air Parcel Example | Will get crushed by higher air pressure outside Volume will DECREASE Temperature increases |
| Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate | 10 degrees C/1000 m |
| Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rate | 6 degrees C/1000 m |
| Normal Lapse Rate | 6.4 degrees C/1000 m |
| Moist Air Masses Cool | More slowly |
| Moist Air Mass Cooling Reasons: | Adiabatic Expansion Lower saturation capacity w/cooler air masses Water condenses at saturation (dew point) Condensing water loses latent heat energy, converts to sensible, which slows rate of cooling |
| Moist Air Masses Rise... | Further than warm, since they cool more slowly and are always warmer than background air Rise for longer |
| Air Pushed... | H -> L pressure |
| More Concentrated Insolation at... | Lower Latitudes |
| Thermal Equator | Connects zones of max surface temperature |
| Moist Air Mass Stability | LESS stable than dry |
| ITCZ | Meeting point for Hadley Cells |
| Hadley Cells | From Equator to Tropics Warm air rises at Equator (L) Cool air falls towards tropics (H) |
| ITCZ Cloud Band | Persistent due to Hadley Cells and the clouds that are formed by rising air (adiabatic expansion) |
| Trade Winds | Dependable, good for trade NE and SE |
| NE Trade Winds | Start R go to L above Equator |
| SE Trade Winds | Start R go to L below Equator |
| Westerlies | Pushed out and away from H pressure systems (vorticity) in Mid latitudes |
| Westerlies Direction | R in N Hemisphere and L in S. Hemisphere |
| Polar Easterlies | Cold, super dense air flowing away from Poles High Latitudes AKA Polar Vortex |
| Polar Easterlies Direction | L in N. Hemisphere, R in S. Hemisphere |
| Areas of Weak/Variable Winds | Doldrums (Equator) Horse Latitudes (Subtropics) |
| Subtropical Highs | Descending air from Hadley Cells |
| Polar Lows | Boundary between warm Westerlies rising over Polar air Stronger in winter |
| Vertical Atmospheric Cross Section | Westerlies get pushed up and over polar easterlies since W is less dense and more buoyant |
| Sea Breezes- Day | Land heats up faster and hot air rises Surface winds move ONshore (H pressure -> Low) |
| Sea Breezes- Night | Water is warmer Surface winds move OFFshore |
| Monsoons- Summer | Surface winds move ONshore (lots of rain) |
| Monsoons- Winter | Surface winds move OFFshore |
| Monsoon Cause | Seasonal differential heating of land and ocean |
| Sea Breeze Cause | Daily differential heating of land and ocean |
| Jet Stream | Band of high speed upper atmosphere air flow Found where PG is steepest |
| Two Jet Streams per Hemisphere: | Polar Jet Stream Subtropical Jet Stream |
| In Upper Atmosphere, Lower Air Pressure... | Over Poles |
| PG in Upper Atmosphere... | Pushes air from Equator to Poles, deflected by Coriolis |
| Rossby Waves | Giant meanders in jet stream Caused by upper atmosphere variations in pressure |
| Ridges | Areas of High Pressure |
| Troughs | Areas of Low Pressure |
| Front of Trough Impact | Surface HIGH pressure: Upper air slowing -> upper air CONvergence -> air pushed to surface |
| End of Trough Impact | Surface LOW pressure Upper air speeds up -> upper air DIvergence -> air pulled from surface |
| Rossby Waves Effects at Surface | Responsible for much of weekly weather variations |
| Tropical Circulation Driven By | Surface heating and lowered surface air pressure |
| N. American Air Masses | cA, cP, mP, mT, cT |
| Lake Effect | Air masses pick up moisture, energy from lake Gets cold, snow starts to fall Snow is released downwind due to reach of dew point |
| Rain Shadows | Maritime air masses lifted over mountains release precipitation Air mass passes dew point and rain and snow as it moves up and over |
| Chinook Winds | Wind coming from top of mountains is dry and warm |
| Orographic Lifting | Air masses move laterally, pushed up over moutains |
| Orographic Lifting Example | Rain Shadows and Chinooks |
| Convectional Lifting | Surface warms, heats air masses, which rise Driven by temperature differences |
| Convectional Lifting Examples | Hot air balloon Causes late afternoon thunderstorms |
| Convergent Lifting | Air masses converging on L pressure zones push air upwards Driven by pressure differences |
| Convergent Lifting Location | Tropics, where temperature differences are small |
| Frontal Lifting | Caused by collisions among air masses, less stable pushed up and over more stable |
| Frontal Lifting Location | Mainly mid-latitude phenomenon |
| Cold Fronts | Advancing cold air quickly lifts warm air Cold air is denser than warm and has more momentum to push warm air aside |
| Cold Front Storms | Produces strong precipitation and tight storm system (cumulonimbus clouds) |
| Cold Front Conditions | Warm conditions, tense storms, cold conditions afterwards |
| Warm Fronts | Advancing warm air slides over cold air since it is less dense Gradual Lifting |
| Warm Front Weather | Drizzle and overcast skies (nimbostratus and stratus clouds) Slowly gets warm |
| Cold Front Speed | Relatively fast |
| Warm Front Speed | Relatively slow |
| Mid-Latitude Cyclones | Weather storms that are centered on central L pressure system L pressure -> surface convergence Cyclonic rotation (counterclockwise) Draws in warm air from S, cold from N |
| Cyclogenesis | Stage 1 of development L pressure zone develops at boundary between warm and cold air masses |
| Open Stage | Stage 2 Warm front and cold front rotate around low |
| Occluded Stage | Stage 3 Cold front starts catching up to warm front, (Cold moves faster) |
| Dissolving Stage | Stage 4 Warm and cold air mixed together L pressure zone disappears once two fronts have completely united |
| Cyclonic Storm Tracks | Carried W-E by Westerlies Shifts seasonally: Summer N, Winter S |
| Tropical Cyclone Formation | Starts as mild L Pressure system (Easterly Wave) air converges on L, rises L wave deepens and air starts to rotate |
| Hurricane Genesis | Centered on very L pressure zones Winds converge, spiral inwards Water evaporates from ocean surface Air rises, cools -> water condenses Rain and release of latent heat energy Latent heat -> wind energy |
| Hurricane Eye | Reverse chimney Water and air go back down |
| Right of the Eye of Hurricane | Greatest Damage |
| Greatest Damage to R Because | Local wind speed = travel speed of whole system + local speed |
| Hurricanes Spawn in Subtropics Due to | Warm water and strong Coriolis |
| Storm Surges | Local rise of sea level during hurricane |
| Storm Surge Causes | Drop in air pressure, sucks ocean up, raises sea level Push of water to the coast |
| Storm Waves | Large waves generated by strong winds |
| Hurricane Formation Big Picture: | Powered by release of latent heat energy from converging and rising humid air |
| Oceans | Store 97.2% of water 90% of Carbon 25% heat energy transported to high lats 25% of all CO2 emitted from fossil fuels absorbed |
| Carbon Distribution | 90% in oceans 8% in soil, vegetation, permafrost 2% in atmosphere |
| Fossil Fuel Emissions | 55% absorbed by atmosphere 25% absorbed by oceans 15-20% in biosphere |
| Thermocline | Temperature Gradient Surface is warmer than deep |
| Halocline | Salinity Gradient Surface is "fresh" w/lower salinity Deep is MUCH saltier, more particles |
| Pycnocline | Density Gradient Surface is much less dense |
| Ocean's Vertical Structure is... | Stable |
| Shallow Mixed Ocean | Top 100-150 m Sunlit -> photosynthesis |
| Deep Ocean | Below 100 m |
| Deep Ocean Circulation | Driven by density gradients SLOW |
| Shallow Mixed Ocean Circulation | Driven by wind |
| Stratification of Ocean Layers | Strongest in LOW latitudes Weakest at Poles |
| Surface Ocean Currents | Travel at 90 degrees to wind direction Dominated by subtropical gyres |
| Why is Surface Currents Pushed 90 Degrees? | Ekman Spiral |
| Ekman Spiral Explanation | Wind drags surface water, surface water drags subsurface water Each layer deflected by Coriolis relative to one above it -> spiral Efficiency is lost as it gets deeper |
| NE Trades Wind and Water Currents | Wind: E (coming from R) Water: SE (coming off L from wind) |
| SE Trades Wind and Water Currents | Wind: W (coming from L) Water: NW (coming off R from wind) |
| Westerlies Wind and Water Currents | Wind: E (N. Hemisphere) moving upwards to R Water: down R from wind |
| Tropics Winds | Cause water DIVERGENCE |
| Subtropics Winds | Cause water CONVERGENCE |
| Gyres | Large, circular ocean currents centered on subtropical convergence Half takes warm water from low latitudes and moves it to high, half takes cold water from high and brings it to low |
| Ekman Transport | Pushes water into convergence Moves out and away from H pressure in circulatory motion |
| Five Subtropical Gyres | N. Pacific S. Pacific N. Atlantic S. Atlantic Indian Ocean |
| Polar Gyres and Antarctic Circumpolar Current | Mostly just move cold water around |
| Gulf Stream | W. arm of N. Atlantic gyre Carries heat from Equator to Arctic Warms Europe and N. America |
| Upwelling | Process in which cold, deep water is brought up to the surface |
| Coastal Upwelling | Wind and Coriolis pushes surface water away from coastline and allows deep water to upwell Leads to great fisheries |
| Upwelling and Ocean Productivity | Deep ocean waters are nutrient rich Upwelling brings nutrients up Good fishing and species diversity |
| Stable Stratification in Deep Ocean | Prevents overturning |
| Make Water Dense Enough to Sink | Make it colder Make it saltier |
| Thermohaline Circulation | Deep ocean conveyor belt Where water recharges and upwells and flows Recharge from N. Atlantic and Antarctica |
| Ocean Acidification | Oceans absorb 1/4-1/3 of CO2 we release by burning fossil fuels |
| CO2 and Ocean Acidification Chem | CO2 and water react and form carbonic acid Carbonic acid dissolves in water to release Hydrogen ions Acidity measures concentration of H+ ions |
| Low pH = | More acidity, more H+ ions |
| Ocean Acidification Problem | H+ reacts w/and removes Calcium Carbonate which is building blocks of shells Coral bleaching |
| Acidification Begins at the Top | Anthropogenic CO2 is still mixing downwards Can take 1000 years to see it's effects |
| Water Density Determined By... | Temperature and Salinity |
| Atmospheric Rivers | Narrow plumes of water vapor carried by Westerlies |
| Global Patterns of Evapotranspiration | Highest in subtropical oceans: Warm and plenty of water, cloudless conditions |
| Potential Evapotranspiration | Max possible ET given unlimited water supply |
| Potential Evapotranspiration Highest When... | High temps High sunlight Windy (more air passing means more evaporation) |
| Actual Evapotranspiration | Actual ET, limited by supply Always = or less than PET |
| Actual Evapotranspiration Highest When... | Warm areas w/high water availability |
| Deserts and ET | High PET, low AET |
| Deficit | If PET>precipitation |
| Surplus | If precipitation > PET Water goes runoff to streams, soil recharge, groundwater recharge |
| Water Balance | State of water supply year-round Often fluctuates w/seasons |
| Runoff High When... | Precipitation is high (coasts, tropics) ET is low (Arctic) After storm |
| Percolation | Soil recharge Gravitational pull of water downwards through pore spaces in soil and rock |
| Soil and Rocks Vary In... | Porosity and Permability |
| Porosity | Amount of pore space in rock or sediments |
| Permeability | Degree of connectedness among pores ex. Swiss cheese |
| Hygroscopic Water | Bound too tightly to soil for plants to access it |
| Gravitational Water | Escapes down too quickly for plants to access Low porosity: sand and sediments |
| Capillary Water | Most accessible to plants |
| Water Availability Highest for Soil With... | Mix of grain sizes |
| Groundwater Recharge | Water that percolates down through soil and enters groundwater |
| Groundwater Behavior | Water flows by gravity Flow is slow due to friction Water table surface mostly follows land surface contours Wells create cones of depression |
| Climate Change, Most Heat Energy is Added to... | Oceans |
| Net Energy Addition to Earth | 0.9 W/m 460 terawatts |
| Concentrations of GHG are Easily Changed Because... | Atmosphere is thin and low density Trace gases found at low concentrations, so easy to change |
| Climate Change Detection | Multiple independent observations of a warming world |
| Climate Change Detection Examples | Melting of Arctic Sea Ice Glaciers melting |
| Climate Change Attribution | Requires data (observation of past changes) and climate models (to test alternative explanations for observed changes) |
| Hypothesis Testing with Climate Models | Compare ESMs w/historic forcings (natural and anthropogenic) See what factors change with each modification, ultimately find what mixture makes current circumstances |
| Probability that Human Influence is Dominant Cause of Climate Change | 95% |
| Climate Change Projection | Projected linear response to total cumulative CO2 emissions Projected warming highest over land Wet regions will get wetter, dry will get drier |
| IPCC Shared Socioeconomic Pathways | Scenarios of socioeconomic development and policy resulting CO2 and other GHG emissions Projection |
| Warmer Earth and Weather | Warmer Earth means more Extreme Weather More storms causing billions of dollars of damages |
| Climate Change Conclusion Metaphor | Can't prove that a single home run was caused by steroids, but a hitter on steroids will hit more home runs |
Created by:
Eliana.s
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