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Flashcards

GEL Midterm 2

Samantha Ruelas English 87 cards

Cards in this deck (87)

  1. 1The vast majority of energy used to heat the oceans and the atmosphere comes from....the sun
  2. 2Assuming earth has no atmosphere, the solar constant of 2 cal. per square cm per minute is the value of the .... to the sun.intensity of the solar radiation received on a surface at right angles
  3. 3What does the heat budget represent?the gains and losses of heat from Earth and the atmosphere to space.
  4. 4What are some sources of heat losses in Earth's budget?- net surface emission of long-wave radiation
    - back scatter in the air
    - absorption by clouds
    - reflection by clouds
    - absorption by dust in the atmosphere
    -absorption by water and land
  5. 5why does the annual variation in the amount of solar radiation received varies with latitude?because the direction of Earth's tilt changes with respect to the sun during the year.
  6. 6Which has a lower heat capacity, the land or the ocean?land has a lower heat capacity than the ocean
  7. 7Pancake ice results when ...sheets of new sea ice are broken into small rounded pieces
  8. 8what is an ice floe?a floating chunk of ice with a diameter of less than 10km
  9. 9icebergsare massive irregularly shaped sea ice masses that are formed by glaciers breaking apart
  10. 10true or false: the atmosphere primarily heats from above because it is closer to the sunfalse
  11. 11tropospherelowest layer of the atmosphere
    - temp decreases with altitude
  12. 12stratospherethe tropical marks the minimum temperature zone between the tropics and the layer above it
    - the temp increases with increasing altitude until the stratopause is reached at 50km
  13. 13ozonehighly reactive form of oxygen
  14. 14mesospherelittle absorption of solar radiation, so the temperature again decreases with height in the layer
  15. 15thermosphereabove the mesosphere
  16. 16rank the most common gasses by their relative volume1. water vapor
    2. carbon dioxide
    3. methane
    4. nitrous oxide
  17. 17Coriolis effect-Causes objects in the north to vear to the right
    -And objects in the southern hemisphere to vear to the left; From the direction that it is moving
    - as air warms, expands, and rises at the equator, it moves toward the pole, but instead of travelling in a straight path, the air is deflected eastward.
  18. 18large tropical cyclonesare hurricanes (atlantic) or typhoons (pacific)
    -rotating masses of low pressure air
  19. 19Where would you expect the strongest storms systems develop?-in the tropics; western pacific warm pool (hottest water on the planet)
    -High pressure outside the storm, low pressure in the storm causing winds to blow counter clockwise
  20. 20what happens when the atmospheric pressure is really low?the winds get faster
  21. 21What are the names and locations of the atmospheric cells?-hadley cells
    -ferrel cells
    -polar cells
  22. 22hadley cellare tropical cells found on each side of the equator; moving southward in the northern hemisphere
  23. 23ferrel cellfound near mid latitudes; moving northward in the northern hemisphere
  24. 24polar cellsfound near poles
  25. 25what are winds named after?from the direction they are coming from
  26. 26westerlies...
  27. 27trade winds...
  28. 28easterlies...
  29. 29jet streamis the boundary between the hadley and the ferrel poles
  30. 30Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)Forms the boundary between the N and S Hadley Cells Position Shifts with the seasons
  31. 31what are some wind patterns?-doldrums
    -horse latitudes
    -trade winds
    -westerlies
  32. 32doldrumsare calm equatorial areas where two hadley cells converge
  33. 33horse latitudesare areas around 30 degrees latitude between hadley and ferrel cells there is little surface wind in this areas; (highest salinity)
  34. 34trade winds (wind patterns)are surface winds of hadley cells
  35. 35westerlies (wind patterns)are surface winds of ferrel cells
  36. 36surface salinity patternshighest salinity is found in the central gyres under the subtropical hi P zones
  37. 37sea breezeis cool air from over the water moving toward land. Sea breezes occur after sunrise; air rising from the land
  38. 38Land breeze:occur after sunset when air warmed by the land blows toward the water; air rising from the water
  39. 39where do winds always blow from?Winds always blow from regions of High P (cool and/or dry) towards regions of Low P (warm and/ or moist)
  40. 40monsoonsare patterns of wind circulation that change with the season; generally have dry winters and wet summers
  41. 41Summer monsoon:warm moist air moves on to land; lots of rain; sea breeze
  42. 42Winter monsoon:cool dry air flows away from land; little rain; land breeze
  43. 43what causes surface currents?wind known as wind driven circulation
  44. 44thermohaline circulation-Circulation of the other 90% of the deep ocean is controlled by gravity, as dense water sinks and less dense waters rise
    - deep ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity
  45. 45What are some effects of ocean currents?-Transfer heat from tropical to polar regions
    -Influence weather and climate
    -Distribute nutrients and scatter organisms (like plankton (organisms that are carried by the currents))
  46. 46Water column structure:-Mixed layer: no temperature/ salinity change; density is the same therefore the different layers of water mix
    -Thermocline: the temp. starts to decrease; controlled by temperature
    -Deep zone: cold water in the deep zone
  47. 47thermocline-Seasonal thermoclines: the shallow parts of the water warming in the summer
    -Permanent thermoclines: winter= waters are colder
    -In high latitudes, the temperature is the same as the temperature in the deep
  48. 48haloclinecontrolled by salinity; low density in the high latitudes; in high latitudes in the Arctic because ice is melting making the water less salty → not much temperature change in the water***
  49. 49Pycnoclinethe region of rapidly changing density
  50. 50Ekman Spiral-water moves 90 degrees from the wind direction
    - as a consequence of the Coriolis effect.
  51. 51equatorial upwellingbring cool water upwells from below to the surface when the warm waters in the north moves north, and the warmer water in the south moves south
  52. 52El Nino Southern OScillation (ENSO)atmospheric condition where trade winds weaken or reverse, causing changes in global climate and oceanography
  53. 53la nina-As you move away from the east equator, the thermocline gets deeper and warmer (in the west); the eastern pacific is more shallow
    - more colder
  54. 54During el nino-The eastern pacific becomes very warm
    -The trade wind directions change
    -Upwelling in the east weakens
    -Repeats irregularly every 2-7 years averaging about 3-4
    -The rate of el ninos is increasing as far as we know
  55. 55coriolis effectcauses oceans to bend to the right relative to the wind direction
  56. 56Gyre-the water moves in a circular pattern
    They move clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
    They move counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
  57. 57where do trade winds blow?near the equator
  58. 58what are the 6 gyres?1. North pacific, 2. North Atlantic, 3. South pacific, 4. South atlantic, 5. South indian gyre, 6. In the arctic ocean (associated with the polar easterlies
    -gyres are associated with boundaries
  59. 59currents with gyres-Western boundary currents
    -eastern boundary currents
    -coastal upwelling
    -coastal dowelling
    -ekman transport
    -AA circumpolar current
  60. 60Western boundary currents-transports warm water from low latitudes towards higher latitudes; nutrient poor (ex: gulf stream; Kuroshio current; brazil current; the agulhas current, east australian current)
  61. 61Eastern boundary currentstransport cold water from high latitudes towards the tropics; nutrient rich (ex: california current (slow moving; shallow); the peru current; the canary current; the west australian current; the benguela current)
  62. 62Coastal upwellingvery common in eastern boundary current and important for bringing nutrients to the surface for phytoplankton (plant) productivity
    Winds produce coastal upwelling
  63. 63Coastal downwelling:Where Ekman transport moves surface waters toward the coast, the water piles up and sinks in the process known as coastal downwelling
  64. 64ekman transportcauses equatorial upwelling
  65. 65AA Circumpolar current:-transports water around the globe in S. Hemisphere; warm waters in the north can’t get down to Antarctica;
    -westerlies drive the west wind drift;
    -polar easterlies drive the east wind drift
  66. 66eddies-spin off the western boundary currents;
    -they bring warm water north and colder water south;
    - very important for heat transport to high latitudes
  67. 67Deep ocean circulation:-density is controlled by temperature and salinity;
    -influences the deep zone of the oceans;
    -deep ocean waters come from the high latitudes regions
  68. 68North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)-Warm gulf stream flow brings salty water to north atlantic
  69. 69Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)-Antarctic is also a formation site for cold dense waters ------- Weddell Sea (primary site of AABW)
    -All the sea ice forms on the surface; excluding salt making really salty water
  70. 70types of ocean water massesSurface
    Intermediate water
    Deep water
    Bottom water
  71. 71Inter-tropical Convergence ZOneis a belt of low pressure which circles the Earth generally near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres come together.
  72. 72oceanic conveyor beltLinks the thermohaline and surface currents into one heat and salt transport system
  73. 73How can we track the movement and rate of deep ocean currents?-Bomb tritium tracks the sinking of deep ocean water in N. Atlantic
  74. 74waves-Have distinct components that help explain their movement (direction of wave motion)
    -Waves transmit energy across the ocean’s surface; Motion is circular
  75. 75What are the parts of an ocean wave?-Crest: highest
    -Trough: lowest
    -Wavelength (L): is the distance between adjacent crests or troughs
    -Height (H): is the distance from the crest to trough
    -Frequency (F): number of wave crests passing point A or point B each second; over a period of time
    -Period (T): time required for wave crest at point A to reach point B
  76. 76At what wavelength the circular motion cease?At ½ wavelength (L1/2), circular motion ceases
  77. 77wave period (T)=T=L/S; period= wavelength/speed.
  78. 78wave frequency (F)=S/L or 1/T; frequency= speed/wavelength
  79. 79wind waveswaves driven by the energy of the wind blowing across the surface of the ocean
  80. 80seichechange in atmospheric pressure, storm surge, tsunami
  81. 81Seismic sea wave (tsunami):faulting of seafloor, volcanic eruption, landslide
  82. 82Tidegravitational attraction, rotation of earth
  83. 83wind waves starts as capillary waves which are:if the wind stops, these small waves disappear because surface tension can flatten the sea out
  84. 84gravity waveswaves that get bigger; after the wind stops, it takes the force of gravity to flatten the sea out
  85. 85wave steepness (height/length)controls when the wave breaks
  86. 86When steepness, exceeds 1/7 (height/length)the wave tumbles down and forms white caps
  87. 87—

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Flashcards on GEL Midterm 2, created by Samantha Ruelas on 06/11/2019.
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