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Which of the following refers to primary circulation? |
general circulation of the atmosphere |
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Which of the following refers to secondary circulation? |
migratory high and low pressure systems |
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Which of the following refers to tertiary circulation? |
Landd-sea breezes |
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Air flow is initiated by the |
pressure gradient force. |
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The horizontal motion of air relative to Earth’s surface is |
wind |
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Normal sea level pressure has a value of |
1013.2 millibars or 29.92 inches of mercury in a barometer. |
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The average height of a column of mercury (Hg) in a barometer at sea level is |
760 mm (76 cm). |
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An instrument used to measure air pressure is |
an aneroid barometer. |
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An increase in air pressure will cause the mercury in a barometer to ________. |
rise |
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The normal range for air pressure at sea level is |
980 to 1050 mb. |
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As air temperature increases, the speed of the molecules in a mass of air ________ and the air pressure ________. |
increases; increases |
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Which of the following describes the pressure gradient force? |
It drives air from areas of higher to lower barometric pressure. |
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An isoline of equal pressure plotted on a weather map is known as |
an isobar. |
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Air flows ________ a surface high pressure area because the density of the air in the high pressure zone is ________ than that of the surrounding air. |
out of; more dense |
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If Earth did not rotate, air would flow |
perpendicular to the isobars, i.e., straight across the isobars. |
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Which of the following is true of high pressure areas? |
Air descends and diverges within high pressure systems. |
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On a weather map of air pressure, what can you infer from a closer spacing of isobars? |
a steep pressure gradient creating a faster flow of air |
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Which of the following describes the Coriolis force? |
It causes the apparent deflection of winds from a straight path. |
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The deflection produced by the Coriolis force is caused by |
the fact that Earth’s rotation decreases in speed toward the poles. |
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In the absence of friction, the combined effect of the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient |
geostrophic winds at high altitudes above the ground. |
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The intertropical convergence zone is characterized by |
convergence and uplift of warm surface air |
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Between 20° to 35° north latitude and 20° to 35° south latitude are |
the world’s arid and semi-arid desert regions. |
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Winds that blow predominantly from the northeast and the southeast are the |
trade winds. |
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The dominant surface winds from the subtropics to high latitudes are the |
westerlies. |
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If you were between 40° and 50° north latitude and you wanted to stand with the average winds blowing in your face, you would stand facing |
west |
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Air flow in a Northern Hemisphere high pressure zone is |
downward, outward and clockwise. |
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Within the upper-air westerly wind flow are great waving undulations |
known as Rossby waves that involve contact between cooler and warmer air masses |
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The jet streams help control |
the movement of high and low pressure systems, the movement of storms, the boundary between cold polar air to the north and warm air to the south. |
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Land-sea breezes are caused by |
onshore (toward the land) air flows that develop in the afternoon as the land heats faster than neighboring water surfaces. |
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Mountain-valley breezes are caused by |
warm air rising upslope during the day and cooler air descending the slopes at night. |
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The winds that blow off the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland are |
called katabatic winds. |
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Monsoonal winds are |
regional wind systems that seasonally vary. |
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Ocean currents are produced by |
friction, Coriolis force, and water density differences only. |
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Which of the following is true of upwelling zones? |
They are nutrient-rich, They occur along the west coasts of continents, They are most common above deep ocean basins, They are nutrient-rich and along the west coasts only. |
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