Atmosphere and Ocean exam review

• Exam 2 reviews chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9

Chapter 6: Atmosphere and Oceans

• Solar radiation input varies with seasons; the sun's rays are most direct at specific latitudes depending on the season.
• The ice-albedo positive feedback loop relates to the Earth's heat budget.
• The primary forces governing heat distribution on Earth should be named.
• Atmospheric composition mainly consists of two gases, and their percentages should be known.
• Factors affecting air density are important to describe.
• Weather and climate should be compared and contrasted.
• The Coriolis force requires explanation.
• Earth's prevailing wind patterns are determined by high and low pressure areas, as well as the three cell types in each hemisphere
• Wind rotation around high and low pressure systems differs in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
• Heat distribution on Earth's surface needs a description and explanation.
• Winds exist, and their direction is determined by specific factors
• Major wind bands need to be matched with their latitudes.
• The names and directions of the major wind bands on Earth should to be known.
• The ice/albedo feedback loop requires a description.
• Coastal wind patterns vary between day and night, which is related to monsoons in India
• Causes and consequences of El Nino/La Nina are significant phenomena

Chapter 7: Ocean Structure and Circulation

• Temperature and salinity plotted against depth help identify the thermocline and halocline.
• Seasonal thermocline changes at mid-latitudes throughout the should be sketched with mixed layer depths for each season.
• Four different water masses and their formation processes/locations should be listed and described.
• The formation of surface current gyres should be understood and explained.
• Major currents in each gyre should be known.
• Wind-driven currents within each gyre should be identified.
• Major water masses relative to each other with depth across the Atlantic Ocean should be sketched
• The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt should be sketched.

Chapter 8: Waves

• Wave formation involves generating and restoring forces.
• Basic wave characteristics include the wave crest, trough, height, and wavelength.
• Wavelength, wave period, wave frequency, and steepness are key wave definitions
• Wave breaking points can be determined
• Wave dispersion occurs with distance from a storm
• Wave size is affected by certain factors
• Shallow and deep water waves should be compared.
• Wave interactions are important
• A tsunami should be described.

Chapter 9: Tides

• Tides are waves with identifiable crests, troughs, wavelength, wave height, amplitude, and period.
• Lunar and solar tides should be compared.
• Wave velocity varies at each phase of the tide.
• Diurnal, semidiurnal, and mixed semidiurnal tides should be compared.
• Basic characteristics of the three tidal patterns should be labeled.
• High tide times can be calculated for diurnal and semidiurnal tides given the last high tide.
• The Moon's tide-generating force is greater than the Sun's despite the Sun's mass and gravitational attraction
• The Earth-Moon-Sun system alignment can be diagrammed during spring and neap tides
• Solar and lunar tides interact during spring and neap tides.