GEOS 1110 Exam 3 Study Guide PDF

Chapter 7 Weather ================= - Be able to describe the air masses that impact weather in North America, including temperature and humidity characteristics and general source regions - mP (Maritime Polar) - cP (Continental Polar) - mT (Maritime Tropical) -...

Chapter 7 Weather ================= - Be able to describe the air masses that impact weather in North America, including temperature and humidity characteristics and general source regions - mP (Maritime Polar) - cP (Continental Polar) - mT (Maritime Tropical) - cT (Continental Tropical) - Be able to describe the 4 lifting mechanisms - Convergent Lifting - Convective Lifting - Orographic Lifting - Windward and Leeward precipitation patterns around mountains - Frontal Lifting - Be able to describe the differences in how warm and cold fronts cause lifting and the types of clouds and precipitation associated with each - Be able to identify the symbols used on weather maps for warm fronts, cold fronts, occluded fronts, and stationary fronts - Know the order of the stages in the lifecycle of a midlatitude cyclone - Cyclogenesis - Open Stage - Occluded Stage - Dissolving Stage - Be able to describe the tools used for weather monitoring and forecasting - Ground stations (ASOS) - Weather Balloons - Weather Satellites (GOES) - RADAR - Be able to describe different thunderstorm types - Single-Cell (aka pop-up/air mass) thunderstorms - Squall lines - Super-Cell (rotating) thunderstorms - Know the name of the scale used for rating tornado strength - Be able to describe differences between tropical cyclones and midlatitude cyclones - Mainly that tropical cyclones do not have warm or cold fronts since they do not involve cold air masses Chapter 9 Climate Regions ========================= - Be able to describe the 5 major climate classes - Tropical -- Warm year-round (no winter) - Mesothermal -- Temperate with summer and winter seasons (but no month has an average temperature below freezing) - Microthermal -- have all 4 seasons, with at least 1 month averaging below freezing - Polar/Highland -- minimal or no summer (less than 4 months with temperatures averaging above freezing) - Dry -- water demand from the environment never fully met by precipitation - Be able to describe the difference between tropical rainforest, tropical monsoon, and tropical savanna climates (precipitation patterns) - Know the climate type found in most of the southeastern US, characterized by having all 4 seasons, precipitation year-round, and hot summers Chapter 10 Climate Change ========================= - Be able to describe how greenhouse gasses act to change global temperatures - Be able to describe how proxy records relate to changes in climate - Tree rings (growth pattern connection to warm/wet and cool/dry years) - Sediment Cores (pollen and oxygen isotope ratios) - Ice Cores (oxygen isotope ratios and trapped air bubbles) - Be able to name major geologic events that led to a cooling of earth's climate over the past 50 million years - India-Asia collision - Antarctic Circumpolar Current - Isthmus of Panama - Be able to describe the Milankovitch cycles (what characteristic of earth's orbit do they describe) - Eccentricity - Obliquity - Precession - Be able to describe the two carbon cycles on earth - Geologic Carbon Cycle - Biologic Carbon Cycle - Be able to identify positive and negative feedbacks on the climate system - Positive feedback = enhance initial change - Negative feedback = dampen or lessen initial change - Be able to describe the two factors have caused sea level rise as the climate warms - Melting Land Ice - Thermal Expansion - Be able to describe the Keeling Curve (CO2 graph from Mauna Loa Observatory) - Annual Cycle - Overall Trend - Be able to describe how Carbon 12 and Carbon 13 ratios have been changed due to the burning of fossil fuels - Be able to describe the 3 characteristics of greenhouse gasses that control how much they impact climate change - Efficiency at absorbing longwave radiation - Gas concentration - Residence Time - Be able to describe the 5 major greenhouse gasses including putting them in order of concentration (most to least amount in the atmosphere), residence time, and the main anthropogenic sources. - Water Vapor (H2O) - Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - Methane (CH4) - Nitrous Oxide N2O - Halogenated Gasses (CFCs)