EARTH SCIENCE: CH 18.:

Describe the Coriolis Effect.

If you live on the east coast of Florida or the Gulf Coast, why might you hope for an El Niño year? It will decrease the chances of heavy summer thunderstorms and floods. It will decrease the probability of tropical cyclones. It will bring clear, cool summer conditions, but dry. It will produce a warmer summer, but with less rain than normal.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system (cyclone) blow ________. clockwise and toward the center counterclockwise and toward the center clockwise and outward from the center counterclockwise and outward from the center

Widely spaced isobars often indicate ________. high winds variable winds light winds cyclonic winds

You are watching the local weatherman on TV. You live in mid-latitudes in North America, and the weatherman says that winds high in the atmosphere are blowing toward the northwest. Is this normal? Yes, southeast winds are common at mid latitudes in North America. Yes, northwest winds are common at mid latitudes in North America. No, Northern Hemisphere winds aloft always move from west to east because of the Coriolis force. No, mid-latitude winds always move from east to west because of the Coriolis force.

What is the Southern Oscillation? the intermittent switch from El Niño to La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific the periodic intense cyclonic storms from Antarctica the weather pattern that changes tropical cyclone activity in the southern ocean the 10-year cycle in winter storm activity in the temperate zone of the Southern Hemisphere

If you live in southwestern North America and are experiencing drought conditions, what do you hope will happen? A La Niña period will begin. An El Niño period will begin. Conditions will return to a normal, with neither La Niña nor El Niño.

When someone says we have a southeast wind, what direction would you look to face into the wind? Southeast Northwest East West

Low air pressure systems are usually associated with ________. diverging surface winds and low pressure aloft descending air and low pressure aloft converging air, precipitation, and high pressure aloft clear weather

A sea breeze usually originates during the ________. evening and flows toward the land day and flows toward the land evening and flows toward the water day and flows toward the water

The Sahara and Australian deserts (among others) are associated with the ________. subtropical high equatorial low subpolar low polar high

Asia has an intense monsoon, but North America also experiences a low-intensity monsoon. What causes monsoons? Heating of the polar regions in summer due to long days causes air to flow toward the poles in summer, drawing moisture from warm ocean dominated air masses. The heating of the continent during the summer produces a persistent low pressure over the continent that draws warm moist air masses from adjacent oceans. The oceans warm faster than the continents during the summer and spawn cyclonic storms that move toward the continents.

If Earth were not rotating ________. it would lose its atmosphere air would move directly from high to low pressure all air would move in one direction only friction would be eliminated

If stormy weather were approaching, the pressure tendency would probably be ________. Steady Rising Falling none of these

The force that generates wind is ________. Coriolis force gravity centrifugal force pressure gradient force

Most of the United States is situated in which zone of prevailing winds? trade winds subpolar easterlies westerlies doldrums

Fast moving currents of air found near the top of the troposphere are called ________. Mesocyclones Chinooks jet streams El Niño

Why is the Santa Ana wind a danger signal in southern California? It is a cold, dry winter wind that brings danger of hypothermia to people like the homeless living on the streets. It is a warm, humid wind from Mexico that signals El Niño conditions and high potential for flooding. It is a warm, dry wind that can quickly dry out brushlands and spread fires.

A Santa Ana (or Chinook or Foehn) wind is a ________. wind associated with a blizzard cold, damp wind blowing off a snow field wind that is common to the world's deserts very dry, warm wind flowing down a mountain slope

In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system blow ________. clockwise and toward the center counterclockwise and toward the center clockwise and outward from the center counterclockwise and outward from the center

Define air pressure. How is air pressure related to wind?