ATMO 201 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Zonal winds - Answer -east-west direction
Meridional winds - Answer -north-south direction
Scales of motion: global - Answer -10,000s km; Hadley cell & walker circulation
Scales of motion: snyoptic - Answer -1000s km; monsoons & fronts
Scales of motion: mesoscale - Answer -100s km; sea breeze, mountain winds, large
storms
Scales of motion: convective - Answer -10s km; cumulonimbus, turbulent eddies
Thermally direct circulation - Answer -upward motion forced by warm surface
What are the 3 cells in the 3-cell model? - Answer -hadley cell, polar cell, and ferrel cell
Hadley cell - Answer --upward motion near equator
-sinking motion in subtropics over subtropical highs
-
Polar cell - Answer -air rises over warmer, sub polar region and sinks over polar high
Ferrel cell - Answer -air rises at higher latitudes and sinks over subtropics
Thermally indirect circulation - Answer -downward motion over warmer surface
Where do easterly winds form according to the three cell model? - Answer -at the
surface at the poles and equator
Where do the westerly winds form in the three cell model? - Answer -at the surface in
the mid latitudes
What causes the westerly winds in the three cell model? - Answer -coriolis force
What is the weather like at the equator and mid latitudes according to the three cell
model? - Answer -rainy
What is the weather like at the subtropics and poles according to the 3 cell model? -
Answer -dry
What would the northern hemisphere trade winds be if the Hadley cell was thermally
indirect circulation? - Answer -southwesterly
, What do subtropical highs cause? - Answer -dry, desert-like conditions
Where is the preferred region of sinking subtropics? Example? - Answer -over eastern
oceans and also over sub polar regions
Example: bermuda high
In terms of the idealize 3-cell general circulation model, the stormiest (or wettest)
regions of Earth should be near: - Answer -the equator and mid latitudes
What would happen to hurricanes forming near tropical Africa if the Bermuda high was
stronger and further west? - Answer -there would be more US landfalls
Why are upper level winds stronger? - Answer --because pressure gradient force is
stronger with height, and friction at the surface slows winds down
Polar front - Answer -occurs when strong temperature gradient exists and thus strong
pressure gradient over a small distance
What does a polar front result in? - Answer -polar jet stream
How fast is a polar jet stream? - Answer -fast; 50-100 mph
Where does a polar jet stream occur? - Answer -near the tropopause (9-12 km)
What does polar jet streams affect? - Answer -mid latitude weather
Subtropical jet stream - Answer --higher & weaker that polar jet stream
-often brings moisture to texas
The strongest jets are found: - Answer -at the polar fronts
What is the walker circulation? - Answer -a zonal, tropical circulation with main cell over
the pacific
What kind of motion does the walker circulation cause over the west pacific? - Answer -
rising
What kind of motion does the walker circulation cause over the east pacific? - Answer -
sinking
La Nina - Answer --enhanced Walker Circulation
-warmer west pacific, cooler east pacific, strong trade winds
El Nino - Answer --water warms in east and central pacific
-trades weaken , can even turn westerly
Zonal winds - Answer -east-west direction
Meridional winds - Answer -north-south direction
Scales of motion: global - Answer -10,000s km; Hadley cell & walker circulation
Scales of motion: snyoptic - Answer -1000s km; monsoons & fronts
Scales of motion: mesoscale - Answer -100s km; sea breeze, mountain winds, large
storms
Scales of motion: convective - Answer -10s km; cumulonimbus, turbulent eddies
Thermally direct circulation - Answer -upward motion forced by warm surface
What are the 3 cells in the 3-cell model? - Answer -hadley cell, polar cell, and ferrel cell
Hadley cell - Answer --upward motion near equator
-sinking motion in subtropics over subtropical highs
-
Polar cell - Answer -air rises over warmer, sub polar region and sinks over polar high
Ferrel cell - Answer -air rises at higher latitudes and sinks over subtropics
Thermally indirect circulation - Answer -downward motion over warmer surface
Where do easterly winds form according to the three cell model? - Answer -at the
surface at the poles and equator
Where do the westerly winds form in the three cell model? - Answer -at the surface in
the mid latitudes
What causes the westerly winds in the three cell model? - Answer -coriolis force
What is the weather like at the equator and mid latitudes according to the three cell
model? - Answer -rainy
What is the weather like at the subtropics and poles according to the 3 cell model? -
Answer -dry
What would the northern hemisphere trade winds be if the Hadley cell was thermally
indirect circulation? - Answer -southwesterly
, What do subtropical highs cause? - Answer -dry, desert-like conditions
Where is the preferred region of sinking subtropics? Example? - Answer -over eastern
oceans and also over sub polar regions
Example: bermuda high
In terms of the idealize 3-cell general circulation model, the stormiest (or wettest)
regions of Earth should be near: - Answer -the equator and mid latitudes
What would happen to hurricanes forming near tropical Africa if the Bermuda high was
stronger and further west? - Answer -there would be more US landfalls
Why are upper level winds stronger? - Answer --because pressure gradient force is
stronger with height, and friction at the surface slows winds down
Polar front - Answer -occurs when strong temperature gradient exists and thus strong
pressure gradient over a small distance
What does a polar front result in? - Answer -polar jet stream
How fast is a polar jet stream? - Answer -fast; 50-100 mph
Where does a polar jet stream occur? - Answer -near the tropopause (9-12 km)
What does polar jet streams affect? - Answer -mid latitude weather
Subtropical jet stream - Answer --higher & weaker that polar jet stream
-often brings moisture to texas
The strongest jets are found: - Answer -at the polar fronts
What is the walker circulation? - Answer -a zonal, tropical circulation with main cell over
the pacific
What kind of motion does the walker circulation cause over the west pacific? - Answer -
rising
What kind of motion does the walker circulation cause over the east pacific? - Answer -
sinking
La Nina - Answer --enhanced Walker Circulation
-warmer west pacific, cooler east pacific, strong trade winds
El Nino - Answer --water warms in east and central pacific
-trades weaken , can even turn westerly
