Climatology
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Climatology is the scientific study of climate, taking a comprehensive look at long-term weather patterns, trends, and variations across the Earth. This course explores the dynamic processes that shape regional and global climates, including atmospheric circulation, energy balance, and the influence of oceans. Students will gain an understanding of climatic classification systems, historical climate change, and the methods used to measure and analyze climate data. The course also examines the impact of human activities on climate, the science of climate modeling, and the implications of climate change for the environment and society.
Recommended Textbook
Extreme Weather and Climate 1st Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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15 Chapters
633 Verified Questions
633 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Turbulent Atmosphere
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Under what circumstances might a person breathe stratospheric air? How often is it likely to happen in a student's lifetime?
Answer: no answer
Q2) The atmospheric layer in which we live is called the:
A)troposphere.
B)stratosphere.
C)thermosphere.
D)ionosphere.
E)exosphere.
Answer: A
Q3) Water vapor is:
A)a gas.
B)a cloud droplet.
C)a rain drop.
D)a snowflake.
Answer: A
Q4) Stratospheric ozone is a health hazard for people with respiratory illnesses.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) More solar radiation is received at the top of the atmosphere than at the earth's surface.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon the movement of air is:
A)conduction. B)absorption.
C)reflection. D)convection. E)radiation.
Answer: D
Q3) Describe the atmospheric greenhouse effect.Is there any difference between the way the atmospheric greenhouse effect works on a clear night and on a cloudy night?
Answer: no answer
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Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is/are true?
A)If you travel from Dallas,Texas to St.Paul,Minnesota in January,you are more likely to experience greater temperature variations than if you make the same trip in July.
B)Annual temperature ranges tend to be much greater near the ocean than in the middle of the continent.
C)If two cities have the same mean annual temperature,then their temperatures throughout the year are quite similar.
D)all of the above are true
Answer: A
Q2) In a hilly region the best place to plant crops that are sensitive to low temperatures is:
A)on the valley floor.
B)along the hillsides.
C)on the top of the highest hill.
D)in any dry location.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Condensation in the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) When radiation fog "burns off",the fog tends to dissipate:
A)from the bottom up.
B)from the top down.
C)starting at the middle,and working both upward and downward.
Q2) It is a cold winter night and a fog cloud forms.If it continues to cool during the night would you expect to find that the dew point has changed overnight? If so,would it have increased or decreased?
Q3) Which cloud type is composed of ice crystals and can cause a halo to form around the sun or moon?
A)altostratus
B)stratus
C)nimbostratus
D)cirrostratus
E)angelitus
Q4) Stratus clouds are often delicate,fibrous,and white in color.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How can you visually distinguish between cumulus,altocumulus,and cirrocumulus clouds?
Q6) In what ways are the formation of fog and clouds similar and different?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Clouds and Stability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most thunderstorms do not extend very far into the stratosphere because the air in the stratosphere is:
A)unstable.
B)stable.
C)too cold.
D)too thin.
E)too dry.
Q2) Does radiational cooling at the ground at night act to increase or decrease atmospheric stability? How does daytime heating at the ground during the day affect atmospheric stability?
Q3) Would you expect to find a subsidence inversion to be associated with high or low pressure? What effects might a subsidence inversion have on weather conditions at the ground?
Q4) Which of the following sets of conditions would produce a cumulus cloud with the lowest base?
A)air temperature 90<sup>o</sup> F,dew point temperature 50<sup>o</sup> F
B)air temperature 90<sup>o</sup> F,dew point temperature 40<sup>o</sup> F
C)air temperature 90<sup>o</sup> F,dew point temperature 60<sup>o</sup> F
D)air temperature 90<sup>o</sup> F,dew point temperature 20<sup>o</sup> F
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Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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Sample Questions
Q1) If rain falls on one side of a street and not on the other side,the rain most likely fell from a(n):
A)nimbostratus cloud.
B)stratus cloud.
C)cumulonimbus cloud.
D)altostratus cloud.
E)altocumulus cloud.
Q2) Cloud seeding using silver iodide works well in warm clouds composed entirely of water droplets.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The difference in saturation vapor pressure between supercooled water and ice reaches a maximum at about -12<sup>o</sup>C.This means that the ice crystal process will be most effective in producing precipitation when cloud temperatures are:
A)much colder than -12<sup>o</sup>C.
B)around -12<sup>o</sup>C.
C)much warmer than -12<sup>o</sup>C.
Q4) What locations receive the most precipitation on the earth? What weather conditions cause this excessive precipitation?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the earth stopped rotating there would no longer be a Coriolis force.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Explain briefly why upper-level winds at middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere generally blow from west to east.In what direction do upper level winds at middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere blow?
Q3) On an upper-level chart the wind tends to blow:
A)at right angles to the isobars or contour lines
B)parallel to the isobars or contours
C)at an angle between 10 and 30 to the contours and towards lower pressure
D)at constant speed
Q4) On an upper-level chart,normally we find warm air associated with __________ pressure,and cold air associated with __________ pressure.
A)high,high
B)high,low
C)low,low
D)low,high
Q5) If the earth did not rotate,how would you expect winds to blow with respect to high and low pressure centers?
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Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) At Barrow,Alaska (latitude 70<sup>o</sup> N),you would expect the prevailing wind to be:
A)northerly.
B)easterly.
C)southerly.
D)westerly.
Q2) In south Florida the prevailing winds are northeasterly.Because of this,the strongest sea breeze is usually observed on Florida's __________ coast,and the strongest land breeze on Florida's __________ coast.
A)east,west
B)west,east
C)west,west
D)east,east
Q3) Would you expect chinook winds to form more often on the eastern or the western slopes of a north-south oriented mountain range in the mid-latitudes?
Q4) What is meant by the term monsoon wind system? How is this wind system different from a land-sea breeze?
Q5) Explain how Florida's sea breezes can increase the potential for wildfires.
Q6) Will a valley breeze or a mountain breeze produce clouds? Explain.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) How would a warm front,a cold front,and a center of low pressure appear on a surface weather map in the Southern Hemisphere?
Q2) Without considering changes in temperature,how are the weather conditions accompanying a cold frontal passage different from those associated with the passage of a warm front?
Q3) A good source region for an air mass would be:
A)mountains with deep valleys and strong surface winds.
B)generally flat areas of uniform composition with light surface winds.
C)hilly with deep valleys and light winds.
D)generally flat area of uniform composition with strong surface winds.
Q4) One would expect a cP air mass to be:
A)cold and dry.
B)cold and moist.
C)warm and dry.
D)warm and moist.
Q5) Is it possible for a stationary front to produce precipitation? If so,would you expect to find the precipitation on the warm or the cold air side of the front?
Q6) When a warm and cold air mass collide,why is the warm air is forced upward?
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Chapter 10: Mid-Latitude Cyclonic Storms
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the polar front theory of a developing wave cyclone,energy for the storm is usually derived from all but one of the following:
A)rising of warm air and the sinking of cold air
B)latent heat of condensation
C)an increase in surface winds
D)heat energy stored in the ground
Q2) Which region is not considered to be a region where cyclogenesis often occurs:
A)eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
B)Atlantic Ocean near Cape Hatteras,North Carolina.
C)California.
D)the Great Basin of the United States.
E)Gulf of Mexico.
Q3) For a surface storm system to intensify,the upper-level low (or trough)should be located to the __________ of the surface low.
A)north
B)south
C)east
D)west
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
Q2) Thunderstorms that move to the right of the winds aloft tend to:
A)form along warm fronts
B)cut off the supply of humid air to thunderstorms to the north of them
C)form in the northern United States and Canada where the Coriolis force is Greatest
D)form near mountains where upper-level winds develop into waves
E)form over water due to the reduced friction there
Q3) Squall lines generally do not form:
A)behind a cold front
B)when the air aloft develops waves downwind from a cold front
C)along a dry line
D)in the warm sector where warm,dry air meets warm,humid air
E)ahead of an advancing cold front
Q4) Many flash floods,including those that occurred in Rapid City,South Dakota,and in Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon,are the result of thunderstorms that:
A)contain no lightning
B)form in a dry air mass
C)move slowly
D)have weak or non-existent downdrafts
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Tornadoes
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____________ measures the speed at which precipitation is moving toward or away from an observer.
A)A radiosonde
B)An anemometer
C)A psychrometer
D)Doppler radar
Q2) The region of greatest tornado activity shifts northward from early spring to summer.Why does this occur?
Q3) When the air is dry tornado winds can remain invisible until they reach the ground and pick up dust.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Damage to structures inflicted by tornadoes can be caused by:
A)flying debris.
B)the tornadoes high winds.
C)the drop in air pressure as a tornado moves overhead.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q5) Why do tornadoes move from the southwest toward the northeast?
Q6) Do invisible tornadoes exist? Explain.
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which would you not expect to observe as the eye of a hurricane passes directly over your area?
A)an increase in surface temperature
B)a very low surface pressure reading
C)high winds
D)little or no precipitation
Q2) There is a limit to the intensity of hurricanes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) As a northward-moving hurricane passes to the east of an area,surface winds should change from:
A)NW to N to NE.
B)W to SW to S.
C)NE to N to NW.
D)S to SW to W.
E)SE to S to SW.
Q4) As latent heat is released inside the clouds of a hurricane,the warming of the air aloft creates an area of low pressure aloft.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) An analysis is:
A)a forecast chart that shows the atmosphere at some future time.
B)a forecast chart that compares past weather maps with those of the present.
C)a surface or upper-level chart that interprets the present weather patterns.
D)a forecast method used in long range weather prediction.
E)a method used to determine skill in predicting the weather.
Q2) A forecast of an extended period of dry weather would be made for a region beneath:
A)an upper-level trough.
B)the polar jet stream.
C)a cold pool of air aloft.
D)an upper-level ridge.
E)a shortwave trough.
Q3) Assuming you know last night's minimum temperature,what weather information would you use to predict tonight's minimum temperature?
Q4) Very short-range forecasts often utilize the ensemble forecasting method.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the relationship between dew point and minimum temperatures.
Q6) List some of the factors that affect the accuracy of atmospheric models.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Earths Changing Climate
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Sample Questions
Q1) It is now known that,overall,clouds:
A)have a net warming effect on climate
B)have a net cooling effect on climate
C)have no net effect on climate
D)are the single most important feature in determining climate
Q2) The much-studied temperature record of the past 140 years is derived from land-based observations only.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Milankovitch Theory proposes that climatic changes are due to particles suspended in the earth's atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the conditions below would most likely produce warming at the earth's surface?
A)increase the amount of low-level global cloudiness
B)increase the amount of sulfur-rich particles in the stratosphere
C)decrease the energy output of the sun
D)increase the amount of global snow cover
E)increase the amount of high-level global cloud cover
Page 17
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