Climatology is the scientific study of climate, including the statistical analysis of long-term weather patterns and trends across different regions of the Earth. This course examines the fundamental principles governing the Earth's climate system, such as atmospheric processes, energy exchanges, and the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Students will explore natural and anthropogenic factors influencing climate variability and change, methods of climate data collection and analysis, and the significance of climate models. The course also addresses the impact of climate on ecosystems and human activities, as well as contemporary issues like global warming and climate policy.
Recommended Textbook
Extreme Weather and Climate 1st Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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Q1) Why is there very little water vapor above the tropopause?
Answer: no answer
Q2) Condensation is more likely to occur:
A)when the air cools.
B)when the wind is calm.
C)when winds blow from the ocean over land.
D)at night.
Answer: A
Q3) At the 500 mb level,the amount of oxygen inhaled in a single breath is __________ of that inhaled at sea-level.
A)about the same
B)about one-quarter
C)about one-half
D)about three-quarters
Answer: C
Q4) Hurricanes inflict most of their damage after crossing from the ocean onto the land.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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Q1) If the earth's average surface temperature were to increase,the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would __________ and the wavelength of peak emission would shift toward __________ wavelengths.
A)increase,shorter
B)increase,longer
C)decrease,shorter
D)decrease,longer
Answer: A
Q2) When it is January and winter in the Northern Hemisphere,it is July and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Snow will usually melt on the roof of a home that is a:
A)good radiator of heat.
B)good conductor of heat.
C)poor radiator of heat.
D)poor conductor of heat.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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Q1) Suppose yesterday morning you noticed ice crystals (frost)on the grass,yet the reported minimum temperature was only 35<sup>o</sup> F.The most likely reason for this apparent discrepancy is that:
A)temperature readings are taken in instrument shelters more than 5 feet above the ground.
B)the thermometer was in error.
C)the newspaper reported the wrong temperature.
D)the thermometer was read before the minimum temperature was reached for that day.
E)the thermometer was read incorrectly.
Answer: A
Q2) During the afternoon the greatest temperature difference between the surface air and the air several meters above occurs on a:
A)clear,calm afternoon.
B)clear,windy afternoon.
C)cloudy,calm afternoon.
D)cloudy,windy afternoon.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Condensation in the Atmosphere
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Q1) Stratus clouds are often delicate,fibrous,and white in color.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When the air is perfectly dry,the relative humidity can exceed 100 percent without producing fog.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Particles that serve as surfaces on which water vapor may condense are called condensation nuclei.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 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
Q5) How can you visually distinguish between cumulus,altocumulus,and cirrocumulus clouds?
6
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Chapter 5: Clouds and Stability
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Q1) Would you expect clear skies to accompany stable,unstable,or neutral stability conditions? Explain your answer.
Q2) The difference between the "moist" and "dry" adiabatic rates is due to:
A)the fact that saturated air is always unstable.
B)the fact that an unsaturated air parcel expands more rapidly than a saturated air parcel.
C)the fact that moist air weighs less than dry air.
D)the fact that latent heat is released by a rising parcel of saturated air.
Q3) If the environmental lapse rate is 5<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m and the temperature at the earth's surface is 25<sup>o</sup> C,then the air temperature at 2,000 m above the ground is 20<sup>o</sup> C.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The environmental lapse rate is almost always the same as the adiabatic lapse rate.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Based on atmospheric stability considerations,do you think it would be best to burn agricultural debris in the early morning or in the afternoon?
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Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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Q1) Supercooled cloud droplets are:
A)ice crystals surrounded by air warmer than 0 <sup>o</sup>C (32 <sup>o</sup>F).
B)liquid droplets that are cooler than the air around them.
C)liquid droplets observed at temperatures below 0 <sup>o</sup>C (32 <sup>o</sup>F).
D)water droplets that have had all their latent heat removed.
Q2) What locations receive the most precipitation on the earth? What weather conditions cause this excessive precipitation?
Q3) Ice crystals,clay minerals,and bacteria from decaying plant material can all serve as ice nuclei.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Thunderstorm cloud bases are generally higher above the ground in Arizona than in Florida.Why?
Q5) Explain why it is much more difficult to measure snowfall amount than rainfall amount.
Q6) Cumulus congestus clouds often produce drizzle.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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Q1) The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure:
A)only at the equator.
B)at all places on earth except for the equator.
C)only in the Northern Hemisphere.
D)only in the Southern Hemisphere.
E)at all places on earth.
Q2) The _________ force is the force that causes the wind to blow.
A)Coriolis
B)pressure-gradient
C)friction
Q3) If a liquid with a lower density than mercury were used in a barometer the height of the column in the barometer would:
A)increase.
B)decrease.
C)remain the same.
D)not provide an accurate measure of atmospheric pressure.
Q4) Sketch the wind flow patterns around surface high and low pressure centers in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
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Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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Q1) Explain how Florida's sea breezes can increase the potential for wildfires.
Q2) A westerly wind means that the atmosphere:
A)would act to decrease the rotation of the earth.
B)is moving faster than the earth spins.
C)is moving slower than the earth spins.
D)is moving as fast as the earth rotates.
Q3) During some years,the northern hemisphere has more than 10 semipermanent highs and lows.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In terms of the three-cell general circulation model,the driest regions of the earth should be near:
A)the equator and the polar regions.
B)the equator and 30<sup>o</sup> latitude.
C)the equator and 60<sup>o</sup> latitude.
D)30<sup>o</sup> latitude and 60<sup>o</sup> latitude.
E)30<sup>o</sup> latitude and the polar regions.
Q5) What is meant by the term monsoon wind system? How is this wind system different from a land-sea breeze?
Q6) Will a valley breeze or a mountain breeze produce clouds? Explain.
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Q1) What type of clouds,if any,would you expect to see form when a cP air mass moves across warm water? Would conditions be any different when mT air moves across a cold land surface? What types of clouds would form in this latter case?
Q2) Compared to an mP air mass,mT air is colder and drier.
A)True
B)False
Q3) During the winter,an air mass that moves into coastal sections of Oregon and Washington from the northwest would most likely be maritime Polar.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the Southern Hemisphere,
A)air rises steeply ahead of a warm front,and gradually ahead of a cold front.
B)cold,warm and occluded fronts are associated with high pressure systems.
C)precipitation associated with warm fronts tends to be brief and intense.
D)precipitation associated with warm fronts tends to be gentle and prolonged.
Q5) Explain why the observation of a halo around the moon or sun could forewarn of the arrival of a warm 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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Q1) An upper-level pool of cold air that has broken away from the main flow is called:
A)a cut-off low.
B)a shortwave.
C)a wave cyclone.
D)a lee-side low.
Q2) With the aid of a diagram,show why an intensifying surface low pressure center which is located just east of a deep upper-level trough will often move in a northeasterly direction.
Q3) List some of the reasons why the polar front theory doesn't apply to storms in the tropics.
Q4) A lee-side low forms on the downwind side of a mountain.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Longwaves in the middle and upper troposphere usually have lengths on the order of thousands of kilometers.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is cyclogenesis? List some of the regions in the United States where cyclogenesis is common.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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Q1) The appearance of a downdraft marks the end of the mature stage of a thunderstorm.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:
A)lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud
B)when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice
C)when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft
D)when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease
Q3) 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
Q4) Where does the energy in a mature thunderstorm come from?
Q5) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
Q6) List and describe the stages of development of an ordinary cell thunderstorm.About how long does a single ordinary thunderstorm cell last?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Tornadoes
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Q1) A hook echo on a radar screen often indicates:
A)a thunderstorm with very frequent lightning.
B)a developing hurricane.
C)the possible presence of a tornado-producing thunderstorm.
D)a rotating anvil cloud at the top of a thunderstorm.
Q2) In a region where severe thnderstorms with tornadoes are forming,one would not expect to observe
A)a strong ridge of high pressure over the region.
B)a dry tongue of cold air between the 700 and 500 mb levels.
C)the polar jet stream above the region.
D)moist warm air moving north at about the 850 mb level.
Q3) An upper level inversion may actually favor severe thunderstorm development because the inversion will prevent many smaller weaker thunderstorms from forming.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Weak tornadoes sometimes form along a thunderstorm gust front.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What makes a tornado-producing thunderstorm different from other thunderstorms?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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Q1) The vertical structure of the hurricane shows an upper-level __________ of air,and a surface __________ of air.
A)outflow,inflow
B)outflow,outflow
C)inflow,outflow
D)inflow,inflow
Q2) Why can't hurricanes form in the midlatitudes?
Q3) Although much is not yet understood about hurricanes,meteorologists have a reasonably complete understanding of how hurricanes form.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Hurricanes can't form along the equator because:
A)there isn't much water along the equator,it's mostly land.
B)the Coriolis force is too small along the equator.
C)there are no feedback mechanisms along the equator.
D)it's too humid for the ocean water to evaporate.
Q5) In what ways would you expect hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere to be different from hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere?
Q6) What is a storm surge? How does a storm surge form?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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Q1) Weather forecast that predicts that the future weather will be the same as the present weather is called a persistence forecast.
A)True
B)False
Q2) By examining a surface map,the movement of a surface low pressure area can be predicted based upon the:
A)orientation of the isobars in the warm sector.
B)region of greatest pressure decrease.
C)movement during the previous 6 hours.
D)all of the above
Q3) Low 1000-500 mb thicknesses correspond to cold air,while high thicknesses correspond to warm air.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the data and tools that a meteorologist assembles prior to making a weather forecast.
Q5) About how far apart do you think weather observing stations should be in order to accurately depict a middle latitude storm and to be able to forecast the storm's movement?
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Chapter 15: The Earths Changing Climate
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Q1) A high concentration of oxygen 16 found in the ice caves of Antarctica and Greenland would indicate __________ at the time the ice was formed.
A)cold air temperatures
B)mild winters
C)intense ultraviolet radiation
D)the caves were under the ocean
Q2) It appears that,as the number of sunspots increases,the sun's total energy output:
A)increases slightly
B)decreases slightly
C)begins to alternately increase and decrease above average values
D)does not change
Q3) Evidence suggests that throughout much of the earth's history,the global climate was:
A)warmer than it is today
B)colder than it is today
C)about the same temperature as it is today
D)more variable than it is today
Q4) In what ways might global warming benefit the planet?
Q5) What are some of the possible consequences of global warming?
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