NameRoy GBiv
1.Base your answer to the following question on the passage and cross section below andon your knowledge of Earth science. The cross section represents a generalized region ofthePacific Ocean along the equator during normal (non-El Niño) conditions. Therelativetemperatures of the ocean water and the prevailing wind direction areindicated.
ElNiño
Under normal Pacific Ocean conditions, strong winds blow from east to west alongtheequator. Surface ocean water piles up on the western part of the Pacific due to thesewinds.This allows deeper, colder ocean water on the eastern rim of the Pacific to be pulledup (upwelling) to replace the warmer surface water that was pushedwestward.
During an El Niño event, these westward-blowing winds get weaker. As aresult,warmer water does not get pushed westward as much, and colder water in the east isnotpulled toward the surface. This creates warmer surface ocean water temperatures intheeast, allowing the thunderstorms that normally occur at the equator in the westernPacificto move eastward. A strong El Niño is often associated with wet winters alongthenorthwestern coast of South America and in the southeastern United States, anddrierweather patterns in Southeast Asia (Indonesia) and Australia. The northeasternUnitedStates usually has warmer and drier winters in an El Niñoyear.
Which cross section best represents the changed wind conditions and PacificOceantemperatures during an El Nino event? [Diagrams are not drawn toscale.]
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Base your answers to questions 2 through 5 on the graphs and map below. The map showsaview of Earth from above the North Pole. Points on the map indicate the positionsof Reykjavik, Iceland, and Yakutsk, Russia. The graphs show average monthly airtemperature(line graphs) and amount of precipitation (bar graphs) for bothlocations.
2.Identify one warm and one cool ocean current that affect the climate ofIceland.Warm:
Cool:
3.Describe one way the yearly precipitation in Yakutsk differs from that inReykjavik.
4.Explain why Reykjavik has cooler summers and warmer winters thanYakutsk.
5.Write the two-letter weather map symbol for an air mass that originates overYakutsk.
6.Base your answer to the following question on the map and passage below. The mapshows isolines of average yearly rainfall, in centimeters, for the Congo River region ofAfrica.
The climate of the Congo River region is mainly influenced by air from twosourceregions. One air-mass source region is over the Benguela Current along the west coastof Africa. This air mass moves at low altitudes toward the Congo River region. Asecond
air-mass source region is located over the South Equatorial Current along the east coastof Africa. This air mass moves at higher altitudes over the Congo Riverregion.
Explain why air masses that form over the South Equatorial Current move at higheraltitudesthan air masses that form over the BenguelaCurrent.
Base your answers to questions 7 and 8 on the graph below, which shows theaveragemonthly temperatures for a year for city X and city Y. Both cities are located at thesamelatitude.
7.What evidence shown on the graph indicates that both cities, X and Y, are located intheNorthern Hemisphere?
8.Explain why city X has a greater difference between summer and winter temperatures thancity
Y.
Base your answers to questions 9 and 10on
the diagram below, which shows the temperature change when a parcel of air warms,rises,and expands to form a cloud. Location A is at the base of thecloud.
9.Assume the cooling rate of the rising parcel of air is constant. Determine the temperatureof the air parcel at the 3350-foot altitude. Express your answer to the nearest tenth of adegree.
ºF
10.Explain why the warmer airrises.
Base your answers to questions 11 through 13 on the map and data tables below. Themapshows the location of Birdsville and Bundaberg in Australia. Data table 1 shows theaveragemonthly high temperatures for Birdsville. Data table 2 includes the latitude andlongitude,elevation above sea level, and the average rainfall in January for Birdsville andBundaberg.
11.On the map, draw the 30° S latitudeline.
12.State one reason for the difference in the average January rainfall for BirdsvilleandBundaberg.
13.State one factor that could account for the difference between the average hightemperaturesrecorded in December for Birdsville andBundaberg.
Base your answers to questions 14 through 16on
the cross section and bar graph below. The cross section shows a portion of Earth'scrustalong the western coast of the United States. The points show different locations onEarth'ssurface. The arrows show the prevailing wind direction. The bar below each point showstheyearly precipitation at thatlocation.
14.State one reason why colder temperatures would be recorded at the top of the SierraNevadaMountain Range than at the top of the Coastal MountainRanges.
15.What is the yearly precipitation total for the four points located in the CoastalMountainRanges?
16.Explain why the valleys have lower amounts of precipitation than points on thewesternslopes of the mountainranges.
Base your answers to questions 17 and 18on
the data table below, the map on the following page, and on your knowledge of Earthscience.The data table shows the air pressure in the eye (center) and the maximum sustainedwindspeed around the eye of Hurricane Wilma from October 18 through October 25, 2005.Thedata were collected at the same time each day. The map shows the geographic locations oftheeye of Hurricane Wilma from October 18 to October25.
17.State the compass direction in which Hurricane Wilma moved from October 22throughOctober 25.
18.Identify the latitude and longitude of the eye of Hurricane Wilma on October 24. Labelyour answer with the correct units anddirections.
19.Base your answer to the following questionon
the data table below and on your knowledge of Earth Science. The table shows the area,inmillion square kilometers, of the Arctic Ocean covered by ice from June throughNovember.The average area covered by ice from 1979 to 2000 from June to November is comparedtothe area covered by ice in 2005 for the same timeperiod.
Scientists have noted that since 2002, the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by iceduringthese warmer months has shown an overall decrease from the long-termaverage
(1979-2000). State one way in which this ice coverage since 2002 and the icecoverageshown in the 2005 data above provide evidence of global warming, when compared tothislong-termaverage.
Base your answers to questions 20 and 21 on the climate graph below, which showstheaverage monthly precipitation and average monthly air temperatures at city X. City Xislocated near a mountain range in the SouthernHemisphere.
20.Below state whether the climate of city X is dry or wet. Then, on the cross section, place anX
on Earth’s surface to indicate the most likely location of cityX.
21.What evidence shown on the graph indicates that city X is located in theSouthernHemisphere?
Base your answers to questions 22 through 24on the map and passagebelow.
A Lake-EffectSnowstorm
A snowstorm affected western New York State on October 12 and 13, 2006. Ablendof weather conditions caused more than 24 inches of heavy, wet, lake-effectsnow, bringing much of western New York to a standstill. The New York State Thruwaywasclosed to traffic between exits 46 and 59, which are circled on the map. The isolineson the map show the amount of snowfall, measured in inches, resulting from thisstorm.
Points A and B represent locations on Earth'ssurface.
22.Identify the most probable direction from which the wind was blowing to produce thepatternof snowfall shown on themap.
23.Identify two hazards to human life or property that can result from a snowstorm of thissize.
24.On the grid, construct a profile of the snowfall amounts along line AB by plotting theisolineamounts that cross line AB. The amounts for points A and B have been plotted. Completetheprofile by connecting all the plots with aline.
25.Base your answers to the questions below on the informationbelow.
The climate of an area is affected by many variables such as elevation, latitude, anddistanceto a large body of water. The effect of these variables on average surface temperatureandtemperature range can be represented by graphs on grids that have axes labeled asshown below.
a)On Grid I, draw a line to show the relationship between elevation and averagesurfacetemperature.
b)On Grid II draw a line to show the relationship between latitude and averagesurfacetemperature.
c)On Grid III draw a line to show the relationship between distance to a large body ofwaterand temperaturerange.
d)Explain why the climate near the Equator is warm andmoist.
26.Base your answer to the following question on Read the passagebelow:
GreenhouseEffect
The warming of Earth's surface and lower atmosphere tends to intensify withanincrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide. The atmosphere allows a large percentage ofthevisible light rays from the Sun to reach Earth's surface. Some of this energy isreradiatedby Earth's surface in the form of long-wave infrared radiation. Much of thisinfraredradiation warms the atmosphere when it is absorbed by molecules of carbon dioxideandwater vapor. A similar warming effect is produced by the glass of a greenhouse,whichallows sunlight in the visible range to enter, but prevents infrared radiation fromleavingthegreenhouse.
The absorption of infrared radiation causes Earth's surface and the lowest layerof Earth's atmosphere to warm to a higher temperature than would otherwise be thecase.Without this "greenhouse" warming, Earth's average surface temperature could be aslowas –73°C. The oceans would freeze under suchconditions.
Many scientists believe that modern industrialization and the burning of fossilfuels(coal, oil, and natural gas) have increased the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide.Thisincrease may result in an intensified greenhouse effect on Earth causingsignificantalterations in climate patterns in the future. Scientists estimate that averageglobaltemperatures could increase by as much as 5°C by the middle of the 21stcentury.
State one possible change humans could make to significantly reduce the amountof greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere eachyear.
27.Base your answer to the following question on on the passage and map below. Themapshows the average yearly precipitation in New York State measured ininches.
Landscapes andPrecipitation
Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean is carried to New YorkStateby storm systems and air currents. Rain and snowfall amounts vary by region.Heavysnow belts are located near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as well as in the plateauregions
of eastern and northern New York State. Long Island and New York Cityusuallyexperience lighter snowfalls. Snowfall amounts are converted to inches of watertodetermine yearlyprecipitation.
On the map below, draw one arrow to show the path that air travels to produceheavylake-effect snowfall in Oswego, NewYork.
Base your answers to questions 28 through 31on the magazine article and diagrambelow.
Lake-EffectSnow
During the cold months of the year, the words "lake effect" are very much a part oftheweather picture in many locations in New York State. Snow created by the lakeeffectmay represent more than half the season's snowfall in someareas.
In order for heavy lake-effect snow to develop, the temperature of the water atthesurface of the lake must be higher than the temperature of the air flowing over thewater.The higher the water temperature and the lower the air temperature, the greaterthepotential for lake-effectsnow.
A lake-effect storm begins when air flowing across the lake is warmed as it comesinclose contact with the water. The warmed air rises and takes moisture along with it.Thismoisture, which is water vapor from the lake, is turned into clouds as it encountersmuchcolder air above. When the clouds reach the shore of the lake, they deposit their snowon nearby land. A typical lake-effect storm is illustrated in the diagrambelow.
The area most likely to receive snow from a lake is called a "snowbelt." LakeOntario'ssnowbelt includes the counties along the eastern and southeastern ends of thelake.
Because the lake runs lengthwise from west to east, the prevailing westerly winds areableto gather the maximum amount of moisture as they flow across the entire length ofthelake. There can be lake-effect snowfall anywhere around the lake, but the heaviestandmost frequent snowfalls occur near the easternshore.
In parts of the snowbelt, the lake effect combines with a phenomenon knownasorographic lifting to produce some very heavy snowfalls. After cold air has streamedoverthe length of Lake Ontario, it moves inland and is forced to climb the slopes of theTugHill Plateau and the Adirondack Mountains, resulting in very heavysnowfall.
28.State the relationship that must exist between water temperature and air temperaturefor lake-effect snow todevelop.
29.State why locations east and southeast of Lake Ontario are more likely to receivelake-effectsnow than are locations west of thelake.
30.State the name of the New York State landscape region that includes location A shown inthediagram.
31.State why very heavy snowfall occurs in the Tug Hill Plateauregion.
26. Graph the data below for Death Valley, California 36°N, 116°W (12pts)
27. Provide a rationale (evidence) naming the factors whichcontribute to the climate of this location.