Exam 3 Study Guide GLY

Which of the following contributes to the difficulty in predicting cyclone paths?
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Which of the following contributes to the difficulty in predicting cyclone paths?
Cyclones are steered by winds and air masses, which can vary significantly through time and spatially.
Hurricane development requires:
- NONE of these
higher wind shear
Ocean water cooler than 60 degrees F
a location free from the Coriolis effect
Which of the following is NOT a condition needed for cyclone formation and growth?
high wind shear (High wind shear prevents hurricanes from forming)
North Atlantic Hurricanes have a well-established route across the Atlantic, along the east coast of North America, and then back out to sea at higher latitudes. The Bermuda High helps guide the storms when they are far out at sea. When the storms near North America, what atmospheric phenomena can strongly influence the track of hurricanes?
- ALL of the other answers are correct
the location of the jet stream
large high pressure systems over western US
the location and strength of weather systems over the North American Continent
Terminology on what to call large, rotating ocean-based storms varies depending location. In the Atlantic, we call these storms Hurricanes. In the Pacific (away from North America), they are called:
Typhoons
The west coast of the US is rarely hit by hurricanes, while the east coast is frequently hit by hurricanes. Which of the following things is a factor in keeping hurricanes away from the west coast of the US?
cold ocean currents along the coast
The Saffir-Simpson Category scale for Hurricanes uses what criteria to assing category numbers? Select all that apply.
maximum sustained wind speed inside the storm
The top 20 costliest (in terms of property and infrastructure damage) hurricanes to strike the US have all been a Category 3 or larger storm.
False
For the United States, the trend in hurricane damage over time is:
lessening human fatalities, increasing property damage.
Hurricanes can cause billions of dollars of damage to structures near the coast. This cost will likely:
go up, as new construction in coastal areas is accelerating (This is in spite of the fact that coastal erosion will take out 25% of all buildings 150 meters or less from the shoreline within the next few decades, regardless of hurricane activity.)
Most of the sand on continental beaches comes from:rivers and floods carrying sediment from the interior of the continent.Seasonal shifts in weather patterns create different wave action on the beach. In the winter, waves are typically______, and in summer they are typically ______.Destructive, ConstructiveNatural systems like large sand beaches and mangroves along the coast act as important hazard mitigation tools primarily because:they absorb wave energy that would otherwise erode the coast.Longshore drift is the result of waves coming in at an angle to the beach. It causes sand to move:along or parallel to the shorelineOn a ________ shoreline, natural processes add more material (sand, rocks, etc.) than what is taken away by erosion.DepositionalAn erosional coastline is likely to have which of the following hazards?crumbling or unstable cliffsSeawalls are concrete structures designed to protect the shoreline from storm damage. Seawalls:are a short-term solution to coastal erosionOcean tides on Earth are more strongly influenced by the gravitational pull of:the moonTidal Bores, which can be dangerous waves, occur where:the geography of the shore funnels rising tide water in to a narrow bay or river channelWhich of the following engineered structures is the most effective at stopping the down-current (or longshore) migration of sand?JettyA Heat Island is the name given to urban areas that are warmer that the surrounding area. Heat Islands are a result of:infrastructure such as concrete and asphalt that stores heat the lack of shade - ALL of the other answers are correct. the lack of green plantsTrue or false: Heatwaves result in more deaths in the U.S than any other natural hazard.True (The charismatic hazards may capture out attention, but heatwaves are by far the most lethal natural hazard!)If two locations both have temperatures around 100 degrees F, and one has high humidity and has low humidity, which location poses the greatest risk for heat stress on the human body?The location with high humidityWhen the sun has many "sunspots", the energy output of the sun:increasesWhen examining the movement of the Earth in space, eccentricity describesthe shape of the Earth's orbit around the sunVolcanoes can impact climate. Periods of prolonged volcanic eruptions have a [warming / cooling] effect on global climate.CoolingTrue or False: During El Nino years, the North Atlantic has fewer hurricanes.True (During an El Nino cycle, upper level winds move from west to east across the Atlantic basing, creating wind shear and making it hard for hurricanes to form.)If climate models are accurate, which of the following best describes the changes in global precipitation (rain and snow) patterns?more precipitation in high latitudes, less rain in middle and lower latitudes.The impacts of aerosols - solid particles in the air - on air temperature is complex. But overall, aerosols in the upper atmosphere:cause a cooling effectA warming climate means some places will experience more precipitation, but others will experience drought. How are droughts and deserts related?A desert is an area where getting little rain is the norm, drought is a condition where an area that should be getting rain is not getting rain.The Milankovitch Cycles describe changes in Earth's climate from:Earth's movement in space.The peak of the last Ice Age was about 20,000 years ago. With all that water locked up in ice on the continents, there was [more / less] dry land along the coasts at that time.moreA greenhouse gas is a gas that:lets solar energy into the atmosphere, but blocks it from radiating back into space.Sea level rise will impact Florida by:eroding coastlines - ALL the answers are correct. flooding up to one third of the state contaminating freshwater drinking supplies