Exam 5: Global Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation

Wind is a flow of air from areas of high pressure to areas of _________.

The height of the column of mercury in a barometer is proportional to air pressure.

Winds tend to flow from areas of low pressure to high pressure.

A local wind system that flows from land to ocean during the night is called a:

The subtropical high pressure belts are bands of persistent high atmospheric pressure located along the equator.

The northern hemisphere subtropical high pressure belt is characterized by two large anticyclones centered over the oceans.

The band of rapidly flowing air found aloft above the polar front is a:

Warm, poleward directed currents are found on the eastern sides of most ocean basins.

In an anticyclone located in the southern hemisphere winds :

The Coriolis effect deflects winds and ocean currents to the right in the northern hemisphere.

The pool of cold air that gets pinched off during Rossby wave formation forms a:

The polar jet stream tends to reach its farthest south position during the ________ months.

The direction of the Coriolis effect on this figure is labeled:

Geostrophic winds in the upper atmosphere flow _______ to isobars.

Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about:

In El Niño conditions, trade winds and equatorial currents weaken in the Pacific, and a weak eastward current develops.

The subtropical jet stream follows the edges of Rossby waves at the boundary between subtropical and polar air.

The low-latitude atmospheric circulation cell with rising air over the equatorial trough and sinking air over the subtropical high pressure belts is the:

Air pressure decreases less rapidly with height in colder air than in warmer air.

Which of the following does not influence wind directions in the upper atmosphere?