Use the Following Diagram from the Text Showing the Spread

Multiple Choice

Use the following diagram from the text showing the spread of the cattle egret, Bulbulcus ibis, since its arrival in the New World, to answer the following question.

Figure 52.1
-Air masses formed over the Pacific Ocean are moved by prevailing westerlies where they encounter extensive north-south mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. Which statement best describes the changes that these air masses undergo?

A) The cool, moist Pacific air heats up as it rises, releasing its precipitation as it passes the tops of the mountains, and this warm, now dry air cools as it descends on the leeward side of the range.
B) The warm, moist Pacific air rises and cools, releasing precipitation as it moves up the windward side of the range, and this cool, now dry air mass heats up as it descends on the leeward side of the range.
C) The cool, dry Pacific air heats and picks up moisture from evaporation of the snowcapped peaks of the mountain range, releasing this moisture as precipitation as the air cools as it descends on the leeward side of the range.
D) These air masses are blocked by these mountain ranges producing high annual amounts of precipitation on the windward sides of these mountain ranges.
E) These air masses remain essentially unchanged in moisture content and temperature as they pass over these mountain ranges.