NATS101-34 Quiz 5 Study Guide (rev 1)

Monsoons

Thermally direct circulation, Monsoon definition, major features, rainfall statistics, pressure structure changes, winter and summer wind patterns, key features of our monsoon

Global circulation

Annual energy balance, role of winds and oceans, circulation for water world with no tilt and slow rotation, triple cell circulation, trade winds, ITCZ, mid-latitude westerlies, pressure structure, areas of rising and sinking air, jet streams, off shore highs, precipitation patterns

Ocean-atmosphere coupling and El Nino

Ocean currents (know at least one beyond the Gulf Stream), SST, cause for cold water off west coasts of continents, SOI, Difference between El Nino and La Nina patterns and conditions, why SOI and ENSO 3.4 indices are anticorrelated, precipitation patterns, thermocline definition and location, feedback

Air masses

Size, Types, shorthand IDs (cT=continental Tropical), source regions, how they are created, why are they important

Fronts

Extratropical cyclone, front creation, Types of fronts and symbol for each, 3D structure, weather around a front, what atmospheric variables shift across a front, where does the precipitation fall relative to the front

NOTE: Any question from Quiz 4 may get asked in Quiz 5