Why does middle latitude storm development occur beneath troughs rather than ridges on a 500 mb chart?
What will be the ideal response?
ANSWER: ?Cold advection brings cold air into a trough, which makes the air denser and lowers the height of the air column from the surface up to the 500-mb level. Consequently, the pressure in the trough lowers and the trough deepens. The deepening of the upper trough causes the contour lines to crowd closer together and the winds aloft to increase. Meanwhile, warm advection has the effect of raising the height of a column of air; here, the 500-mb heights increase and a ridge builds (strengthens). As the trough aloft deepens, its curvature increases, which in turn increases the region of divergence above the developing surface storm. At this point, the surface mid-latitude cyclone rapidly develops as surface pressures fall.
You might also like to view...
A horse is an example of a/an
a. vertebrate. d. invertebrate. b. brachiopod. e. cynodont. c. archaeocyathid.
In January, the Intertropical Convergence Zone is shifted to
A. the north of the Isthmus and winds blow across the Isthmus from the southwest. B. the south of the Isthmus and winds blow across the Isthmus from the northeast. C. the north of the Isthmus and winds blow across the Isthmus from the northeast. D. the south of the Isthmus and winds blow across the Isthmus from the southwest.
Which of the following is true about a delta?
A. The total amount of sediment carried by the river increases from the start to the end of the delta system. B. A delta forms as channels merge and pile up sand. C. Deltas form some layers that are horizontal and form some that are inclined toward the ocean. D. A river keeps forming a delta in the exact same position along a coastline.
The rise or fall in sea level as a tide crest approaches and passes will cause a: a. tidal current
b. tidal wave. c. tidal range. d. tidal bore.