What produces the worldwide pattern of east-west-oriented wind belts? What will be an ideal response?
Air rises at the equator because it receives the most solar energy. As it rises, it cools and releases
moisture onto the equatorial region. This drier air moves north and south toward the poles, but by the
time it reaches 20 to 30° north or south, it is cooler and denser and begins to sink. The sinking air
warms and causes evaporation. Some of that air moves back toward the equator, and some moves
north or south to 50-60° where it rises. In this way, three convection cells are created in each
hemisphere. Rather than flowing north-south or south-north, the Coriolis effect causes the air to move
to the right, so the winds in the major wind belts move east or west
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During the last ice age about 21,000 years ago, the ice would have taken up a volume equal to what depth of the oceans?
A) 5-10 meters B) 40-55 meters C) 70-82 meters D) 100-120 meters
Compared to a nuclear plant, a coal-fired plant
A) emits much less carbon dioxide. B) requires much less mining and results in fewer mining deaths. C) contributes to acid rain, and a nuclear plant does not. D) releases more than 100 times more radioactivity because of radioactive elements in coal.
The North American Cordillera formed as a result of ________
A) the growth of the Appalachian Mountains B) the subduction of the Pacific basin beneath North America C) the evolution of the San Andreas Fault zone D) the subduction of the Atlantic basin beneath North America
The tropical savanna climate has
A) the polar front all year-round. B) the polar front in winter and the subtropical high in summer. C) the ITCZ all year-round. D) the ITCZ in summer and the subtropical high in winter. E) the subtropical high in the summer and ITCZ in the winter.