SIO15 Midterm 2, Wednesday Nov. 28, 2018

Transcription

1 SIO15 Midterm 2, Wednesday Nov. 28, 2018 TEST VARIATION: B 1) For what are flood frequency curves used? a) to predict the next rain storm b) to estimate the highest flood likely in a 100-year interval c) to build levees e) b) and c) 2) After rainfall, where is the flood stage reached earlier, in urban or rural areas? a) rural b) urban c) both the same 3) Why does San Diego have flood control channels? a) many hurricanes make landfall and bring devastating floods b) the city installed them to replace the ailing water mains c) to collect drinking water d) strong winter storms can bring heavy rain e) San Diego has one of the highest precipitation rates in California 4) How do near-coastal climates differ from continental climates at the same latitude? a) hotter summers, colder winters b) cooler summers, milder winters c) hotter summers, milder winters d) cooler summers, colder winters 5) Why does Earth have seasons? a) Earth s tilted rotation axis causes different insolation b) changes in storm activity causes changes in insolation c) Sun s output changes throughout the year d) Earth-Sun distance changes throughout the year e) Moon shadow changes insolation 6) Which of these influences the coming and going of the monsoons? a) migration of the jet stream b) migration of the intertropical convergence zone c) migration of the trade winds d) migration of polar vortex 7) Which of these best describes a monsoon? a) strong winds b) blowing snow and low visibility c) large and frequent thunderstorms d) seasonal heavy rainfall e) monthly droughts 8) How is insolation distributed across Earth? a) lower near the poles, higher near equator but varies through the year b) higher near the poles, lower near equator but varies through the year c) always highest near equator d) always highest near poles

2 9) Which of these has a tropical climate? a) Australian outback b) Indonesia c) Sahel d) Sahara Desert 10) Why would strong winds increase the fire risk? a) winds always raise surface temperatures b) winds can push fires out of control c) winds can push fires in unexpected directions d) winds often spark wildfires e) b) and c) 11) How do surface winds blow in a low pressure system? a) toward the center b) away from the center c) clockwise in the northern hemisphere d) from east to west e) from west to east 12) Which of these is NOT one leg of the fire triangle? a) fuel b) heat c) water d) oxygen 13) Low relative humidity cuts short which of these stages of fire? a) preheating b) pyrolysis c) flaming combustion d) glowing combustion 14) What can make heat waves particularly deadly? a) anomalously high day-time temperatures for a single day b) night-time temperatures higher than 80ºF over more than a day or so c) particularly low relative humidity 15) Heat waves are usually deadlier than cold waves. a) true b) false 16) Which of these apply to Santa Ana weather? a) anomalously low relative humidity b) anomalously high temperatures c) strong winds

3 17) Which of these best describes the wind chill factor? a) winds make the air feel warmer b) relative humidity make the air feel colder c) relative humidity make the air feel warmer d) winds make the air feel colder 18) What is dry lightning? a) lightning during a thunderstorm without rain b) lightning during a rainy thunderstorm c) lightning that strikes on land d) lightning in a volcanic cloud 19) Which of these conditions is typically NOT associated with thunderstorms? a) warm front moving in b) strong orographic lifting c) cold front moving in d) strong convective lifting 20) The polar vortex has something to do with a) the confinement of Arctic air to the polar regions b) tsunami c) monsoons d) blizzards e) heat waves 21) In the northern hemisphere, tornadoes always rotate counter-clockwise, just like storms? a) true b) false 22) Which of these make tornadoes so destructive? a) extremely strong winds b) high storm surge c) low pressure in the center 23) Which scale describes the strength of hurricanes? a) Fujita scale b) Mercalli scale c) Torino scale d) Beaufort scale e) Saffir-Simpson scale f) Homer-Simpson scale 24) In which year did the deadliest hurricane in the U.S. occur? a) this year b) last year c) 2005 d) 1992 e) ) More hurricanes occur in the Atlantic during an El Niño. a) true b) false

4 26) Why do east Pacific hurricanes currently not make landfall in southern California? a) all eastern Pacific hurricanes travel southward b) Mexican hurricanes form in the southern hemisphere c) no hurricanes ever form in the eastern Pacific d) the cold California Current prevents hurricanes from sustaining themselves 27) What is a proxy? a) the measurement of something to infer another variable b) a type of instrument to measure distance c) a weather phenomenon d) a type of instrument to measure temperature 28) What is a likely cause for climate changes on a 11-year time scale? a) changes in sunlight reflected off the Moon b) changes in solar sun spots c) changes in volcanic activity d) El Niños e) changes in ocean currents 29) About when did the last ice age end? a) 10 years ago b) 100 years ago c) 1000 years ago d) 10,000 years ago e) 1 million years ago 30) In the Keeling Curve, how do seasonal variations compare to the overall trend? a) much larger b) much smaller c) opposite d) same 31) About where was global sea level during the last ice age? a) 10 ft higher b) 10 ft lower c) 100 m higher d) 100 m lower e) about the same as today 32) Which of these is the successor to the Kyoto Protocol? a) Madagascar accord b) Copenhagen treaty c) Marrakesh compound d) Montreal Protocol e) Paris climate agreement 33) Which of these is responsible for the ozone hole? a) O 3 b) CFCs c) CO 2 d) UV radiation e) increase in solar activity

5 34) On which continent do we find the Sahel? a) Europe b) Australia c) North America d) South America e) Africa 35) Which of these is NOT a proper description of tropical soil? a) thin humus layer b) thick humus layer c) organic material decays very quickly d) thick soil profile e) humus layer is particularly vulnerable to erosion 36) How do humans contribute to desertification? a) slash-and-burn farming b) overpopulation c) overgrazing e) b) and c) 37) When a major flood happens on the upper Mississippi, which of these apply? a) a major flood may follow downstream b) a major flood always leads downstream c) a flood downstream may be less severe 38) If the water table drops, how does the surface behave? a) it has a less severe drop b) it has a more severe drop c) it rises 39) What is a flood gage? a) a type of levee b) a type of graph c) a monument that marks historic floods d) a gate that can be opened to control floods 40) By how much has Earth s wild animal population plunged since 1970? a) 10% b) 40% c) 60% d) 90% e) none of the above, it has increased 41) Why do local beaches lose their sand during winter? a) sand supply stops b) the California Current reverses direction c) strong waves from winter storms erode the beaches d) increased hurricane activity at the end of summer SEE NEXT PAGE FOR MORE QUESTIONS

6 42) Which of these help reduce the risk of local cliff collapse? a) plat tropical plants b) increase backyard irrigation c) reduce backyard irrigation d) remove all vegetation 43) Where would we find the Gulf Stream? a) in Europe b) in the Persian Gulf c) in the Arabian Sea d) in the western North Atlantic e) in the eastern North Pacific