Physical geography concepts and applications

Physical Geography

According to the information presented in Chapter 8 "Weather ," thunderstorms and tornadoes are two types of severe weather. Compare and contrast the two types of violent weather. Why is Arizona a good place to study (or "chase") thunderstorms and the Midwest a good place to study (or "chase") tornadoes?

Both thunderstorms and tornadoes are fueled by the same kind of conditions most notably: dry hot weather that is coupled with moisture that is coming out of the south. Usually, inside the thunderstorms is when tornados will more than likely appear. Arizona is a good place to study thunderstorms because of the Arizona Monsoon. This is when tremendous amounts of tropical moisture will move up from the Pacific and Gulf of California into the Arizona desert. The dry heat that is combined with this moisture creates thunderstorms. This is what makes Arizona a good place to study thunderstorms. The Midwest an excellent place for learning about tornados based on: the frequency and occurrence of these events every single year. (Cerveny)

Based on information here and in the Glacial and Periglacial Landscapes chapter of your text, summarize the reasons why understanding climatology is necessary for interpreting ice core records. Why is this relationship especially important at high elevations in the tropics?

The reason why it is essential to understand climatology is because of it providing a glimpse into the weather patterns of the past. This helps scientists to see the impact that global warming is having on the climate. The reason why the relationship is important at high elevations is due to the fact that these ice caps are receding because of the warmer temperatures. (Hardy)

The Nevado Sajama ice cores enabled Dr. Hardy's group to put together a proxy record of sea-surface temperature that goes back 25,000 years. Using information from Part 1 of your text, explain how changes in sea-surface temperature patterns relate to climate and weather patterns.

Changes in the sea surface temperature are related to the climate by creating a shift in how warm or cold the planet will be. This will have an impact on the total amounts precipitation in various regions of the world. As violent storms, (such as: hurricanes) will create tremendous amounts of rain for select areas. While others, will see little amounts of participation. This is the result of warmer ocean temperatures impacting the flow of warm and cold air. (Hardy)

The South Pole has the lowest annual average temperature on Earth. Amazingly though, when measured over an entire year, the South Pole receives an average of 12 hours of sunlight per day -- much the same as all other locations on Earth. Since the length of sunlight can't adequately explain the extreme cold, what does?

What explains the extremely cold weather is the total amounts of sunlight in Antarctica are limited to the summer months. During the winter months, there is little to no sunlight available. This cause the temperatures to decrease dramatically, which why the continent is so cold.