Weather and Climate Change

Air mass - Large body of a lower troposphere that has similar characteristics throughout - When an air mass travels from one place to another, it takes with it the temperature and humidity of its place of origin - As it travels its characteristics may change Fronts o The boundary that separates opposing air masses o The less dense air mass is forced to rise over the denser air mass o These can be from 200m 200km wide Cold Front (cold air mass displaces warm air mass) Warm Front (warm air displaces cold air) Occluded (cold air that Catches up to warm) and stationary (not moving) front Climate - The average weather of a region over a long period of time - Climate controls: Latitude, elevation, nearby water, ocean currents, topography, prevailing winds, vegetation *Note on convection currents- how warm and cold air move El Nino - The changes in the ocean current that directly effects the atmosphere, causing change in the climate - Climate changes around the world Thunderstorms 1) Air rises and a cumulous cloud forms. Rising air is called the updraft, that prevents precipitation from reaching the ground. 2) The precipitation becomes heavy and falls through the updraft to the ground. Falling precipitation creates downdraft. 3) Downdraft weakens and the updraft cuts of the supply of moist air rising to the clouds. The cloud starts to evaporate Tornadoes - Violently rotating column of air that usually touches the ground - Dryline separates the air masses Caused: o A Severe thunderstorm with a rotating updraft called a mesocyclone (this occurs when the lower winds are blowing at a different speed and direction than upper winds), eventually the mesosyclone touches the ground and causes a tornado Supercells: Very large single cell thunderstorm with high updrafts The updraft rotates and causes tornadoes. Also produces the highest winds and hail o Warm air rises (spinning), cold air hits (collides) the warm air and doesnt allow it to rise. Dry wind comes and continues the spinning (sheering) of the warm air and soon the warm air breaks through the cold air by pressure Prediction o Conventional radar o Doppler radar o Tornado watch and warning 1

Hurricanes - A large rotating storm of tropical origin that has sustained winds of atleast 120km/h - It gets its energy from the heat of surface ocean water - Winds and air are the strongest at the eye and mild at the outer edge - Hurricanes weaken as soon as they make landfall or over cold ocean water - Season: May/June November (Depends on place) - Direction of hurricane can change due to the difference in pressure of air over land Formation o As humid air rises, it condenses and releases heat, meanwhile humid air flows into the surface to replace the rising air. The Coriolis effect causes air flowing into the disturbance at the surface to flow counterclockwise (Northern Hemisphere) clockwise (Southern hemisphere) Effects o Storm surge: The strong winds of the wall blow water into a broad dome. It could coincide with high tides or create huge waves Watching and Warnings o Saffir- Simpson Scale (5 levels) o Use satellites to detect hurricanes

Plate Tectonics
the theory that the lithosphere is made of plates that move and interact with each other at their boundaries Plates are always moving Alfred Wegner had a theory that the continents were once together as Rodinia and then Pangea The Wilson Cycle says that cycle of the continents coming together and pulling apart again happen every 3000 million years Proofs of the Theory: Similar fossils of invertebrates found in distinctly different continents (South America, South Africa, Antarctica, & Australia) Evidence of climate change in Antarctica ( once warm enough to produce vegetation) Evidence that glaciers existed in Africa, Australia, South America, Antarctica and India 2o plates: North American, African Plate, Antarctic Plate , Indo-Australian Plate, Eurasian Plate, South American Plate, Pacific Plate, Caribean Plate, Nazca Plate, Scotia Plate, Philippine Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Cocos Plate, Arabian Plate, etc.

Plate Boundaries and features:

Diverging Construction (ex. Mid-Atlantic Ridge) : Moving away Magma rises, creates extrusive igneous rock 2

Creates ridges, creates mild earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

Converging Subduction Destruction: Converging: coming together Subduction: one plate subducts ( goes under) SIAL and SIMA (silica almunium and silica magnesia) SIMA from subducted from the plate melts with SIAL to create acidic magma( silica content increases) Creates trenches filled with water Violent earthquakes & tephra volcanoes created Converging Collision: SIAL continental plates 9same densities) Push upwards to create fold mountains Some sea animal fossils are found at the top of the mountain created Rocks are pushed together with large amounts of heat pressure Transforming Collison Subduction Destruction: (ex. San Andres Fault) Very violent and fast from a plate being blocked to the pressure building up and released quickly Earthquakes are local Perpendicular stress cracks that are perpendicular to the movement Hotspots - an area of volcanic activity that results from a plume of hot solid material that has risen from deep within Earths mantle Rift valleys: Depressions formed that b/w parallel faults or faults systems Trenches: The deepest part of the ocean & lowest points on the crust of the Earth: formed at subduction zones

Hazard Response
Bio-Medical (Short-tem concentrated effects; localized in area and time) Immediate Impacts (death, direct and indirect injury) Long term impacts shelter, food, basic hygiene and medical care) Psycho-Social (Long-term affects more people; over wider area for a longer time) Behavior Patterns (anxiety, loss of community, attitude of blaming others) Perception(during and after the event)

A Framework of Disaster Analysis

Phase 1: before the event Preparation (education, stockpiling) Planning (alerts, protection, 72 hour kit) Phase 2: the event and immediate response How big? Whos affected? Who can help? Deaths? How many? Injuries?
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Phase 3: long term response, evaluating everything that happen for future disaster If disaster happens again, is there a plan? Why has it happened? Earthquake Epicentre: the point on the surface thats directly above the earthquake ground Focus: the point of origin of an earthquake Shallow focus smaller area affected 9greater intensity), closer to the surface Tsunamis are a must Deep focus: larger area of focus, less intensity P (primary), S (Secondary) and L ( love/ long wave) Primary and secondary are body waves and L waves are surface waves P: compression ( squeezing/ stretching the rocks) passes through liquid and solid (first wave) S: Up and down, passes only rock ( slower waves) L: long waves( go further most dangerous because the effects in the surface are more severe) Predicting & Preparing: Look for foreshocks ( pattern) Animal Behavior Radio frequency waves can be used to predict disruption Liquefactation: the process in which the shaking ( from EQ) bring the liquid ( water) up and buildings are prone to sinking Reinforce with steel bars Concrete is more flexible ( added additives) Educate ppl about EQ safety warn others, sirens Building houses on concrete pads Richter vs. Mercali Scale: Richter (more popular) measures the strength the immediate damage. Mercali measures after the damage is done and and scale based on the damage(visual: more important for geologist) MEDC (Japan March 11, 2011) Tsunamis and fires erupted Over 150 aftershocks Sped up Earths rotation 16 milliseconds Rearranged earths mass closer to axis Moved up to Honshu Magnitude 9.0 LEDC (Chile may 20, 1960) A large foreshocks prevented large casualties Sent huge landslide rock and debris changed rivers and created new lakes Subduction plate boundaries(most violent) Triggered a large tsunami and many aftershocks Magnitude 9.0 Tsunamis Created from shallow focus EQ and other causes
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Theory: a collapse of a volcanic eruption(heat) could create a mega tsunami Shingle shaped ridges in the north coast could cause large waves Underwater mountains can also have landslides that cause tsunamis In Alaska, old trees are away from banks of rivers and young trees are growing Sensors measure weight and sends signals to the attached bayous

Sri Lanka, Christmas 2004 P1: warning signal goes off, earthquake(8.9) in Indian Ocean P2: buildings collapsed in aftershock, tsunami engulfed everything, communication problems, many deaths P3: waves still bounce, pacific warning systems (no Indian Ocean systems due to LEDC conditions) Volcanoes MEDC Mt. St. Helens May 18, 1980 Looked at background history/ history of Mt. St. Helens There was heat and two craters that merged together There was swelling magma The friction energy in the subduction zone allows magma to escape; became more of a slipping zone that subduction zone Cascade volcano Landslide occurred slop failure Magnitude 5 earthquakes triggered eruption Cause of death was gas not heat: air filled with ash LEDC Pinatubo, June 15th, 1921 USA worked with Philippines Sulfur to carbon increased Heavily eroded rocks show that Pinatubo had a violent past Heat slowly increased (not noticeable frog in water) Lahars (lava and water) were created There could be a lateral blast or pyroclastic flow 4 different levels of alert Quick evacuation Volcano kept increasing in activity then decreasing Rained mud, pumice balls and ash Ash circled the globe and dropped earths temperature 1 for 5 years LEDC in Philipine area, but MEDC in the Clark air force base Tilt-meters were implanted in the ground to measure the slop of the mountain Reflectors; monitoring swelling Seismometers on either side of the mountains showed that there is no larger body of magma (innitally) then they found that there is and is forced upwards through a thin tube Only certain minerals can be formed inside; carbon rates dropped compared to sulfur rates Harmonic vibration is like what liquid was do in a tube Iceland
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There is a glacier over icelands colcano meta Heat melts the ice and goes into the volcano Small explosion fine dust particles become airborne (block UV rays and solar radiation) Created from the splitting of the ocean ridge Produces large amounts of rhyolite( silica rich and volatile) Eruption is generally basaltic magma

Basaltic/Constructive volcanoes Plateau like Formed between constructive plate boundaries Example: Iceland Very low viscosity Very hot (1200 degrees Celsius) Very runny and fluid Lower silica content Erupts more often but gentler stream and lava flow Destructive volcanos Formed on subduction zones Violent Tephra, lapilli which is pyroclastic flow Very fast Less hot (800 degrees) Travel shorter distances Steep sides
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Transitional Volcanos Attributes from both Medium height and width

Spheres of the Earth

Inner Core Solid due to pressure of other layers Density same as liquid mercury Composed of iron and nickel under extremely high pressure and temp ( Heat is a product of iron and metal just easier to remember) Outer Core Liquid magma Heavy metals Lack of pressure creates the liquid outer core Mesosphere (mantle) Solid but with liquid properties Largest and thickest sphere Composed mostly of compounds rich in iron, silicon, and magnesium Asthenosphere: State of rock will change anywhere from solid to liquid Continents sitting directly above move as well Lithosphere: Consisting of the crust and uppermost portion of the mantle Plates Surface is uneven Hydrosphere: Liquid and gaseous water 3% of the earths water is fresh and only 1% ( of the 3%) is drinkable Biosphere: Supports life ( all living things and their environments) Biotic conditions and their relationship with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere Ecosphere: Same layer as biosphere, abiotic relationships b/w hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere Looks at the relationships opposed to the biotic conditions Cryosphere: Ice sphere Atmosphere: The layers of gases that surround the earth ( ozone layer) Protection from UV layers Greenhouses gases keep heat trapped in Nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen *****Words that might be useful**** Felsic Magma (feldspar and silica) a type of magma rich in silica that forms light colored igneous rock containing minerals such as quartz and feldspar Mafic Magma ( magnesium and iron) a type of magma rich in iron and magnesium and low in silica: forms dark colored igneous rocks Magma: molten rock Lava: magma that reaches the earths surface

HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
EVAPORATION: Water is transferred from the surface to the atmosphere. TRANSPORTATION: Water moves through the atmosphere CONDENSATION: The transported water vapour condenses, forming tiny droplets in the clouds. PRECIPITATION: Transports water from the atmosphere to the surface. GROUNDWATER: Water that infiltrates the soil flow downward until it encounters impermeable rock and then travels laterally. Locations where water moves laterally are called aquifers. DRAINAGE BASINS AND RIVERS DRAINAGE BASIN: An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. WATERSHED: A ridge of high land that separates drainage basins from one another. * Open system: forms part of the hydrological cycle, and characteristics include: Input Output Storage transfers

PRECIPITATION: input EVAPOTRANSPIRATION: output Evaporation: The physical process by which water is lost directly into the atmosphere due to the suns heat and air movements. Transpiration: The biological process by which water is lost from the minute pores (stomata) of plant leaves. (6 degrees needed) INTERCEPTION: storage The rainfall that falls on vegetation, does not reach the ground. Greater in a woodland area. If the precipitation is light and of short duration, much of the water may never reach the ground and may quickly be lost from the system through evapotranspiration. If rainfall does persist, then water begins to reach the ground by 3 possible routes:

THROUGHFALL: transfer, process whereby wet leaves shed water onto the ground surface. STEMFLOW: transfer, process whereby intercepted water flows down the stems or trunks of plants.
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SECONDARY INTERCEPTION: storage, process whereby water is intercepted by undergrowth/lower plants. SURFACE STORAGE: Water that lies on the surface; after a warm, dry spell during the summer, the ground may be hard, and at the start of rainfall water will then lie on the surface until the upper layers become sufficiently moistened to allow it to slowly soak downward. SURFACE RUNOFF: transfer, when the soil has been infiltrated to its full capacity, excess water flows over the land. This is unusual except in urban areas which have impermeable coverings of concrete. INFILTRATION: The process whereby water on the ground surface enters the soil. INFILTRATION CAPACITY: The maximum rate at which water can pass through the soil (expressed in mm/hr). THROUGHFLOW: transfer, Horizontal movement of water in the soil zone from the soil water storage to the channel storage. CAPILLARY ACTION: During drier period, water is drawn upwards. PERCOLATION: The process whereby water reaches the compact, underlying soil or rock layers. GROUNDWATER STORAGE: storage, water that is stored underground below the WATER TABLE (zone of saturation) GROUNDWATER FLOW: transfer, water that flows from the groundwater storage to the channel flow, through the zone of saturation. BASEFLOW: Groundwater seepage into the stream channel. CHANNEL FLOW: Some rain falls directly into the channel of a river (channel precipitation) but most of it reaches it by a combination of 3 transfer processes: SURFACE RUNOFF: Water from surface storage THROUGHFLOW: Water from soil water storage GROUNDWATER FLOW/BASEFLOW: Water from groundwater storage. If the rate if precipitation exceeds the rate of infiltration, there is runoff. The greater the porous levels of the surface, the greater amount of infiltration (when it hits an impermeable surface such as in urban areas)

WATER BALANCE/BUDGET GRAPH The WATER BALANCE/BUDGET GRAPH illustrates water balance in soil, by plotting levels of precipitation and evapotranspiration on a monthly scale.
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Precipitation > evapotranspiration loss = positive water balance Precipitation < evapotranspiration loss = negative water balance SOIL MOISTURE SURPLUS: During the winter, precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration, resulting in considerable surface runoff and a rise in river levels. SOIL MOISTURE UTILISATION: During the summer, evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation and so plants and humans utilise water from the soil, leaving it depleted and causing river levels to fall. Late summer = maximum evaporation. SOIL WATER RECHARGE: By autumn, when precipitation again exceeds evapotranspiration, the first of the surplus water is used to recharge the soil until it reaches its FIELD CAPACITY: The maximum amount of water that soil can hold. SOIL MOISTURE DEFICIT: Sometimes, during the summer, water in the soil has been used up and there is water deficit, meaning that plants can only survive if they are either drought-resistant of if they can obtain water through irrigation. THE STORM HYDROGRAPH: a means of showing the discharge of a river at a given point over a short period of time. Discharge refers to the amount of water originating as precipitation which reaches the channel by surface runoff, throughflow, and baseflow. APPROACH SEGMENT: shows the discharge of the river before the storm. BEGINNING OF A STORM: Rivers response is negligible because most of the rain falls elsewhere in the channel rather than directly. MIDDLE OF THE STORM: Eventually, the initial surface run off and throughflow eventually reach the river, causing a rapid increase in discharge which is indicated by the RISING LIMB. The steeper the rising limb, the faster the response to rainfall. The PEAK DISCHARGE occurs when the river reaches its highest level, and the period between maximum precipitation and peak discharge is called LAG TIME. Rivers with a short lag time are more prone to flooding. BANKFULL DISCHARGE occurs when a rivers water level reaches the top of its channel; any further increase will result in flooding of the surrounding land. END OF A STORM: Discharge decreases and the river levels fall. This is indicated by the FALLING OR RECESSION LIMB. STREAM ORDER Drainage basins are drawn by a scale from local to national 1) Identify watershed/highest point of ground around the basin 2) Identify output point: lowest (river is largest in its width/depth) FIRST ORDER STREAMS: All the initial, unbranched source tributaries. SECOND ORDER STREAMS: When two first-order streams join.
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THIRD ORDER STREAMS: When two second-order streams join. A basin may be described in terms of the highest order stream within it. E.g: a third order basin or a fourth order basin

DRAINAGE BASIN DENSITY Found by measuring the total length of all the streams within the basin by the area of the whole basin. Calculated to know the volume of water that a basin can handle prior to flooding.

BIFURCATION RATIO The relationship between the number of streams of one order and those of the next highest order. It is obtained by dividing the number of streams in one order by the number in the next order, then finding the mean of all the rations in the basin. Purpose of calculating the Bifurcation Ratio is to examine the correlation that exists between different stream orders to identify the areas of risk of flooding and to compare the risk of flooding between two drainage basins.

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