METR/GEOG 498
Tropical Meteorology
Exam 2 - Chapters 5 through 9
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Answer each question with the most correct response. Feel free at ask questions if you are unclear about a question. Use the back of each piece of paper if needed. GOOD LUCK! This Exam has a 90-minute time limit.
1.Describe the effects (on Sea Surface Temperature-SST) of a surface wind that bows parallel to a coastline. What is the resultant effect on SST along the west coast of South America and Western Africa? Describe also the effects on SST when the flow is exactly reversed? What is the impact on convection?
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2. Define the Equivalent Potential Temperature (e). Be sure to include a discussion of the process in which a parcel of air is lifted/changed to arrive at the e. What criteria are used for determining if an air parcel is potentially unstable/stable? Why is e more useful in the tropics than just temperature alone?
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3. Name and describe the processes for the formation of water droplets in cumulus & cumulonimbus clouds in the tropics.
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4. What criteria did Ramage propose for identifying regions in the tropics that experience a monsoonal climate? Discuss the Indian Ocean monsoon – how does in form (discuss winter and summer monsoons)? What are the important factors that allow this flow pattern to exist? What are the resultant flow patterns at 1000mb and 200mb? How does this impact the weather in India for those respective seasons?
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5. Explain how rainfall varies with elevation in the tropics. What is the impact of orographic features on rainfall? What 5 factors describe the effect of terrain on rainfall?
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6. Describe the nature of rainfall associated with tropical cyclones. To what extent does rainfall change with distance from the center? Where does the maximum rainfall occur in relation to storm center and storm motion? How variable is the maximum rainfall in tropical cyclones?
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7. Discuss the land/sea breeze. If you were on the Texas coast near Brownsville, and you observed the land/sea breeze, how would the weather change through a 24-hour cycle? Afterwards, suppose you were on big island of Hawaii. How would weather change in the interior of the island, through a 24 hour cycle, due to mountain/valley breezes (between the mountains Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, as an example)?
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8. What time of day does maximum daily rainfall occur in the tropics, over land? Over the oceans? What causes this variation? Next, Consider a tropical disturbance (an area of convection, either organized or not). What diurnal variation occurs in disturbances? What is the impact of this effect when observing tropical cyclones in infrared imagery?
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9. What is the TUTT? Where and when does it form (in relation to weather features, like the subtropical ridge)? At what pressure levels it is observed? What weather is observed in the TUTT axis? What is a TUTT cell? Where is it located in relation to the TUTT? What weather is observed directly under a TUTT cell, as well as to the east through southeast portions of the TUTT cell? In what way do TUTT cells play a role in tropical cyclone formation?
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10. Ramage discussed “waves” in the tropics. What are waves? How are TUTT cells related to some of the waves in the tropics? Ramage also discussed the “West African Cyclone”. What is the generation mechanism for the West African cyclone – where do they classically start their lifecycle? Where is the circulation found vertically? Describe the motion and associated weather of this phenomenon. What might happen to this feature when it reaches the Atlantic coast?
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