ATMS 211  winter quarter 2001
Assignment 1
due in class, Thu, Jan 11
Total points: 50 (5 points each)
1. Name five atmospheric variables that are commonly used to 
describe climate.  Now use them qualitatively to describe (a) the 
weather today and (b) January climate in your home town You need not 
give specific numbers, only demonstrate that you understand the 
difference between weather and climate.

2-5. Review questions 3-6 from chapter 1 (page 18)

6 a. First, write down what you think the average daily maximum and 
minimum temperatures are in your home town in January and July. 
Then,  find the climate station nearest to your home town using the 
web site http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmwa.html (or 
climsmor.html for Oregon) and compare the table with your guesses. 
How close was your subjective impression of your home town's climate?

6 b. Now find three stations, one in each of these regions of the 
state: coastal Washington, the Puget Sound, and the Columbia basin.* 
If you live in Washington, you may use the city that you used for 
part (a) above.  Examining the tables of monthly mean, daily maximum 
and minimum temperature for just a few stations, write a few 
sentences contrasting the (temperature) climates of these three 
stations.  How do the diurnal (day-night) and seasonal (January-July) 
temperature differences compare? Be sure to mention what stations you 
examined.

*If you need help locating the Columbia basin, check out
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/maps1/wa.gif

7. (a) Define "feedback". (b)  A and B are linked through a feedback 
loop, responding to each other.  In each of the situations below, 
state whether the relationship indicates a negative feedback or a 
positive feedback.
     A increases; B acts to decrease A
     A decreases; B acts to increase A
     A increases; B acts to increase A
     A decreases; B acts to decrease A

8.  Give an example of a stable equilibrium and an unstable 
equilibrium and explain what's different about them.

9.  Give three examples of feedbacks.  For each example, tell whether 
the feedback is positive or negative.

10.  White-daisy Daisyworld has a companion planet that is similar in 
all ways except that the daisies are black.  What would happen if the 
experiment discussed in class were repeated: the luminosity of the 
sun is allowed to increase from very small values until the planet 
becomes warm enough for daisies to grow.  Explain why the black daisy 
and white daisy Daisyworlds behave differently under these 
circumstances.