Atmospheric Sciences 211

Winter Quarter 2001

Study Guide for Final Exam


This is just for the part of the final on the material that's been covered in
class since the second midterm.  About half the questions on the final will be on
this material.  To study for the other questions, consult the two previous study
guides.

Be prepared to:

describe the positive feedbacks between surface winds on the equator, the
east-west thermocline slope, equatorial upwelling, equatorial sea surface
temperature, pressure and rainfall in El Nino.

explain the origin of the word 'El Nino'

describe some of the long range 'teleconnections' associated with El Nino

describe how El Nino shows up in satellite ocean color imagery

describe some ways in which El Nino impacts marine life

describe the chemical reactions that give rise to the ozone layer and make it
highly effective in protecting life on Earth from the harmful effects of solar
ultraviolet radiation

explain why and how CFC's threaten the ozone layer, including the role of polar
stratospheric clouds

explain why the ozone hole occurs primarily in the Antarctic, rather than
symmetrically in both the Arctic and Antarctic

speculate on the future of the ozone hole

list the important greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere and their primary
sources

explain why gases like methane, nitrous oxide and CFC's need to be taken into
account as greenhouse gases even though there is far less of them in the
atmosphere than carbon dioxide

explain why water vapor tends to be regarded differently by scientists than the
other greenhouse gases: i.e., it's treated as a source of feedback rather than as
a by-product of human activities

describe the role of the oceans and the land biosphere in taking up part of the
carbon that humans are putting into the atmosphere

demonstrate some awareness of how much atmospheric concentrations are likely to
rise and how long it will take them to return to present levels after the burning
of fossil fuels stops

summarize and critique the scientific arguments in support of and against the
seriousness of the global warming issue

describe some of the expected impacts of global warming and how they arise

explain why greenhouse warming is proving to be a much more difficult problem for
the nations of the world to deal with than the ozone hole issue has been

define
  ENSO
  acid rain
  CFC
  polar stratospheric clouds
  catalytic chemical reaction
  IPCC
  Kyoto protocol
  greenhouse gas