Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

Paralelo 1

GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT

1. Determine which statements refer to weather and which refer to climate.
(Note: One statement includes aspects of both weather and climate.)
a. The baseball game was rained out today. Tiempo
b. January is Omahas coldest month. Clima
c. North Africa is a desert. Clima
d. The high this afternoon was 25C. Tiempo
e. Last evening a tornado ripped through central Oklahoma. Tiempo
f. I am moving to southern Arizona because it is warm and sunny. Clima
g. Thursdays low of 20C is the coldest temperature ever recorded for
that city. Tiempo
h. It is partly cloudy. Tiempo
2. After entering a dark room, you turn on a wall switch, but the light does
not come on. Suggest at least three hypotheses that might explain this
observation.
- La planta de energa del sector corto la
electricidad
- El interruptor dejo de funcionar
- El foco dejo de funcionar
3. Making accurate measurements and observations is
a basic part of scientific inquiry. The accompanying
radar image, showing the distribution and intensity
of precipitation associated with a storm, provides one
example. Identify three additional images in this
chapter that illustrate ways in which scientific data
are gathered. Suggest advantages that might be associated with each
example. (Image by National Weather Service)

a.

Pre
sen
ta
el
cambio de la capa de ozono en el hemisferio sur, en un lapso de
tiempo desde 1979 hasta el 2010. Este mtodo es muy viable ya que
se puede apreciar como a travs del tiempo ha bajado la

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

Paralelo 1

concentracin de ozono en la atmosfera, adems se puede observar

la ubicacin espacial del hoyo

b. Esta imagen es tomada usando un satlite TRMM el cual nos permite

saber sobre el ciclo del agua (hidrolgico) de la Tierra y su papel en
nuestro sistema climtico. De esta manera se puede tomar datos
sobre las precipitaciones y la temperatura que est relacionada con la
misma. Este satlite proporciona mediciones muy precisas de la
precipitacin sobre los ocanos, donde convencional instrumentos

terrestres no pueden ver

c. Nos muestra el mapa de Estados Unidos en el cual podremos saber el
clima del da en los diferentes estados. Este tipo de mapas son
comunes en los medios de comunicacin como la televisin o el
peridico ya que es ms fcil de comprender.

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

Paralelo 1

4. During a conversation with your meteorology professor, she makes the

two statements listed below. Which can be considered a hypothesis?
Which is more likely a theory?
a. After several decades, the science community has determined that
human-generated greenhouse gases have increased global average
temperatures. Teora
b. One or two studies suggest that hurricance intensity is increasing.
Hiptesis

5. Refer to Figure 121 to answer the following questions.

a. If you were to climb to the top of Mount Everest, how many breaths of
air would you have to take at that altitude to equal one breath at sea
level?
1 mb
314 mb

0.000987
x

X= 0.30 atm
Un adulto promedio respira de 12 a 20
veces por minuto
*12 respiraciones por minuto:
1 atm
0.30 atm

12 r/m
x

X= 4 r/m 12 4= 8 respiraciones
ms que a nivel del mar
*20 respiraciones por minuto:
1 atm
0.30 atm

20 r/m
x

X= 6 r/m 20 6= 14 respiraciones ms que a nivel del mar

b. If you are flying in a commercial jet at an altitude of 12 kilometers,
about what percentage of the atmospheres mass is below you?
Por debajo de 5.6 km se encuentra el 50% de la atmosfera, si el jet
comercial vuela a una altitud 12 km entonces se encontrara ms del 50%
de la masa atmosfrica por debajo del mismo

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

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6. If you were ascending from the surface of Earth to the top of the
atmosphere, which one of the following would be most useful for
determining the layer of the atmosphere you were in? Explain.
a. Doppler radar
b. Hygrometer (humidity)
c. Weather satellite
d. Barometer (air pressure)
e. Thermometer (temperature)

7. The accompanying photo provides an example of interactions among

different parts of the Earth system. It is a view of a mudflow that was
triggered by extraordinary rains. Which of Earths four spheres were
involved in this natural disaster that buried a small town on the
Philippine island of Leyte? Describe how each contributed to the
mudflow. (Photo by AP Photo/Pat Roque)
Las cuatro esferas de la Tierra
estn involucradas en este
desastre natural.
Las
lluvias
son
la
consecuencia
de
varios
procesos, uno de esos es el
ciclo del agua en el cual
interviene la Atmosfera e
Hidrosfera ya que el agua es
evaporada
y
luego
condensada en formas de
nubes las cuales permiten la
precipitacin. La lluvia es un
elemento de importancia ya
que da paso a flujos de agua
los cuales llevan minerales y sedimentos en general permitiendo el
transporte de los mismos hacia desembocaduras de ros o a la Litosfera. En
este caso particular la capa superficial de la litosfera ha sido removida a
causa de las fuertes lluvias causando la sedimentacin del suelo y deslaves.
Y por ltimo la Biosfera tambin intervino ya que es la interaccin en
conjunto con las dems esferas y donde adems se encuentran los seres
vivos, los cuales fueron afectados por las fuertes lluvias.

8. Where would you expect the thickness of the troposphere (that is, the
distance between Earths surface and the tropopause) to be greater: over
Hawaii or Alaska? Why? Do you think it is likely that the thickness of the
troposphere over Alaska is different in January than in July? If so, why?
La troposfera alcanza alturas de ms de 16 kilmetros (10 millas) en los
trpicos, pero en las regiones polares es ms tenue y extiende a 9
kilmetros (5,5 millas) o menos.

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

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Si, ya que la altura de la troposfera va a cambiar de acuerdo a la

temperatura

PROBLEMS
1. Refer to the newspaper-type weather map in Figure 13 to answer the
following:

a. Estimate the predicted high temperatures in central New York State

and the northwest corner of Arizona.
En Nueva York se esperan fuertes precipitaciones a una temperatura de
50 grados y en el noreste de Arizona se estima que estar soleado a una
temperatura de 40 grados.
b. Where is the coldest area on the weather map? Where is the
warmest?
Al norte de los EEUU se encuentra la zona ms fra, y la costa sureste es
la zona ms clida.

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

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c. On this weather map, H stands for the center of a region of high

pressure. Does it appear as though high pressure is associated with
precipitation or fair weather?
H se asocia con el buen tiempo ms no con la precipitacin.
d. Which is warmercentral Texas or central Maine? Would you normally
expect this to be the case?
Ms clido se encuentra el centro de Maine a 50 grados ya que Texas se
encuentra a 20 grados.

2. Refer to the graph in Figure 15 to answer the following questions about

temperatures in New York City:
a. What is the approximate
average
daily
high
temperature in January? In
July?
El promedio diario de altas
temperaturas en el mes de
Enero es de 4C y en Julio
es de 28C
b. Approximately what are the
highest
and
lowest
temperatures
ever
recorded?
La ms alta temperatura
registrada
es
aproximadamente 42C en
el mes de Julio y la ms
baja es aproximadamente
-21C en el mes de enero

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

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3. Refer to the graph in Figure 17. Which year had the greatest number of
billion-dollar weather disasters? How many events occurred that year? In
which year was the damage amount greatest?

El ao en el que hubo mayor nmero de billones de dlares en desastres a

causa del tiempo fue en el 2005 con un nmero de 5 eventos.
El ao en que hubo ms daos fue en el 2008 con un nmero de 9 eventos
4. Refer to the graph in Figure 121 to answer the following:
a.

Approximately how much does

the
air
pressure
drop
(in
millibars) between the surface
and 4 kilometers? (Use a surface
pressure of 1000 millibars.)
4km 600mb

400mb

0km 1000mb

b. How much does the pressure drop between 4 and 8 kilometers?

8km 350mb

250mb

4km 600mb

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

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c. Based on your answers to parts a and b, answer the following: With

an increase in altitude, air pressure decreases at a(n) (constant,
increasing, decreasing) rate. Underline the correct answer.
La presin del aire disminuye de forma decreciente

5. If the temperature at sea level were 23C, what would the air
temperature be at a height of 2 kilometers, under average conditions?
En condiciones normales la temperatura de la troposfera desciende 6.5C
por kilmetro, entonces a 2km la temperatura seria de 10C

6. Use the graph of the atmospheres thermal structure (Figure 123) to

answer the following:
a. What are the approximate height
and
temperature
of
the
stratopause?
La altura aproximada de la
estratopausa es de 50km con una
temperatura entre 0C y 10C
b. At what altitude is the temperature
lowest? What is the temperature at
that height?
La
menor
temperatura
aproximadamente
de
-90C
y
encuentra a una altura de 85km

7. Answer the following questions by examining the graph in Figure 125:

es
se

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

Paralelo 1

a. In which one of the three

regions
(tropics,
middle
latitudes, poles) is the
surface
temperature
lowest?
En la regin tropical de la
tropopausa, aproximadamente a
-65C
b. In which region is the
tropopause encountered at
the lowest altitude? The
highest? What are the
altitudes and temperatures
of the tropopause in those
regions?
La tropopausa polar tiene la
altitud ms baja y la tropopausa
tropical tiene la altitud ms alta.
La tropopausa polar tiene una
altura mxima de 9km con una
temperatura entre 0C y -55C. La
tropopausa tropical tiene una altura mxima de 17km con una temperatura
entre 20C y -75C

8.
a. On a spring day a middle-latitude city (about 40N latitude) has a surface
(sea-level) temperature of 10C. If vertical soundings reveal a nearly
constant environmental lapse rate of 6.5C per kilometer and a temperature
at the tropopause of 55C, what is the height of the tropopause?
6.5C
-55C

1km
x

A -55C la tropopausa se encuentra a 8.46km de altura

X= 8.46km
b. On the same spring day a station near the equator has a surface
temperature of 25C, 15C higher than the middle-latitude city mentioned in
part a. Vertical soundings reveal an environmental lapse rate of 6.5C per
kilometer and indicate that the tropopause is encountered at 16 kilometers.
What is the air temperature at the tropopause?

Silvia Vela Pinela

Climatologa y Meteorologa

Ya que la temperatura baja a una razn de 6.5C/km entonces la

temperatura a 16km ser de -79C

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