The document outlines key concepts about weather, climate, and the global atmospheric circulation system. It discusses weather forecasting, global wind patterns like depressions and anticyclones, extreme weather events, seasonal climate variations, phenomena like El Niño and La Niña, and climate change. It also contains review questions about weather systems and definitions of terms like isobars, jet streams, fronts, and air masses.

1. Weather, climate and ecosystems A2: Unit 4 - Global Challenge

2. Weather and climate - a course outline: 1. Weather forecasting 2. Global atmospheric circulation system 3. Depressions 4. Anticyclones 5. Extreme weather events 6. Seasonal variations in climate 7. El Ni ño and La Nina 8. Climate change

3. Weather and climate TRUE or FALSE 1. Winds blow from areas of low to high pressure. 2. Isobars are lines joining equal wind speeds. 3. Winds in the northern hemisphere are deflected to the right by the Coriolis force. 4. The Inter-tropical Convergence Zone is the area of low pressure at the equator, causing warm and dry conditions. 5. At the polar front, warm air from the tropics rises over cooler air from the Arctic causing low pressure and rainfall.

4. The global atmospheric circulation system TRUE or FALSE 6. A jet stream is a fast wind moving from the poles to the equator. 7. The boundary between two air masses is called a front. 8. High pressure is associated with overcast skies and prolonged rainfall. 9. A cold front is where cold, dense, polar air moves towards warm air forcing the warm air to rise.

5. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

6. Sudan, Africa

7. Technical fix: human ingenuity allows us to work round nature’s limitations. Determinism: nature controls societies and ecosystems.

8. Graphing the sensitivity of society to weather

9. The global atmospheric circulation system

14. Air masses affecting British weather

20. ANTICYCLONES An anticyclone is an area of high pressure. The sinking air (causing high pressure) has the effect of suppressing any rising air which might otherwise form clouds. Anticyclones are therefore associated with fine and dry weather. Anticyclone systems are large scale and stable.