Tropical Meteorology - Sample Quiz

NOTE that this is a sample subset of possible questions like those I might 
use in an exam.  DO NOT assume that this list covers the entire scope of 
any exam.  It does not.

PART A: SHORT ANSWERS/DEFINITIONS

1.  Give an example of one characteristic of the tropical atmosphere that 
distinguishes it from the middle and higher latitudes.

2.  Give a comprehensive definition of a tropical cyclone.  Do not describe the 
system in great detail, but list the major features discriminating it from other 
weather phenomena.

3.  What percentage of the Earth’s surface lies within the tropics?

4.  What is the Hadley cell?

5.  Draw a schematic of a tropical cyclone.  Label the five major parts of the 
system.

6.  How many tropical cyclones (on average) occur globally?

7.  What does the word “monsoon” mean?  (Actually, the original word is 
“mausam”, from the Indian - don’t ask me which Indian).

8.  Where are the monsoon regimes around the world?

9.  List the six environmental characteristics that Gray identified as necessary for 
tropical cyclogenesis.  What physical processes do these describe indirectly?

10.  List five factors that may affect the motion of a tropical cyclone.

11.  What role does the southern Indian Ocean play in the Asian Summer 
Monsoon?

12.  Is the Hadley cell found at all longitudes?  Why/why not?

13.  Are there glaciers in the tropics?  Why/why not?


PART B:  MORE DEPTH/BREADTH

1.  Describe the pattern of tropical ocean surface currents and relate this to the 
sea surface temperature patterns.  How will the atmosphere respond to this 
lower boundary forcing?  [Hint: think of the other cell in the tropics]

2.  Describe the role of the Hadley cell in the general circulation of the 
atmosphere.

3.  Explain physically why the Hadley cell does not extend all the way to each 
pole.  You may like to include sample calculations.

4.  Explain the evolution of the b-gyres for a tropical cyclone on a rotating 
sphere.  What is the implied propagation (motion that is different from the 
steering flow) for a cyclone?  For an anticyclone?  How will the propagation for a 
cyclone change if the steering flow has anticyclonic vorticity?

5.  How does the monsoon trough affect tropical cyclogenesis?  Relate your 
answer to Gray’s seasonal genesis parameter (i.e. the six environmental 
characteristics you listed in question A9 above).

6.  Why can’t the entire tropical atmosphere be ascending?  Think of the 
thermodynamic structure (q(z) or qE(z)).

7.  Define Rossby number, inertial stability parameter, and local absolute angular 
momentum (i.e. use tangential wind for the TC instead of the Earth’s zonal wind) 
for a tropical cyclone.

8.  Describe the regimes of the tropical cyclone that you drew in question A5.  
You will want to use the definitions you gave in question B7.

9.  Describe the seasonality of tropical cyclone occurrence in the Bay of Bengal 
and Arabian Sea.  Why are the storms most active then? 

10.  How do the Asian summer and winter monsoons differ?  What is the primary 
role of the Tibetan plateau in the Asian summer monsoon?

11.  How does El Nino affect Atlantic and eastern Pacific tropical storms?

12.  What timescales are important when studying tropical meteorology and 
why?