What term describes a low-pressure weather system in the tropics with winds circulating counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, which can intensify into hurricanes or typhoons?

What term describes a low-pressure weather system in the tropics with winds circulating counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, which can intensify into hurricanes or typhoons?

• A. Water Vapor
• B. Acoustical Tomography
• C. Antarctic Bottom Water
• D. Tropical Cyclone

Answer: (D)

A tropical cyclone is an organized low-pressure system that forms over warm tropical waters, drawing in heat and moisture to fuel its growth. The Coriolis effect sets the winds spinning, so the circulation is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. As it strengthens and develops a defining center and strong convection, it can intensify into the powerful storms known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, or typhoons in the western Pacific. Other terms listed describe things that aren’t tropical cyclones—water vapor is just a atmospheric constituent, acoustical tomography is a sensing method, and Antarctic Bottom Water is a deep-water mass—so they don’t fit this description.

A tropical cyclone is an organized low-pressure system that forms over warm tropical waters, drawing in heat and moisture to fuel its growth. The Coriolis effect sets the winds spinning, so the circulation is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. As it strengthens and develops a defining center and strong convection, it can intensify into the powerful storms known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, or typhoons in the western Pacific. Other terms listed describe things that aren’t tropical cyclones—water vapor is just a atmospheric constituent, acoustical tomography is a sensing method, and Antarctic Bottom Water is a deep-water mass—so they don’t fit this description.