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71 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Structure |
Arrangement |
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Composition |
What something is made of. |
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Atmosphere |
Layer of gas above the surface of a planet. |
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Transfer |
Move from one place/thing to another |
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Evaporation |
Liquid turns to gas |
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Condensation |
Vapour (gas) turns to liquid (e.g. water droplets) |
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Troposphere |
Layer of atmosphere closet to earth's surface |
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Stratosphere |
Layer of atmosphere above troposphere |
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Mesosphere |
Third layer above the earth's surface (above stratosphere) |
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Thermosphere |
Fourth layer above surface (above mesosphere) |
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Exosphere |
Outer layer of atmosphere |
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Magnetosphere |
Magnetic field around earth |
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Stratopause |
Boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere |
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Mesopause |
Boundary between mesosphere and thermosphere |
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Temperature |
How hot something is / average kinetic energy of particles in a substance |
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Air Pressure |
Force exerted onto a surface (per square metre) by the weight of air particles |
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Air Density |
No. of air particles per cubic metre |
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Temperature gradient |
Rate and direction of change of temperature in a location |
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Pressure gradient |
Rate and direction of change of pressure in a location |
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Density gradient |
Rate and direction of change of air density in a location |
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Dew point |
Temperature (dependent on atmospheric pressure) where water condenses (turns from gas to liquid) |
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Aerosol |
Solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere (either natural e.g. volcanic ash or man-made e.g. sulfates |
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Cloud |
Visible mass of condensed water vapour in the atmosphere |
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Insolation |
Amount of solar radiation reaching a certain area |
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Radiation |
Waves of energy e.g. light, heat |
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Heat |
Total kinetic energy of particles / type of energy |
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Convection |
Movement of heat in fluids (gases and liquids) upwards as they are less dense. |
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Wind |
Moving air from high pressure to low pressure areas |
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Convection cell |
Movement / circulation of air in the atmosphere caused by convection (heating) |
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Hadley cell |
Closed convection cell moving from the equator to 30 N/S, caused by direct heating of the equator |
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Ferrel cell |
Open convection cell between 30 and 60 N/S, caused as a result of the other two cells (Hadley and Polar) |
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Polar cell |
Closed convection cell moving from the poles to 60N/S, caused by lack of heat at the poles (heat sink) |
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Coriolis effect |
Apparent deflection of the earth's winds due to the rotation of the earth |
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Westerlies |
Surface winds from west to east, found in the Ferrel cells |
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Easterlies |
Surface winds from east to west, found in the Hadley and Polar cells |
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Climate |
Average weather patterns in a region over many years |
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Weather |
Events happening in the atmosphere on any day e.g. temperature, winds etc. |
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Weather is |
The short-term atmospheric conditions that we see at any one moment. |
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Climate is |
The average conditions found in the atmosphere over a long period of time |
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Climateis related to |
the convection regions at various latitudes, temperature differences between the equator and the poles, and warm and cold surface ocean currents. |
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Why climate zones occur |
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Temperatures in the temperate zone are affected most by |
the changing seasons. |
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The driving energy source for heating of Earth and circulation in Earth'satmosphere comes from |
the Sun and is known as solar energy. |
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Convection Currents |
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Wind |
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Global Winds are caused by |
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Coriolis Effect |
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Trade Winds |
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Prevailing Westerlies |
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Polar Easterlies |
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Jet Stream |
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Weather systems in New Zealand move from |
west to east because of the Jet Stream and the Prevailing Westerlies wind belt. |
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Tropical Weather Systems, like hurricanes, move |
in the direction of the trade winds, from east to west. If they enter the prevailing westerly wind belt, they are often turned, and move from west to east. |
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Doldrums |
Areanear the equator with very little wind. |
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Area near the equator with very little wind. |
On a smaller scale, convection currents near large bodies of water can cause landand sea breezes. |
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Sea breeze |
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Land breeze |
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Radiation |
Transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves. Sunlight and heat energy are examples. |
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Some of the Sun's energy coming through Earth's atmosphere is |
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Absorption is |
when energy is taken in by an object. Gases in the atmosphere can absorb solar energy. |
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Reflection is |
when energy bounces off a surface. Clouds tend to reflect sunlight back out into space. Since clouds reflect the energy, they don't get warmed by it. |
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Land heats up and cools down |
fairly quickly. |
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Water heats up and cools down |
fairly slowly. |
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Process known as the Greenhouse Effect. |
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Gases in the Troposphere that absorbs heat energy radiating off Earth's surface. |
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Gas is the Stratosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation. |
Ozone |
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The water on Earth |
helps to regulate the temperature range of Earth's atmosphere. |
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Surface currents of Earth's oceans |
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Surface ocean currents are caused by |
Differences in temperature, Differences in salinity, and by wind. |
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Warm Gulf Stream current water |
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Cold California current |
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