Weather And Climate

Front 1

Weather

Back 1

temperature, wind, percipitation recorded for hrs/days

Front 2

Climate

Back 2

trends in data that have been gathered for extended periods of time

Front 3

Trophosphere

Back 3

lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere

-contains virtually all air, clouds, and precipitation

Front 4

Insolation

Back 4

the incoming solar radiation

Front 5

Lapse Rate

Back 5

rate of temp. change with altitude in the troposphere

Front 6

Temperature Inversion

Back 6

Air at lower altitudes is cooler than air aloft

Front 7

Air pressure

Back 7

air is heavier and air pressure is higher closer to earth's surface

Front 8

Pressure gradient force

Back 8

causes air to blow from an area of high pressure to low pressure

Front 9

Convection

Back 9

circulatory motion of descending cool air and ascending warm

Front 10

Land breeze

Back 10

air flow from the land toward the sea

-nighttime

Front 11

Sea breeze

Back 11

airflow from sea toward land

-daytime

Front 12

Mountain breezes

Back 12

cause freezing conditions in valleys

Front 13

valley breezes

Back 13

warn air moving up slopes in mountainous regions

Front 14

Coriolis effect

Back 14

-wind veers toward the right in the N. Hemi

-wind veers toward the left in the S. Hemi

-if not for this effect, winds would move exact direction by the pressure gradient

Front 15

Frictional Effect

Back 15

causes wind to follow an intermediate path

Front 16

Jet Streams

Back 16

strongest flow of upper air winds 9 to 12 km

Front 17

Monsoon

Back 17

a wind that changes direction seasonally

Front 18

North Atlantic Drift

Back 18

massive movement of warm water to northerly lands

Front 19

Precipitation

Back 19

any form of water particles that falls from the atmosphere to the surface

Front 20

Relative Humidity

Back 20

a percentage measure of the moisture content of the air

Front 21

Dew Point

Back 21

critical temperature for condensation

Front 22

Steppes

Back 22

moderately dry lands

Front 23

Convectional Precipitation

Back 23

rising, heated moisture-laden air

Front 24

Orographic precipitation

Back 24

occurs when warm air is forced to rise because hills or mountains block moisture-laden winds

Front 25

Cyclonic/Frontal Precipitation

Back 25

cool and warm air masses meet

Front 26

Air masses

Back 26

large bodies of air with similar temp. and humidity characteristics throughout

Front 27

Source region

Back 27

large areas of uniform surface and relatively consistent temp.

Front 28

Front

Back 28

leading edge of a tongue of air that is created by continental polar air mass and begins to move towards lighter, warmer air to the south

Front 29

Hurricane

Back 29

intense tropical cyclone begins in a low pressure zone over warm waters

Front 30

Blizzard

Back 30

occurrence of snow and high winds

Front 31

Tornado

Back 31

most violent storm; when adjacent air masses differ the most

Front 32

Tropical Rainforest

Back 32

areas that straddle the equator generally located within equatorial low pressure zones

Front 33

Savanna

Back 33

areas to the North and South of the rainforest

Front 34

Marine West Coast Climate

Back 34

areas close to the poles but still within westerly wind belt

Front 35

Tundra

Back 35

northern boundary zone beyond the treed subartic regions

Front 36

Greenhouse effect

Back 36

certain gases concentrate in the atmosphere and function as an insulating barrier

Front 37

Global Warming

Back 37

enhanced greenhouse effect increase in earth's average surface temperature

Front 38

Cyclone

Back 38

large system of air circulation centered on a region of low atmospheric pressure

Front 39

El Nino

Back 39

normally cool waters are considerably warmer every 3 to 4yrs

Front 40

Reflection

Back 40

potentially receivable radiation that is sent back to space

Front 41

Reradiation

Back 41

Earth's surface acts as a communicator of energy

Front 42

Typhoon

Back 42

A hurrincane occurring in the western Pacific Ocean region