Science - Unit V - Atmosphere
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Created by:
AdithyaGanesh on December 13, 2009
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21 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 weather | the condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place |
| climate | Overall weather in an area over a long period of time |
| ozone | a form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of two. protects us from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun |
| chlorofluorocarbons | chemical substance, found mainly in liquid coolants, that damages the earth's protective ozone layer |
| carbon dioxide | a chemical compound made from one atom of the element carbon and two atoms of the element oxygen. |
| fossil fuels | Combustible materials such as oil, coal and natural gas that are composed of the remains of formerly living material. |
| Sun Protection Factor | a number that refers to how much longer skin protected by a sunscreen can be exposed to the sun before becoming red(conpared to unprotected skin) |
| sunspots | areas on the sun's surface that are cooler and less bright than surrounding areas, are caused by the sun's magnetic field, and occur in cycles |
| convection currents | the upward movement of warm air and the downward movement of cool air |
| global wind patterns | Air circulation at surface creates wind patterns (Earth's shape and rotation causes variable latitudinal wind deflections.) |
| greenhouse effect | process by which atmospheric gases trap heat close to Earth's surface and prevent it from escaping into space |
| global warming | An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes) |
| density | mass per unit volume |
| barometric pressure | Pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere. It decreases with increasing altitude. |
| relative humidity | The ratio of the amount of water in the air at a give temperature to the maximum amount it could hold at that temperature |
| salinity | measure of salt in water |
| UV radiation | damaging wave of light emitted by the sun - eads to cataracts in eyes, interferes with photosynthesis, kills phytoplankton, wakens the immune system |
| radiant energy | energy that travels in waves (includes solar energy, light energy) |
| El Nino | the name given to the periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern Pacific |
| Coriolis Effect | The way Earth's rotation makes winds in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right and winds in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left. |
| albedo | the reflective property of a non-luminous object |
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