| Term | Definition |
|---|
| nitrogen | the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, 78% |
| oxygen | makes up 21% of the dry air |
| water vapor | the gaseous form of water, compses up to 4% of air depending on humidity and altitude |
| homosphere | scientists often refer to the lower atmosphere |
| homo (means) | same or uniform |
| homosphere consists of a fairly | uniform mixture of gases |
| heterosphere | the upper atmosphere is often referred to as the |
| hetero (means) | different |
| heterosphere is charaterized by | several layers of different gases |
| troposphere | the lowest layer of the atmosphere, extends from the ground to roughly 7 miles high |
| stratosphere | the layer immediately above the tropopause |
| stratosphere stretches from the | tropopause to an altitude of about 30 miles |
| ozone layer | it is the shield that God created in the sky to protect us from the effects of the concentrated UV |
| frigid layer | stratopause the temperature begins to drop on ce more as altitude increases |
| mesosphere (means) | middle or between |
| thermosphere | this layer of the atmosphere is characterized by high temperatures |
| heat or thermal energy | in transit, absorbed by the atmosphere differs from place to place and from time to time, but there seems to be a balance between the energy that the earth receives from the sun and the energy that the earth radiates back into space. |
| perihelion | the earth receives about 7% more insolation at its colsest point to the sun |
| aphelion | itsfarthest point from the sun |
| energy budget | the amount of energy available to heat the earth's land, water, and air |
| greenhouse effect | the process of trapping thermal energy in the earth's atmosphere is referred to as the |
| radiation | heart travels from the campfire to your skin by a process called ________ in which heat transferred by electromagnetic waves. |
| conduction | heat can also be transferred by _______ direct contact between two objects |
| convection | heat transfer by moving currents of hot air |
| convection currents | currents set into motion by this process (convection) |
| winds | are caused by the unequal heating of the earth's surface |
| parallels of latitude | run east and west around the glove and are used to measure distance north or south of the equator. |
| lines of logitude or meridians | run north and south and come together at the North Pole and South Pole |
| Prime Meridian | the meridians are used to measure distance east or west, which runs trough Greenwich, England |
| Coriolis effect | the way in which the earth's rotation causes a change in the course of the winds is known as the |
| cyclone | instead of meeting at the center, the winds form a circulating spiral around the low called a _______ that rotates counterclockwise |
| doldrums | in the days of sailing vessels, this zone was known as the ____ because sailing ships were often becalmed there |
| horse latitudes | are regions of high pressue and gentle winds at about 30 degrees north and south latitude |
| trade winds | the surface winds which blow toward ther equator from the high-pressure regions of the horse latitudes are called |
| polar easterlies | these winds lag behind the earth's rotation so that they blow out of the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and out of the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere together they are called |
| prevailing westerlies | winds blow northward, they "outrun" the earth's surface because of the Coriolis effect so that they come out of the southwest or northwest, thus, they are called |
| monsoon effect | seasonal change in wind direction, winds that reverse their direction from season to season |
| sea breeze | consequently cooler air from over the water blows inland during the afternoon, producing a gentle |
| land breeze | difference in pressure causes a cool, gentle wind called a ________ to blow from the land to the sea |
| mountain breeze | this dense, cool air then flows downward along the surface toward valleys and lower ground as a gentle wind |
| valley breeze | this pressure difference causes the dense, cool air of the valleys to move up along the hillsides, creating a |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
!