APES Unit 4 Study Set

Term
1 / 30
Climate
Click the card to flip 👆
Terms in this set (30)
Climate
the average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period of time
Weather
the short-term conditions of the atmosphere in a local area, which include temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, and wind speed
Layers of Earth in order
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere
Trophosphere
- layer of the atmosphere closest to earth
- where air is the densest
- layer where the most Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Water Vapor is
- Where weather occurs
- Air Temperature is highest
Stratosphere
- Layer of the atmosphere above troposphere
- Less dense than troposphere
- Ozone layer is here
Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere
- pressure and density continues to decrease
- the thermosphere blocks harmful radiations and crated charged gas molecules that when struck with solar energy, begin to glow (creating Aurora Borealis and the Southern Lights)
Causes of Uneven Warming Patterns
- The angle of the Sun's ray strike (equator receives perpendicular, and mid-latitude and polar regions have oblique angles)
- Variation in the amount of surface ray distribution (equator rays are distributed over a smaller surface area, making them more concentrated and making the equator warmer)
- Albedo: the amount of light that reflects off of surfaces like snow, so some areas reflect more solar energy than others
What causes Earth's seasons
Tilt of the earth's axis as the earth travels around the sun
Northern Hemisphere tilted toward sun = Summer
What causes air currents?
uneven heating of the earth's surface
- Air currents bring warm and cold air to different places, which also moves moisture and therefore, different areas experience different levels of precipitation
What are the properties that determine how air circulates in the atmosphere?
1. Air Density (warm air rises)
2. Water vapor capacity (saturation)
3. Adiabatic Heating/Cooling
4. Latent Heat Release
adiabatic heatingthe heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of Earth and decreases in volumeadiabatic coolingthe cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expandslatent heat releasethe release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid waterAtmospheric convection currentsglobal patterns of air movement that are initiated by the unequal heating of EarthHadley Cellsa large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or southIntertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)The latitude that receives the most intense sunlight, which causes the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells to converge - this zone has a lot of dense clouds and thunderstorm activityPolar Cellswhere polar air sinks and flows away from the poles downward meeting the ferrel cells at 60 degrees latitudeFerrel CellsLocated between 30° and 60° N and S, This causes high rainfall areas around 30° and 60° N and SCoriolis EffectThe effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents.The northern hemisphere's winds gocounterclockwiseThe southern hemisphere's winds goclockwiserain shadowa region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward sidegyresHuge circular moving current systems dominate the surfaces of the oceans.gyres moveclockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphereupwellingThe movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surfacethermohaline circulationan oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep waterEl Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)The periodic changes in winds and ocean currents, causing cooler and wetter conditions in the southeastern United States and unusually dry weather in southern Africa and Southeast Asia.lake layerslittoral, limnetic, profundal, benthicocean layersintertidal zone, photic gets sunlight, so has more life; aphotic is deeper and has no light/, Surface (mixed) layer (0-200m; it stays well mixed) Intermediate layer (200-1500m; it has a major temperature change) Bottom layer (1500-bottom; it is uniformly cold at 4°C)levels of lake productivityoligotrophic (low), mesotrophic (mid), eutrophic (high)