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Flora - Atmosphere
Chpt. 19 Air Pressure & Wind
Question | Answer |
---|---|
the force exerted by the weight of a column of air above a given point | air pressure |
the swift (120-140 km per hour) high-altitude winds | jet stream |
the apparent deflective force of Earth's rotation on all free-moving objects, including the atmosphere and oceans (deflection to right in Northern Hemisphere and to left in Southern Hemisphere) | Coriolis Effect |
an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure | barometer |
the amount of pressure change occurring over a given distance (closely spaced isobars = a steep pressure gradient and high winds) | pressure gradient |
a low-pressure center characterized by a counterclockwise flow of air in the Northern Hemisphere | cyclone |
seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents, especially Asia (heat from land during summer causes air to rise, producing a low-pressure system that pulls in moist air from the ocean) (high pressure over land pushes air out to sea) | monsoon |
2 belts of wind that blow almost constantly from easterly directions and are located on the north and south sides of the subtropical highs | trade winds |
winds that blow from the polar high toward the subpolar low | polar easterlies |
a high-pressure center characterized by a clockwise flow of air in the Northern Hemisphere | anticyclone |
the stormy frontal zone separating cold air masses of polar origin from warm air masses of tropical origin | polar front |
the dominant west-to-east motion of the atmosphere that characterizes the regions on the poleward side of the subtropical highs | westerlies |
a wind that consistently blows from one direction more than from another | prevailing wind |
the name given the periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern Pacific | El Nino |
an instrument used to determine wind speed | anemometer |