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Topic 5
Insolation and Seasons
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Absorption | The process by which a material takes on electromagnetic energy. |
| Air temperature | A measurement of the average kinetic energy or the degree of heat in the atmosphere. |
| Angle of insolation | The angle at which the sun’s rays strike a surface, or the measured altitude of the Sun above the horizon. |
| Atmosphere | The mixture of gases that surround the Earth, consisting primarily of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. |
| Atmospheric transparence | The ability of the atmosphere to allow light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation to pass through to Earth’s surface. |
| Carbon dioxide | A gas composed of one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen. A greenhouse gas that is produced by the combustion of fossil fuels |
| Cloud | The observable results of condensation in the atmosphere. A cloud is composed of liquid water droplets and/or ice crystals that |
| Cloud cover | A visual measurement of the amount of sky containing clouds; it is measured by observing the sky and estimating the percentage of area covered with clouds |
| Condensation | The change in state of matter from a vapor to a liquid. Condensation of water vapor during cloud formation releases large amounts of energy to the atmosphere. |
| Conduction | A method of heat transfer through solids. Heat transfer that is caused by the collision of atoms in solids. |
| Convection | A method of heat transfer through fluids such as air or water. The circulatory motion that occurs when different areas of a fluid are at different temperatures. |
| Convection currents | A method of heat transfer in liquids and gases (fluids) that involves density differences and produces a circulation pattern within the fluid |
| Cyclic change | A pattern of change that repeats within regular intervals of time and/or space. |
| Deforestation | The devastating removal of all trees and vegetation from an area; deforestation can result in increased runoff, erosion, and mass wasting. |
| Density | The property of matter that indicates the mass per unit volume. Density provides an indication of the packing of the particles of matter. Density is calculated by the equation: D=m/v |
| Distance | The separation in time or space between two points or locations. |
| Duration of insolation | The period of time that a surface receives solar energy. The number of daylight hours. |
| El Niño | An extensive ocean warming that begins in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru, South America. Shifts in the strength and direction of the trade winds |
| Electromagnetic energy | Energy transferred by waves of electric and magnetic fields vibrating at right angles to each other |
| Electromagnetic spectrum | A method of classifying radiation on the basis of wavelength and frequency. The continuous listing of wave energy from the shortest wavelengths and highest frequencies |
| Energy | The ability or capacity for doing work. Energy can broadly be classified as Potential, energy of position, and Kinetic, energy of motion |
| Fall equinox | Autumnal equinox. The day of the year in which the length of day equals the length of night. The day during which the vertical ray of the sun moves southward across the equator. |
| Fossil Fuels | Non-renewable resources including coal, oil, and natural gas; the burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and water vapor |
| Glacier | An agent of erosion; a large mass of moving ice that flows as a result of its own weight. Glaciers are classified as: valley, piedmont, and continental. |
| Global temperature changes | World-wide increases and/or decreases in Earth’s surface temperature. Ice ages are an example of periods of global cooling. The melting of ice and rises in sea level are results of global warming. |
| Greenhouse effect | The heating of Earth’s atmosphere as a result of the absorption of terrestrial infrared radiation by atmospheric gases such as: water vapor (H20), carbon dioxide (CO2 |
| Heat transfer | The movement of heat energy from regions of high concentration (source) to regions of low concentration (sink). The movement of heat energy by the processes of conduction, convection, or radiation. |
| Hydrogen (H) | The lightest, most abundant element in the universe. Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water (H2O). |
| Infrared radiation | Electromagnetic waves with wavelengths longer than the visible portion of spectrum; terrestrial radiation; electromagnetic waves that are absorbed by carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, CFCs resulting in the Greenhouse effect, producing global warming |
| Insolation | A term that stands for incoming solar radiation. The electromagnetic energy produced by the Sun that rives most Earth systems. |
| Jet Streams | Narrow bands of winds with relatively strong velocities located in the atmosphere. |
| Land Breeze | A wind that moves from the land out to sea as coastal land areas cool faster during the evening than the adjacent body of water. A wind that moves from the land towards the water as a result of a descending air current and high pressure over the land |
| Latitude | The angular distance (in degrees) measured North and South of the equator. The latitude of an observer is equal to the altitude of Polaris. |
| Methane | n at a greater rate than an equal amount of carbon dioxide.An organic compound with the composition CH4. ; a greenhouse gas that absorbs infrared radiatio |
| Nitrogen (N) | Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere. Some nitrogen-14 forms as a result of the radioactive decay of carbon14 (radiocarbon) |
| Orbit | The path a object takes as it revolves around another object. The path of a planet around the Sun, or a satellite around a planet. |
| Oxygen (O) | A gas that makes up approximately 21% of the troposphere. Diatomic oxygen gas, O2 . The most abundant element in Earth's crust. Oxygen combines with hydrogen to form water, and with silicon to form the basic unit of silicate minerals. |
| Ozone | Triatomic oxygen. A form of oxygen that is composed of three atoms (O3). A gas that is produced in the stratosphere through the absorption of ozone in the absorption of ultraviolet radiation from the sun and the recombination of oxygen molecules. |
| Ozone Hole | Measured decreases in amounts of the gas ozone (O3) over the poles during the appropriate winter months. |
| Ozone Layer | A zone of high ozone (O3) concentration located in the stratosphere. The ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation. |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which organisms such as green plants and cyanobacteria are able to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce sugar and oxygen; a process that adds oxygen to the atmosphere. |
| Precipitation | Weather phenomena of rain, snow, sleet, and hail. |
| Pressure | Force per unit area. As the depth within the Earth increases the pressure on the earth materials increases. |
| Radiation | The form of heat transfer by electromagnetic waves. Radiation can transfer energy through the vacuum of space and/or transparent objects. |
| Rain shadow zone desert | An arid region that forms on the leeward side of a mountain barrier. As warm, moist air is forced up the windward side of a mountain, adiabatic cooling results in the removal of moisture through condensation and precipitation. |
| Sea Breeze | A wind that forms in coastal regions on sunny days as the land heats faster than the water; wind that move from the sea towards the land. |
| Sea ice/pack ice | Seasonal ice that forms in both polar regions. Sea ice generally contains pockets of salt water and is not as dense or thick as glacial ice (fresh water ice) that forms on land. |
| Solar altitude | The observed height of the Sun above the horizon. Solar altitude is generally measured as an angle that varies cyclically with the time of day and season of the year. |
| Specific heat | The amount of heat required to change the temperature of one gram of a substance 1° C without a change in phase. The heat capacity of a material. |
| Spring Equinox | Also called vernal equinox. The day of the year when the direct ray of the noon time Sun strikes the equator as the Sun's rays move from south to north |
| Stratosphere | The portion of the Earth’s atmosphere located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is absorbed through the production of ozone in the stratosphere. |
| Summer Solstice | The day of the year, on or about June 21, when the Sun’s vertical rays strike the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude). In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the day with the greatest number of daylight hours and highest noontime altitude of the Sun. |
| Sun | Northern Hemisphere, it is the day with the greatest number of daylight hours and highest noontime altitude of the Sun. The star that the Earth and moon orbit. The central body of the Solar System. The source of energy for most of Earth Systems. |
| Temperature | A measure of the degree of heat or random motion of the particles in an object or region. |
| Terrestrial radiation | The electromagnetic energy given off by the Earth’s surface, mostly in the form of heat or infrared radiation. |
| Transpiration | The loss of water vapor by the leaves of plants. Plants take in liquid water through their roots and lose water vapor through their leaves. |
| Tropic of Cancer | 23.5° N latitude. The latitude that marks the farthest north that the Sun’s vertical rays strike the surface of the Earth |
| Visible light | The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to which the human eye is sensitive. Visible light has wavelengths that are shorter than infrared rays and longer than ultraviolet rays. |
| Volcanic activity | Any surface or subsurface events associated with the eruption of volcanoes. |
| Water vapor | Water in the gaseous phase. |
| Weather | The combination of all atmospheric conditions at a given location for a short period of time (hours or days). |
| Wind | The horizontal movement of air. Surface winds are the result of the differential heating of the Earth. Advection. |
| Winter Solstice | The day of the year, on or about December 21, when the Sun’s vertical rays strike the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S latitude). In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the day with the fewest number of daylight hours and lowest noontime altitude of the sun |
Created by:
bhowell65
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