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chapter 12 vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Weather | short term variations in atmospheric phenomena that interact and affect the environment and life on earth |
climate | the long term average of variations in weather for a particular area |
air mass | a large volume of air that has the same characteristics such as humidity and temperature |
source region | the area over which the air mass forms |
Coriolis effect | results in fluids and objects moving in an apparent curved path rather than a straight line |
polar easterlies | the wind zone between 60 degrees North latitude and the north pole and 60 degrees latitude and the south pole |
prevailing westerlies | the wind systems on Earth located between latitudes 30 degrees north and 60 degrees south and 30 degrees south and 60 degrees south |
trade winds | between latitudes 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south are the two circulation belts of wind |
jet stream | a narrow band of fast wind |
front | a narrow region between two air masses of different densities |
thermometer | measures temperature using either the Fahrenheit or Celsius scale |
barometer | measures air pressure |
anemometer | measures wind speed |
hygrometer | measures humidity |
radiosonde | an instrument used for gathering upper-atmospheric data |
Doppler effect | the change in pitch or frequency that occurs due to the relative motion of a wave, such as sound or light as it comes toward or goes away from on observer |
station model | a record of weather data for a particular site at a particular time |
isobars | lines of equal pressure |
isotherms | lines of equal temperature |
digital forecast | created by applying physical principles and mathematics to atmospheric variables and then making a prediction about how these variables will change over time |
analog forecast | based on a comparison of current weather patterns to similar weather patterns from the past |