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Ch 12 Vocab. Words
Vocab.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| weather | short-term variations in atmospheric phenomena that interact and affect the environment and life on Earth |
| climate | long term average of variation 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 | a deflection of moving objects when the motion is described relative to a rotating reference frame |
| polar easterlies | the wind zones between 60* N latitude and the north pole, and 60* S latitude and south pole |
| prevailing westerlies | the wind systems on Earth located between latitudes 30* N and 60*N, and 30* S and 60* S |
| trade winds | between latitudes 30* N and 30* S are two circulation belts of wind |
| jet stream | a narrow band of fast wind |
| front | air masses with different characteristics can collide and result in dramatic weather changes |
| 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 |
| station model | is a record of weather data for a particular site at a particular time |
| isobar | lines of equal pressure |
| isotherm | lines of equal temperature |
| digital forecast | is created by applying physical principles and mathematics to atmospheric variables will change over time |
| analog forecast | is based on a comparison of current weather patterns to similar weather patterns from the past |