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World Climate
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| LACEMOPS | Latitude, Air Masses, Continentality, Elevation, Mountain Barriers, Ocean Currents, Pressure and Prevailing Winds, Storms |
| Latitude | Most important factor in determining the climate of a place |
| Low Latitudes | Degrees of latitude in between the two tropics and the equator. These have warm climates. Examples Brazil, Panama |
| Middle latitudes | Degress of latitude between 23 degrees latitude and 60 degrees latitude. These have mild climates. example France, Italy |
| High Latitudes | Degrees of Latitude at and above 60 degrees latitude. These areas have cold climates. examples Greenland, Siberia |
| Artic Circles | 60 degrees north and south. Cold climates. example Antartica |
| High Air Pressure | This pressure system creates light, warm and moist air. Perception usually follows |
| Monsoons | Seasonal winds storms that occur Southeast Asia. examples india, indonesia islands |
| Summer Monsoons | High pressure system that causes warm and rainy weather in Southeast Asia |
| Climate Regions | Regions that are categroized by certain climate types. examples marine west coast |
| Winter Monsoons | Low pressure system that causes cold dry seasons in southeast Asia |
| Warm Ocean Currents | Currents that flow from low latitude areas. They create moist climates. example of this is El nino |
| Cold Ocean Currents | Current that flow from high latitude areas. They create dry climate conditions. example of this is Benguela in South west Africa. |
| Continentality | The effect of distance from the moderating influence of the sea on climate. Example California vs. Missouri |
| Windward side | The side of a mountain range that faces oncoming winds. creating a cool and moist climate |
| Leeward side | back side of the mountain that starts at low pressure, but then heats and dries. |
| Rainshadow | Area on the leeward slope of mountain range where percipitation is greatly reduced compared to the wind ward slope on the other side. |
| elevation | height of land above sea level. Higher the elevation the thinner and colder the air gets (peaks of mountains have snow); for every 1000 foot increase in elevation, the temperature decreases by 3 1/2 degrees. |
| Axial Tilt | Earth's axis tilts 23.5 degrees |
| Equinox | period of equal days and nights; the beginning of spring and autumn; Ex. vernal/autumnal equinox; |
| Solstice | one of the two days on which, the suns rays hit the cancer of tropic of capricorn, marks the beginning of summer or winter |
| Coriolis effect | the effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents |
| weather | Condition of earths atmosphere at a particular time and place |
| climate | Overall weather in an area over a long period of time |
| precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface (rain, snow, hail, sleet, etc.) |
| Cold air masses | Come from the polar regions (highest latitudes) |
| Warm air masses | Come from the tropics (lower latitudes) |
| Fronts | the boundaries between air masses of different temperature or moisture levels |
| air masses | large bodies of air that have uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure |
| Places near large bodies of water | relatively mild climate |
| Inland areas | have more extreme climates for winter and summer |
| Mountain Barriers | high mountains located near large bodies of water block the moisture that blows in from the ocean and creates a rain shadow on the leeward side of the mountain. |
| Orographic effect | The precipitation that occurs when moist air rises up the side of a mountain |
| Ocean Currents | large movements of the water which transport heat energy throughout the biosphere, bringing heat back and forth between the tropics and the polar regions |
| El Nino | A warm ocean current that flows along the coast of Peru every seven to fourteen years |
| La Nina | A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns. |
| High Pressure | Heavy, cool air, brings clear skies and no rain |
| Low Pressure | Light, warm air, usually brings precipitation |
| Prevailing Winds | Winds that blow in the same direction over large areas of Earth. |
| Polar Easterlies | prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 degrees and 90 degrees latitude in both hemispheres |
| Westerlies | prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres |
| Trade Winds | Prevailing winds that blow northeast from 30 degrees north latitude to the equator and that blow southeast from 30 degrees south latitude to the equator |
| Doldrums | a region of the ocean near the equator with no prevailing winds |
| Horse latitude | between the westerlies and trade winds, they are an area of calm |
| HILO | winds move from high pressure areas to low pressure areas |
| storms | When hot air masses and cold air masses collide |
| tornado | form quickly; relatively small diameter; usually in middle latitudes |
| hurricanes | ocean storms that cover large areas and take days to form |
| typhoon | hurricanes in the western Pacific Ocean |
| cyclones | a violent, rotating wind storm (hurricanes, typhoons, etc.); in the Northern Hemisphere they rotate counter-clockwise, in the Southern Hemisphere they rotate clockwise |
Created by:
rudolph.beukes
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