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Earth Systems Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Atmosphere | The entire mass of air that surrounds the Earth, made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen,and trace amount of other gases |
Ozone Layer | Gas in earth's atmosphere that absorbs most of the damaging high-energy ultraviolet radiation from the sun |
UV radiation | A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum emitted by the sun; can cause tanning, sun burning, and skin cancers. |
Solar winds | A continuous stream of charged particles from the sun with variations, in the stream causing beautiful aurora displays (northern lights) as well as geomagnetic storms that knock out power grids on earth. |
Earths magnetic field | Magnetic lines of force from Earth's polar north and south, acting like a giant magnet |
Magnetosphere | An area that deflects and traps harmful particles; resulting from an interaction of Earth's magnetic field with solar "wind" streaming from the sun |