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Science Quarter 4
Atmospheric Science Ch 9-11
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| meteorology | The study of the atmosphere |
| weather | Condition of the atmosphere at any given time |
| Atmospheric pressure | The weight (force exerted) of the gases in the atmosphere |
| Absolute humidity | The total amount of water vapor a certain volume of air holds |
| Relative humidity | the ratio of the amount of water the air does hold to the amount of water it can hold. |
| Wind chill factor | The temperature of still air that would have the same effect on the exposed skin as a certain combination of air temperature and wind speed |
| precipitation | Any form of water that falls to the earth’s surface from the sky |
| mirage | A real optical phenomenon that the atmosphere produces because of the differing densities of hot and cool air and the way light travels through them |
| Greenhouse Effect | The warming of the lower atmosphere by infrared radiation that is radiated by the earth’s surface after it absorbs visible radiation from the sun |
| Greenhouse gases | Certain gases, like water vapor and carbon dioxide, are more effective at trapping gases in the atmosphere |
| conduction | heat transferred through direct contact between substances (conduct) |
| convection | energy is carried from one place to another due to differences in density (oven) |
| atmosphere | The envelope of gases surrounding our planet |
| homosphere | Homogeneous mixture of gases |
| heterosphere | Gas layers above the homosphere consisting of separate layers of oxygen, helium, and hydrogen |
| troposphere | The weather layer |
| Lapse rate | Steady drop in temperature |
| stratosphere | The second temperature layer |
| Jet streams | A high speed wind current with winds up to 300mph! |
| contrail | Vapor trail left by airplanes |
| exosphere | The outermost zone of the earth’s atmosphere that extends into space itself |
| Ozone layer | Shields the earth from the harmful forms of ultraviolet light |
| ionosphere | Reflects short radio waves |
| magnetosphere | Composed of protons and electrons from the sun that have become trapped in the earth’s magnetic field |
| evaporation | Liquid changes into a gas |
| Condensation | A gas changes into a liquid |
| Vaporization | Liquid changes to a vapor |
| boils | Rapid vaporization of a liquid at its boiling point |
| freezes | Liquid changes to solid |
| melts | Solid turns into liquid |
| sublimation | Solid changes directly into a gas, or vice versa |
| Dew point | The temperature at which the relative humidity is 100% |
| cloud | A mass of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in air |
| Adiabatic cooling | Cooling of an air mass (without a change in the air mass’s overall thermal energy) by a reduction in atmospheric pressure and/or an increase in volume |
| Condensation nuclei | Microscopic particles of material, such as salt or smoke, around which the tiny water droplets form |
| Freezing nuclei | Small particles of clay or dust shaped like ice crystals |
| Supercooled water | Cloud droplets that remain liquid even with very cold temperatures |
| fog | The stratus cloud is so low that it touches the ground |
| drizzle | Small droplets of rain falling slowly |
| Mares’ tails | Cirrus clouds that are arranged in wispy streaks or bands across the sky |
| Mackerel sky | Cirro- and altocumulus clouds that form in patterns that resemble the striped markings on the sides of a mackerel |
| Dew | Water that condenses on a cool surface when air in contact with the surface cools to below its dew point. |
| frost | The Ice crystals that sublimate on a cold surface when the film of air in contacts with the surface is cooled to a dew point below freezing. |
| coalescence | Smaller pieces joining together to form a single larger mass. |
| Convection | The process by which energy is carried from one place to another due to differences of density in matter. (ex |
| orographic | The lifting of an air mass and resulting precipitation as it flows over a mountain. |
| front | The boundary surface between two dissimilar air masses. |
| Frontal wedging | Vertical Movement of a warm air mass due to a wedge of cold air moving in under it. |
| Convergence | The collision of two or more air masses or winds at a single location. |
| Freezing rain | Supercooled water that falls as rain and then freezes on the surface it contacts. |
| snow | Frozen precipitation formed by the sublimation of water vapor onto freezing nuclei. |
| sleet | Small frozen or partially frozen raindrops that form when rain falls through a layer of cold air. |
| hail | Precipitation in the form of spheres or irregular lumps of ice. |
| Air mass | A huge body of air that has somewhat uniform temperature and humidity and covers hundreds or thousands of square kilometers of the earth’s surface |
| Source region | The air mass takes on the humidity and temperature of this region |
| Warm air masses | Warmer than the surface over which they pass |
| Cold air masses | Cooler than the surface over which they pass |
| Stationary front | The boundary is not moving |
| Warm front | Warmer air is replacing cooler air |
| Cold front | Colder air is replacing warmer air |
| Squall line | Line of thunderstorms |
| Pressure gradient force | The horizontal force exerted on a mass of air that has a higher pressure on one side than on the other |
| Geostrophic winds | A high-altitude wind that is controlled by the relative influence of the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis effect |
| cyclones | A weather system centered on a low-pressure area |
| Sea breeze | Wind from sea to shore. Usually during a sunny day when it is warmer on the land |
| Land breeze | Wind from the shore to the sea. Usually at night when the water is warmer than the land |
| Valley breezes | Slopes of mountains tend to heat up quicker, causing winds that go up the mountain (hang glider example) |
| Mountain breeze | At night, the valleys tend to stay warmer, causing winds from the tops of the mountains down to the valleys |
| doldrums | A low-pressure zone caused by the rising of warm air |
| Horse latitudes | Zones of high pressure circling the earth that are caused by descending air |
Created by:
jrasmussenheritage
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