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chapter 14 vocab
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| climate | the long-term average weather conditions that occur in a particular region |
| rain shadow | an area of low rainfall on the downwind slope of a mountain |
| specific heat | the amount of thermal energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a material by 1 c |
| microclimate | a localized climate that is different from the climate of the larger area surrounding it |
| ice ages | cold periods lasting from hundreds to millions of years when glaciers cover much of earth |
| interglacials | the warm periods that last during ice ages or between ice ages |
| el nino/ southern oscillation | the combined ocean and atmospheric cycle that results in weekend winds across the pacific ocean |
| monsoon | a wind circulation pattern that changes direction with the seasons |
| drought | a period with below average precipitation |
| global warming | the rise in earths average surface temperature during the past 100 years |
| greenhouse gases | gasses in the atmosphere that absorb earths outgoing infrared radiation |
| deforestation | the large scale cutting and/ or burning of forests |
| global climate model | a set of complex equations used to predict future climates |