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Earth system
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Earth system | All of the nonliving things, the living things, and process that the planet Earth, including the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. |
| geosphere | The mostly solid, rocky part of Earth; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust. |
| hydrosphere | The portion of Earth that is water. |
| cryosphere | One of the earth's spheres where water is in solid form, including snow cover, floating ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground permafrost. |
| atmosphere | A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, moon, or other celestial body. |
| biosphere | The part of Earth where life exists; includes all of the living organisms on Earth. |
| energy budget | The net flow of energy into and out of a system. |
| air pressure | The measure of the force with air molecules push on a surface. |
| thermosphere | The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as the altitude increases. |
| mesosphere | 1. The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and 5the outer core, 2. The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere and in which temperature decreases as altitude increases. |
| stratophere | The layer of the atmosphere that lies between the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer. |
| troposphere | The lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist. |
| ozone layer | The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40 km in which ozone absorbs utraviolet solar radiation. |
| greenhouse effect | The lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exisit. |
| temperature | A measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object. |
| thermal energy | The total kinetic energy of substance's atoms. |
| thermal expansion | An increase in the size of a substance in response to an increase in temperature of the substance. |
| heat | The energy transferred between objects that are at different temperatures. |
| radiation | The transfer of energy as electromagnet waves. |
| convection | The movement of matter due to differences in density; the transfer of energy due to the movement of matter. |
| conduction | The transfer of energy as heat through a material. |
| wind | The movement of air caused differences in air pressure. |
| Coriolis effect | The curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth's rotation. |
| global wind | The movement of air over Earth's surface worldwide. |
| jet stream | A narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere. |
| local wind | The movement of air over short distances; occurs in specific areas as a result of certain geographical features. |
| ocean current | A movement of ocean water that follows a regular pattern. |
| surface current | A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind that occurs at or near ocean's surface. |
| deep current | A steam like movement of ocean water far below the surface. |
| convection current | Any movement of matter that results from differences in density; may be vertical, circular, or cyclical. |
| upwelling | The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface. |