click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Earth systems
Unit 10
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Earth system | All of the nonliving things, living things, and processes that makes up 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. |
| Eryosphere | One of 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 surround 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 which air molecules push on a surface. |
| Thermosphere | The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases. |
| Mesosphere | The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere and in which temperature decreases as altitude increases. |
| Stratosphere | The layer of the atmosphere lies between the troposphere and 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 atmosphere where weather condition exist. |
| Ozone layer | The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40 km in which ozone absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation. |
| Greenhouse effect | The warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb and reradiate energy . |
| Temperature | A measure 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 a substance's atoms. |
| Thermal expansion | An increase in the size of a substance in response to an increase in the 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 by differences in air pressure. |
| Global wind | The movement of air over Earth's surface in patterns that are 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 the ocean that follows a regular pattern. |
| Surface current | A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near ocean's surface. |
| Deep current | A stearmlike movemelisnt of ocean water far below the surface. |
| Convection currents | 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. |
| Coriolis effect | The curving of the path of a moving object from an other wise straight path due to earth's rotation. |