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Earth systems
Unit 10
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Earth system | All of the nonliving things, living things, and processes that make up the planet Earth, including the solid earth, the hydro sphere, the atmosphere and biosphere. |
| Geosphere | The most 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 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 which air molecules push on a surface. |
| Thermosphere | The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases. |
| Mesosphere | The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. |
| Stratosphere | The layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases. |
| troposphere | The lowest layer of the atmosphere. in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases. |
| Ozone layer | The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40 km in which ozone absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation. |
| Green house 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 of how hot or cold something is. |
| 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 electromagnetic waves |
| convection | The movement of matter due to differences in density. |
| conduction | The transfer of energy as heat through a material. |
| wind | The movement of air caused by differences in air temperature. |
| 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 the Earth's surface in patterns that are world wide. |
| jet stream | a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere. |
| local wind | The movement of air over short distances |
| ocean current | A movement of ocean water that follows a regular pattern. |
| surface current | A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by winds and that occurs at or near the ocean's surface |
| deep current | a stream like movement of ocean water far below the surface. |
| convection current | Any movement of matter that results from differences in density. |
| upwelling | The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface. |