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Weather & Climate
Unit 11
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Water Cycle | The continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, the land, the oceans, and living things |
| Evaporation | The change of state from a liquid to a gas |
| Transpiration | The process by which plants release water vapor into the air through stomata; also the release of water vapor into the air by other organisms |
| Sublimation | The process in which a solid changes directly into a gas |
| Condensation | The exchange of state from a gas to a liquid |
| Precipitation | Any form of water that falls to Earth's surface from the clouds; includes rain, snow, sleet, and hail |
| Weather | The short term state of the atmosphere, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and visibility |
| Humidity | The amount of water vapor in the air |
| Relative Humidity | The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the amount of water vapor needed to reach saturation at a given temperature |
| Dew Point | At constant pressure and water vapor content, the temperature at which the rate of condensation equals the rate of evaporation |
| Air Pressure | The measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface |
| Wind | The movement of air caused by differences in air pressure |
| Visibility | The distance at which a given standard object can be seen and identified with the unaided eye |
| Air Mass | A large body of air throughout which temperature and moisture content are similar |
| Front | The boundary between air masses of different densities and usually different temperatures |
| Jet Stream | A narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere |
| Thunder Storm | A usually brief, heavy storm that consists of rain, strong winds, lightning, and thunder |
| Lightning | An electric discharge that takes place between two oppositely charged surfaces, such as between a cloud and the ground, between two clouds, or between two parts of the same cloud |
| Thunder | The sound caused by the rapid expansion of air along an electrical strike |
| Hurricane | A severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 119 km/h spiral in toward the intensely low - pressure storm center |
| Storm Surge | A local rise in sea level near the shore that is caused by strong winds from a storm, such as those from a hurricane |
| Tornado | A destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that may be visible as a funnel - shaped cloud |
| Sinkhole | A circular depression that forms when rock dissolves, when overlying sediment fills an existing cavity, or when the roof of an underground cavern or mine collapses |
| Wildfire | An unplanned fire in land that is undeveloped except for roads and power lines and other structures |
| Muck fire | A fire that burns organic material in the soil |
| Climate | The weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
| Latitude | The angular distance north or south from the equator: expressed in degrees |
| Topography | The size and shape of the land surface features of a region, including its relief |
| Elevation | The height of an object above sea level |
| Surface Currents | A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean's currents |