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Weather & Climate
Unit 11 vocabulary
| Word | 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 of 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 changes 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 in the air to the amount of the 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. |
| thunderstorm | 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. |
| 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 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 underground cavern or mine collapses. |
| wildfire | An unplanned fire in land that is undeveloped except for roads and power lines and other such structures. |
| muck fire | A fire that burns organic materials 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 | The horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean's surface. |