Term | Definition |
ATMOSPHERE | the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet |
STRATOSPHERE | the layer of the earth's atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about 32 miles (50 km) above the earth's surface (the lower boundary of the mesosphere). |
TROPOSPHERE | the lowest region of the atmosphere |
THERMOSPHERE | the region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the height at which the atmosphere ceases to have the properties of a continuous medium. The thermosphere is characterized throughout by an increase in temperature with height |
AIR PRESSURE | force exerted by the weight of the air. |
RADIATION | the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization. |
THERMAL CONDUCTION | Transfer of heat energy resulting from differences in temperature between adjacent bodies or adjacent parts of a body. In the absence of a heat pump, the energy will flow from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. |
GREEN HOUSE EFFECT | the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface. |
WIND | the perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction |
CORIOLIS EFFECT | the Coriolis effect is a deflection of moving objects when they are viewed in a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object; in one with counter-clockwise rotation, the |
WESTERLIES | (especially of a wind) coming from the west |
TRADE WINDS | any wind that blows in one regular course, or continually in the same direction. |
POLAR EASTERLIES | The polar easterlies are one of the five primary wind zones, known as wind belts, that make up our atmosphere's circulatory system. This particular belt of wind begins at approximately 60 degrees north and south latitude and reaches to the poles. When air |
JET STREAM | a flow of exhaust gasses from a jet engine. |
AIR POLLUTION | the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects. |
ACID PRECIPITATION | meteorological precipitation that is relatively acidic |