Term | Definition |
Atmosphere | a mixture of gases that surrounds some planets |
Air Pressure | The measure of the force with which particles in the air push on an area of a surface |
Troposphere | the lowest layer of the atmosphere |
Stratosphere | the layer above the troposphere |
Mesosphere | The atmosphere layer above the stratosphere |
Ionosphere | the layer above the mesosphere |
Exosphere | The top layer of the atmosphere |
Thermosphere | The uppermost layer of the atmosphere |
Ozone Layer | The area of the stratosphere between 15 km and 40 km, has large amounts of ozone |
Greenhouse Effect | The process in which gases in the atmosphere absorb and give off infared radiation |
Temperature | The measure of the average kinetic energy of particles |
Thermal energy | The total kinetic energy of particles |
Thermal Expansion | The increase in volume that results from incrase in temperature |
Heat | The energy that is transfered between objects that are at different temps |
Radiation | The tranfer of energy throught electro-magnetic waves |
Convection | The transfer of energy through the movement of matter |
Conduction | The transfer of energy through direct contact |
Wind | The movement of air through difference in air pressure |
Coriolis Effect | The aparent curving of the path of a moving object from a other wise straight path |
Jet Stream | Narrow belts of high speed winds that blow from east to west |
Local wind | Movement of air over short distances |
Sea Breeze | A cold breeze coming from an ocean lake or sea |
Land Breeze | Winds that blow from land to water |
Mountain Breeze | Local winds on mountains |
Valley Breeze | A breeze that blows from a valley to a mountain |
Global wind | Wind systems that occur at earths surface |
Trade Winds | Trade winds blow between 30 degrees latitude and the equator at both hemispheres |
Westerlies | Winds that blow 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres |
Polar Easterlies | Really cold winds that move west because of the rotation of the earth |
Doldrums | A calm area around the equator |
Horse Latitude | Calm areas around 30 degrees latitude |
Weather | Conditions of the atmospheric at a certain place or time |
Humitity | The amount of water vapor in the air |
Relative Humitity | The amount of wator vapor in the air to the amount needed for saturation |
Dew Point | The temperature at which more condensation occurs than evaporation |
Precipatation | Any form of water that falls to earth in from clouds |
Cirrus | Feathery or wispy clouds made of ice crystals |
Cumulus | Big puffy clouds that form in fair weather |
Stratus | Clouds that form in thin flat layers |
Air Pressure (density) | The force of air molecules pushing on an area |
High Pressure system | Areas where air sinks and moves outwards |
Low pressure system | have lower pressure than the sourrounding area |
Air mass | A large volume of air in which temperature and moisture are nearly the same |
front | a boundry between air masses |
warm front | It forms when a warm air mass follows a retreating cold air mass |
cold front | Forms when an air mass pushes up a warm air mass |
stationary front | Forms when there is not enough wind for either the cold air mass or warm air mass to be pushed away |
occluded | |
front | A boundry between air masses |
evaporation | the change of state between a liquid becoming a gas |
condensation | The change of state from a gas to a liquid |
runoff | Streams, rivers and water that runs over land |