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air mass
a large body of air throughout which temperature and misture content are similar.
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maritime
air masses that form over oceans
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contimental
air masses that form over land
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cold front
the front edge of a moving mass of cold air that pushes beneath a warmer air mass like a wedge.
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warm front
the front edge of advancing warm air mass that replaces colder air with warmer air.
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base
serface location of a front.
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stationary front
a front of air masses that moves either very slowly or not at all.
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occluded front
a front that forms when a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass and lifts the warm air mass off the ground and over another air mass.
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polar front
the boundary where cold polar air meets tropical air mass of the middle latitudes, especially over the ocean.
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wave cyclones
beginnings of low-pressure storm centers
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midlatitude cyclones
an area of low pressure that is characterized by rotating wind tht moves toward the rising air of the center low-pressure region.
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thunderstorm
a usually brief, heavy, storm that consists of rain, strong winds, lightning, and thunder.
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cumulus stage
firts stage of a thuderstorm. warm moist air rises and the wter vapor within the air condenses to form a cumulus cloud.
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mature stage
second stage of a thunderstorm. condensation continues as the cloud rises and becomes a dark cumulonimbus cloud. heavy, torrential rain and hailstones may fall from the cloud. strong updrafts continue to rise, downdrafts form as air is dragged downward by the falling precipitation.
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dissipating stage
final stage of a thunderstorm. the strong downdrafts stops air currents from rising. the thunderstorm dissipates as the supply of water vapor decreases.
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lightning
clouds discharge electricity
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thunder
the released electricity heats the air, and the air expands rapidly and produces a loud noise.
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hurricane
a severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more then 120 km/h spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center.
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tornado
a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that maybe visible as a funnel-shaped cloud.
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thermometer
an instrument that measure and indicates temperature.
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thermistor
thermal resistor, is a type of electrical thermometer that responds very quickly to temperature changes.
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barometers
an insterment that mesures atmospheric pressure
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anemometer
an instrument used to measure wind speed.
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wind vane
an instrument used to determine direction of the wind.
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radiosonde
a package of instruments that is carried sloft by balloons to measure upper atmospheric conditions, including temperature, dew point, and wind velocity.
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radar
ra- radio, d- detection, a- and, r-ranging. a system that uses reflected radio waves to determine the velocity and location of objects.
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dew point
the temperature to which the air must cool in order for more water to condense than to evaporate in a given amount of time.
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isotherms
lines that connect points of equal temperature.
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isobars
lines that connect points of equal atmospheric pressure.
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atmosphere
a mixture of gases tht surrounds a planet, such as earth.
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ozone
a gas molecule that is made up pof three oxygen atoms.
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particulates
tiny solid particals in the atmosphere.
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atmospheric pressure
the force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere.
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troposphere
the lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as latitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist.
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stratosphere
the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the oxone layer.
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mesosphere
the coldest layer of the atmosphere, netween the stratosphere and the thermosphere, in which temperature decreases as altitude increases.
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thermosphere
the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases; includes the ionosphere.
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mesopause
upper boundary of the mesosphere
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ionosphere
lower region of the thermosphere
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auroras
interactions between solar radiation and the ionosphere.
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exosphere
extends for thousands of kilometers above the ionosphere.
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temperature inversion
the layering of warm air on top of cool air.
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electromagnetic spectrum
all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.
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albedo
the fration of solar radiation taht is reflected off the surface of an object.
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greenhouse effect
the warming of the surface and lower atomsphere of earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb and reradiate infrared radiation.
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conduction
the trasfer of energy as heat through a material.
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convection
the movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations; can result in the transfer of energy as heat.
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Cariolis effect
the curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to earth's rotation.
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convection cells
three looping patterns of wind flow in each hemisphere.
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wind belt
each convection cell correlates to an area of earth's serface.
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prevailing winds
winds that flow in one main direction
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trade winds
prevailing winds that blow from est to west from 30 degrees latitude to the equator in both hemispheres.
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what direction does the northeastern trade wind blow?
from northeast
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what direction does the southeast trade winds flow?
from northeast
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westerlies
prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 degries and 60 digres latitude in both hemispheres. both blow to the west.
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polar easterlies
prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 degrese and 90 degres latitude iin both hemispheres.
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doldrums
where the northern and southern hemispheres trade winds meet at the equator.
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horse latitudes
subtropical high pressure zones
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jet streams
a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere.
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breezes
gental winds that extend over distances of less that 100 km.
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sea breezes
a cool wind moving from water to land
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land breezes
cold air moves from land to water
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valley breeze
blows upslope to the mountains
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mountain breeze
bleeze going downward from the mountain to the valley
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