Weather and Climate Ch9

a large body of air having more or less uniform temperature and moisture.

Air masses are commonly separated from each other by fairly narrow boundary regions called fronts

The areas of the globe where air masses form

Air masses thhat form over large, high latitude land masses

colder than continental polar air and is separated from cP by a transition zone called the arctice front

similar to continental polar air masses but are more moderate in both temperature and dryness

winds that can bring snowfall and cold winds in response to Maritime polar air masses

forms in summer over hot, low latitude areas

develop over warm, tropical waters and are warm, moist, and unstable near the surface. Can form precipitation and clouds.

occurs when a wedge of cold air advances toward warm air

occurs when a wedge of warm air advances toward cold air

similar to a cold front but does not move

appear at the surface of the boundary of two fronts, but unlike the other three types of fronts, do not separate air masses

warm air sliding over a dense cold air mass because the deifferent densities in the two air masses discourage mixing

areas where mT air and cT air masses reside next to each other