Term
|
Definition
| refers to the conditions of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, temperature, air pressure, humidity, perspiration and air motion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| is the weather of an area averaged over a long period of time |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rain comes from ocean water, water seeps back into the surface of lakes and rivers and flows back to the sea |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when air dissolves the maximum that it can hold |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the water in spaces between soil grains or in cracks though rocks |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| occurs when rising air expands without change in heat content |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the rate of cooling as an air mass rises |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when moist air reaches land and is forced to rise over a mountain range it expands adiabatically and cools |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rotation of earth from west to east under a fluid such as the atmosphere or oceans permits that fluid to lag behind earths rotation. fluid flows shift right in the morthern hemipshere and to the left in the southern hemisphere as a result of this effect. thus a southward moving fluid appreas to curve off the the west in the northern hemipshere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an area of low atmospheric pressure that is characterized by rising warmer and humid air and cludy skies. winds rotate counterclockwise around a low pressure cell |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an area characterized by descending cooler dry air and clear skies. winds rotate clockwise around a high pressure system |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| regional winds that blow from northeast to southwest between latitudes 30 degress north or south and the equator and centered near 15 degrees north or south |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| regional winds that blow from southwest to northeast and are centered 45 degrees north or south of the equator |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| winds that warm by adiabatic compression as they descend from high elevations of a mountain range to low elevations on the plains to the east |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| southern california trade winds that flow southwest, bringing dry air from the continental interior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the line of boundary between a large mass of cold air advancing under an adjacent large mass of cold air |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the boundary between a large mass of ocld air advancing under an adjacent large mass of warm air |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the high speed air current traveling from west to east across north america at an approximate altitude of 10 to 12 kilometers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| elevated sea surface temperatures that lead to dramatic changes in weather in dome areas every few years |
|
|
Term
| north atlantic oscillation |
|
Definition
| the winter atmosphereic pressure pattern over the north atlantic ocean that brings major storms every few years |
|
|
Term
| atlantic multidecadal oscillation |
|
Definition
| the oscillation of the sea surface temperature of the north atlantic ocean by .9 over several decades, about 70 years |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a period of low temperature lasting thousands of years and marked by widespread ice sheets covering much of the northern hemisphere. two to four ice ages are recorded in north america, as many as tweny in deep sea sediments over 2 million years |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a prolonged dry climatic event in a particular region that dramatically lowers the avaliable water below that normally used by humans, animals, and vegation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the growth of new desert environments in areas where drought prevents regrowth of grass and shrubs stripped away by increased population, intensive cultivation in marginal areas and overgrazng |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| increased temperatures in urban areas due to buildings and paved areas absorbing more solar heat, while exhaust from cars and factories traps heat |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| increased snowfall in areas downwind from large lakes |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| increased atmospheric temperatures caused when atmosphereic gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in earths atmosphere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that retain heat much like a greenhouse; solar energy can get in, but the heat cannot easily excape |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the faction of energy reflected away fro the earths surface |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| frozen methane ice compound trapped in layers deeper than 1 km in continental permafrost and at shallow depths under the sea floor of many of the worlds continental slopes. a potential source of green house gas. |
|
|
