APES 4.4: Atmosphere

Question 1

climate

Answer 1

average weather that occurs in a region over a long period of time (such as a few decades)

Question 2

weather

Answer 2

components include: temperature, precipitation, humidity, cloud formation, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure

Question 3

troposphere

Answer 3

first layer of the atmosphere characterized by the circulation of liquids and gases (such as nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor) that form earth’s weather; extends 16km above earth

Question 4

stratosphere

Answer 4

second layer of the atmosphere characterized by a layer of ozone which absorbs the sun’s UV-B and UV-C radiation; extends 16-50km above earth

Question 5

mesosphere

Answer 5

third layer of the atmosphere; known as the coldest layer; meteors begin here

Question 6

thermosphere

Answer 6

fourth later of the atmosphere characterized by its blocking of harmful x-ray/UV radiation and the northern/southern lights

Question 7

exosphere

Answer 7

the outermost atmospheric layer; active solar heating system; first line of protection against the sun’s rays; first layer to shield the earth from meters asteroids and cosmic rays

Question 8

albedo

Answer 8

the percentage of incoming sunlight that is reflected from a surface

Question 9

tilt

Question 10

adiabatic heating/cooling

Answer 10

(COOLING) rising air decreases in pressure and expands in volume, which cools the temperature of the air
(HEATING) sinking air increases in pressure and decreases in volume, which raises the temperature of the air

Question 11

latent heat release

Answer 11

the energy released when water vapor condenses from a gas to a solid

Question 12

atmospheric convection current

Question 13

insolation

Question 14

Coriolis effect

Answer 14

the deflection of an objects path moving towards or away from the equator due to earth’s rotation

Question 15

rain shadow

Question 16

gyre

Answer 16

waters move from east to west in tropical regions and west to east in mid-lateral regions, which causes large-scale water circulations that go clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Question 17

upwelling

Answer 17

displaced water from diverging surface currents stimulate the upward movement of deep water, which brings nutrients from the bottom of the oceans hat support ecosystems on the surface

Question 18

thermohaline circulation

Answer 18

salty surface waters cool and sink at the poles, warm waters rise at the equator, this creates a deep, cold current which moves heat and nutrients around the globe and mixes the water of all oceans over hundreds of years

Question 19

ENSO (El Niño/ Southern Oscillation, La Nina)

Question 20

Acid precipitation

Question 21

rain shadow effect

Question 22

saltwater intrusion

Question 23

floodplain

Answer 23

a flat area of land that is likely to flood; usually next to river or stream

Question 24

watershed

Answer 24

a channel (stream, river) that concentrates runoff (water) to the main discharge point (a large body of water)

Question 25

watershed divide

Question 26

intertropical convergence zone

Answer 26

area of the earth which receives the most intense sunlight, where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge; over the course of the year moves from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south as earth orbits the sun

Question 27

Hadley cells

Answer 27

convection currents which cycle between the equator, and 30 degrees north and south

Question 28

polar cells

Answer 28

convection currents which cycle between 60 degrees north and south, and the poles

Question 29

polar cells

Answer 29

convection currents which cycle between 60 degrees north and south, and the poles