APES Unit 2: Weather and Climate Flashcards
Weather
short term atmospheric conditions (hours or days)
Warm front
warm air rises over cold dense air - moisture forms layers or clouds
Cold front
cold air is denser - stays close to the ground - high surface winds and thunderstorms produced
Climate
long term atmospheric conditions
what is climate determined by?
uneven heating of the earth’s surface - location relative to the equator
Insolation
the amount of solar radiation (energy from the sun’s rays) reaching an area
Coriolis Effect
as the earth rotates heated air masses rising above the equator and moving north and south to cooler areas are deflected to the west or east
Sea breeze
cool breeze off the water - wind will blow from high pressure over water, to low pressure over the land
Land breeze
cool winds blow off shore - air over the ocean is now warmer than over land
Hadley Cells
air rises near the equator and flows north or south and sinks again near a latitude of 30 degrees in both hemispheres
Westerlies
winds coming from the west
easterlies
winds coming from the east
jet stream
occurs at boundaries of these winds, horizontal river of fast moving air high in the atmosphere
trade winds
air movements towards the equator
prevailing westerlies
between 30 and 60 degrees latitude - winds that move towards the poles - curve to the east
polar easterlies
60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres, prevailing westerlies join with polar easterlies to reduce upward motion
Doldrums
trade winds coming from the south and north meet at the equator
Gyers
long ocean circular patterns due to global wind
upwelling zones
areas of ocean winds blow warm surface water away from a land mass, drawing up colder, deeper water to replace it
cold ocean currents
large masses of cold water that move towards the equator, from high altitude to low altitude.
warm ocean currents
warm water moves further from the equator at higher temperatures
Thermohaline Circulation
connects all of the world’s oceans, mixing salt, nutrients, and temperature throughout
El Nino
occurs due to changes in the normal patterns of trade wind circulation
core
dense mass of solid nickel, iron, and radioactive elements that release massive amount of heat
mantle
liquid layer of magma surrounding core, kept liquefied by intense heat from core
asthenosphere
solid, flexible outer layer of rock floating on top of a mantle
lithosphere
thin, brittle layer of rock floating on top of mantle
crust
very outer layer of the lithosphere, earth’s surface
divergent boundary
new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other
ocean-ocean divergent
as plates made of oceanic crust pull apart, a crack in the ocean floor appears, then magma oozes up from the mantle to fill in the space between the plates
Ex: mid-atlantic ridge
continental-continental divergent
when 2 continental plates diverge, a valley like rift opens, as crust widens and things, valleys from in and around the area, as do volcanoes, which May become increasingly active
ocean-continental convergent boundary
the thinner and more dense oceanic plate is overridden by the thicker and less dense continental plate
subduction zone
oceanic plate sinks at a steep angle, and a volcanic arc grows above the subducting plate
oceanic-oceanic convergent boundary
the older plate subducts under the other plate, that is heated as it is forced deeper into the mantle and begins to melt
continental-continental convergent boundary
2 thick continental plates collide-no subduction
continental-continental convergent boundaries can create what?
mountain ranges and earthquakes
what do continental-continental divergent boundaries make?
rift valleys
what do oceanic-oceanic divergent boundaries make?
mid-ocean ridges
what do oceanic-continental convergent boundaries create?
volcanoes
what do oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries create?
volcanoes
transform boundaries
two plates slide past one another
what does transform boundaries create?
earthquakes
tsunamis
series of waves with extremely long wavelengths that occurs when there is a sudden disturbance to the ocean, earthquakes, landslide, volcanic activity, found in Peru
Tropical rainforest
closest to the equator, heavy rainfall, low pressure, highest biodiversity, soils are acidic and nutrient poor
Tundra
found around arctic circle in northern hemisphere, coldest and driest, covers 1/5 of land on earth, permafrost, found in Canada.
Grassland
found on every continent expect Antarctica, enough rainfall to support grass and plants, fertile soil, occurs in interiors of continents, Witchita, US
Taiga
made up of coniferous forests and is the largest of all the land biomes, located in the northern parts of the world throughout Canada, Asia, and parts of Europe, winters are very cold, soil is poor, Russia
Desert
extremely hot and dry, found between 15 to 43 degrees N and S, interior of continents, Saudi Arabia
Temperate Deciduous Forest
climate has 4 seasons, occurs in mid-latitude, denser woods than coniferous trees, Greesnboro, US
Order of biomes closest to the equator
- Tropical Rainforest
- Desert
- Grassland
- Temperate Deciduous Forest
- Taiga
- Tundra
