Chapter 2: Climate

Question 1

The combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, cloudiness, and other atmospheric conditions at a specific place and time

Answer 1

weather

Question 2

Long-term average pattern of local, regional, or global weather

Answer 2

climate

Question 3

Selective energy absorption by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which allows short wavelength energy to pass through but absorbs longer wavelengths and reflects heat back to Earth

Answer 3

greenhouse effect

Question 4

Water movements that result in the horizontal transport of water masses

Answer 4

currents

Question 5

Circular motion of water in major ocean basins

Answer 5

gyre

Question 6

Loss of water vapor from soil or open water or another exposed surface

Answer 6

evaporation

Question 7

The transformation of water vapor to a liquid state

Answer 7

condensation

Question 8

Water vapor content of a parcel of air when it is saturated;

Saturation is defined as a condition when the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation

Answer 8

saturation vapor pressure

Question 9

Water vapor content of air at a given temperature, expressed as a percentage of the water vapor needed for saturation at that temperature

Answer 9

relative humidity

Question 10

Temperature at which condensation of water in the atmosphere begins

Answer 10

dew point temperature

Question 11

The boundary zone separating the northeast trade winds of the Northern Hemisphere from the southeast trade winds of the Southern Hemisphere

Answer 11

Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)

Question 12

A dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range resulting from a reduction in rainfall

Answer 12

rain shadow

Question 13

Climate on a very local scale, which differs from the general climate of the area;

Influences the presence and distribution of organisms

Answer 13

microclimate

Question 14

A city or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities

Answer 14

heat island

Question 15

Human activity chemically alters air and weather characteristics over and around urban areas, making it different from air and weather over rural areas

Answer 15

urban microclimates

Question 16

Physical structure of the landscape

Answer 16

topography

Question 17

Because Earth tilts on its axis, parts of Earth encounter seasonal differences in solar radiation;

These differences give rise to seasonal variations in net radiation and temperature

Answer 17

seasonal variation

Question 18

Land areas farther from the coast (or other large bodies of water) experience a greater seasonal variation in temperature than do coastal areas

Answer 18

continentality

Question 19

A period of cooling that lasted from approximately the mid-14th to the mid-19th century;

Brought bitterly cold winters to many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, affecting agriculture, health, politics, economics, emigration, and even art and literature

Answer 19

Little Ice Age

Question 20

The influence the ocean water has on the continental land that regulates the region’s temperature;

As a result of the ocean water holding the temperature throughout the year, the region’s temperature is much more consistent than a more inland region;

Coastal regions have smaller temperature ranges as a result of this

Answer 20

maritime influence