Chapter 5 Flashcards
Temperature
a measure of the heat content of a body
Fahrenheit scale
scale used for measuring temperature; mainly in the US; based on body temperature
Celsius scale
an accepted international system of measurement because it is based on a decimal scale having 100 units between the freezing and boiling points of water.
Kelvin scale
It is an absolute scale given that at absolute zero all molecular movement ceases.
Daily temperature range
the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures over a 24 hour period
Average daily temperature
the sum of highest and lowest temperature of the day divided 2
Average monthly temperature
the sum of the average daily temperature divided by the number of days in the month
Annual temperature range
the difference between the highest and lowest monthly temperature for a place
Average annual temperature
the sum of the mean monthly temperature divide by 12.
Daily temperature lag
The amount of time between maximum incoming energy and maximum temperature over the day
Annual or Seasonal temperature lag
the amount of time between the highest incoming insolation and highest temperature on an annual basis
Land/Sea contrasts
Water is a transparent medium and land is opaque. Water allows light to penetrate to depth, leaving the surface layers cooler than they would be if the surface was opaque. A cooler water surface results in cooler air temperatures above.
Continentality
The impact of continental location on weather and climate characteristics of a place
Specific heat
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one unit of mass of a substance by one degree Celsius
Air mass
vast pool of air, covering thousands of square kilometers, having about the same humidity and temperature characteristics over its horizontal extent
mT air mass
Maritime Tropical - originates over the tropical oceans; warm and moist
cP air mass
Continental Polar - originates over high latitude continents; cold and dry
mP air mass
Maritime Polar - originates over mid to high latitude oceans; cool and moist
Air mass trajectory and temperature
The influence that air masses have on the temperature of a place depends the location with respect to the source of the air mass and the trajectory of the air mass as it moves from its source region.
Radiation inversion
commonly occurs when the evening air is still and there are no clouds to trap heat.
Sea breeze inversion
occur along windward coasts bordered by cold ocean currents
Subsidence inversion
form when subsiding air undergoes adiabatic heating aloft, while air in contact with the surface remains cooler.
Isotherm
lines connecting points of equal air temperature are used to map the geographic pattern of temperature across the earth’s surface.
Global warming
Increasing levels of greenhouse gases results in rising global air temperatures
