Chapter 6

Question 1

thunderheads

Answer 1

An approaching cold front produces rapidly moving, towering clouds.

Question 2

air pressure

Answer 2

results from zillions of tiny molecules of gases (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) in the atmosphere zipping around at incredible speeds and hitting and bouncing off anything they encounter.

Question 3

dew point

Answer 3

When the temperature drops below a certain level where condensation takes place, moisture in the air condenses and forms clouds.

Question 4

prevailing winds

Answer 4

major surface winds that blow almost continually and distribute air and moisture over the earth’s surface.

Question 5

upwelling

Answer 5

Movement of nutrient-rich bottom water to the ocean;s surface. This can occur far from shore but usually occurs along certain steep costal areas where the surface layer of ocean water is pushed away from the shore and replaced by cold, nutrient-rich bottom water.

Question 6

El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Answer 6

Every few years in the Pacific Ocean, normal shore upwellings are affected by changes in climate patterns.

Question 7

latitude

Answer 7

Distance from the equator

Question 8

altitude

Answer 8

Height above sea level.

Question 9

semidesert

Answer 9

is dominated by thorn tress and shrubs adapted to long dry spells followed by brief, sometimes heavy rain. between deserts and grasslands.

Question 10

chaparral

Answer 10

Closeness to the sea provides a slightly longer winter rainy season than nearby temperate deserts have, and fogs during the spring and fall evaporation.

Question 11

succulent plants

Answer 11

Plants, such as desert cacti, that survive in dry climates by having no leaves, thus reducing the loss of scarce water, They store water and use sunlight to produce the food they need in the thick, fleshy tissue of their green stems and branches.

Question 12

permafrost

Answer 12

Perennially frozen layer of soil pores that forms when the water there freezes. It is found in arctic tundra.

Question 13

alpine tundra

Answer 13

occurs above the limit of tree growth but below the permeant snow line high mountains. Vegetation is similar to that found in arctic tundra, but it gets more sunlight that arctic vegetation and has no permafrost layer.

Question 14

epiphytes

Answer 14

air plants, such as some types orchids and other plants.

Question 15

tree plantations

Answer 15

Site planted with one or only a few tree species in an even aged stand. When the stand matures it is usually harvested by clear-cutting and then replanted. These farms normally are used to grow rapidly goring tree species for fuelwood, timber, or pulpwood.

Question 16

coniferous evergreen trees

Answer 16

Cone-bearing plants (such as spruces, pines, and firs) that keep some of their narrow, pointed leaves (needles) all year.

Question 17

costal coniferous forests

Answer 17

aka temperate rain forests, found in scattered costal temperate areas with ample rainfall or moisture from dense ocean fogs.

Question 18

bogs

Answer 18

during the summer the soil becomes waterlogged forming acidic bogs, in plow-lying areas of these forests.

Question 19

islands of biodiversity

Answer 19

many freestanding mountains are islands of biodiversity, surrounded by a sea of lower-elevation landscapes transformed by human activities.