Chapter 6 Vocabulary Flashcards
Thunderheads
rapidly moving, towering clouds
Air Pressure
Result 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
Dew Point
When the temperature drops below a certain level where condensation takes place
Prevailing Winds
major surface winds that blow almost continually and distribute air and moisture over the earth’s surface
Upwelling
movement of nutrient-rich bottom water to the ocean’s surface. This can occur far from shore but usually occurs along certain steep coastal areas where the surface later of ocean water is pushed away from shore and replaced by cold, nutrient-rich bottom water
El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Changes in climate patterns
Prevailing tropical trade winds blowing westward weaken or reverse direction
Latitude
Distance from the Equator
Altitude
Height above sea level
SemiDesert
In the semiarid zones between deserts and grasslands
This Biome is dominated by thorn trees and shrubs adapted to long dry spells followed by brief, sometimes heavy rains
Chaparral
vegetation consisting chiefly of tangled shrubs and thorny bushes
temperate shrubland
Succulent Plants
Fleshy plants such as the saguaro cactus.
These plants have 3 adaptations..
No leaves, store water in fleshy tissue, reduce water loss by opening pores
Permafrost
a perennially frozen layer of the soil that forms not to far below the surface when the water there freezes
Alpine Tundra
Polar grasslands
Occur just south of the arctic polar ice cap
Epiphytes
air plants
plants that grow without soil, get water from the humid air and rain, and receive nutrients falling from the trees’ upper leaves and limbs
Tree Plantations
consists of only one tree species
Clears and replaces diverse forests
Coniferous Evergreen Trees
cone-bearing
spruce, fir, cedar, hemlock, and pine that keep some of their narrow-pointed leaves (needles) all year round
Coastal Coniferous Forests
Temperate Rain Forests are found in scattered coastal temperature areas with ample rainfall or moisture from dense ocean fogs.
Bogs
wet muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body.
Islands of Biodiversity
land that is filled with a variety of different plants and animals.
What are storms’ rotations due to??
Coriolis effect
Coriolis effect?
A phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to clear with the travel across or above earth surface
Fluids ___ as they travel across or above earths surface?
Curve
What direction does the Earth spin on its axis?
West to east
Why is the equator spinning faster than the polls?
The earth is a sphere and wider in the middle
How much of the earths oceans have we explored?
5%
Where are most volcanoes on earth located?
Bottom of the sea
What do you call the greatest mountain range on earth?
Mid-ocean range
