Chapter 7 Flashcards
Atmosphere
The blanket of gases that surrounds out planet
Water Vapor
The gaseous form of water
Ozone
A scarce type of oxygen molecule in which 3 oxygen atoms are bonded together.
Temperature Gradient
A steady drop in temp as altitude increases
Stratosphere
Has steady winds and few changes of weather. Also the layer directly above the Tropopause
Cosmic rays
The extremely powerful radiation that comes from deep space
Magnetic field
The region in which magnet effects other regions
Millibar
Is a pressure unit used in studying the atmosphere
Albedo
The ratio of the solar radiation reflected by an object to the solar radiation that strikes it
Energy budget
The amount of energy available to heat the earth’s land water an air
Convection currents
Currents set into motion by convection
Updraft
Whenever warm air on the land starts to rise
Adiabatic Heating
Gas temperature rises as the gas is compressed with no heat loss
Hadley Cell
The convection cell that exists between the equator and the latitude 30
Cyclone
Circulating spiral around the low
Tradewinds
The surface winds that blow from the high pressure regions of the horse latitudes towards the equator
Rossby Waves
Upper troposphere waves
Seabreeze
Cooler Air from over the water blows inland during the afternoon
Fallwind
Occurs when a large amount of dense cold air spills over a mountain range
The most abundant gas in the atomosphere
Nitrogen
The atmosphere’s weather layer
Troposphere
3 types of Ultraviolet radiation
UVB, UVC, UVA
The atmosphere’s coldest point
Mesopause
The atmosphere’s outermost layer
Exosphere
The atmospheric pressure at sealevel
Over 1 ton per sq ft.
The most important greenhouse gas
Water vapor
The horizontal movement of air
wind
Region of converging winds neat the equator
Intertropical convergence zone
The strong, narrow winds in the upper troposphere
Jetstream
4 specific types of foehns
Chinook, Berg, Halny, Zonda
