Chapter 7-8 Twrminology Flashcards
Runaway positive feedback loop
Feedback loop in which a sequence of events appears to speed up with each cycle
Positive feedback loop
Sequence of events that cycles back to one of the earlier events in the sequence and enhances the outcome p
Economic system
The organized way in which a country or region sets up activities related to how goods and services are produced distributed and consumed
Salinity
Salt content
Global warming
The observed increase in earths average annual temperature
Climate change
Climate change is the significant long term change is expected climate patterns
Carbon sink
Any process that takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it
Fossil fuels
Coal oil and natural gas formed underground from the remains of once living organisms
Hydrocarbons
Fossil fuels are carbon compounds called
Made up or carbon hydrogen and oxygen
Carbon source
Any process that releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere
Anthropogenic greenhouse effect
The enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect due to human activities
Persistence
The length of time the gas remains in the atmosphere
Global warming potential
A measure of the ability of a gas to trap thermal energy in the atmosphere over a specified time
Jet streams
A band of fast moving air in the stratosphere
Trade winds
The movement of cooler surface air towards the equator from higher latitudes
Coriolanus effect
The deflection of any object from a straight line path by the rotation of earth
Wind
The movement of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure caused by the rising and sinking of masses of air in convection currents that cause changes in atmospheric pressure
Convection
The transfer of thermal energy through the movement of particles from one location to another
Conduction
The transfer of thermal energy through direct contact
Radiation
The emission of energy as waves
Thermal energy transfer
The movement of thermal energy from an area of high temperature to an area of low temperature
Albedo
The percent of incoming solar radiation that it reflects
Net radiation budget
The difference between the amount of incoming radiation and the amount of outgoing radiation
Natural greenhouse effect
The absorption of thermal energy by the atmosphere
Greenhouse gasses
Gases that contribute to the natural greenhouse effect
Insation
The amount of solar radiation received by a region of earths surface
Biome
A large geographical region with a defined range of temperature and precipitation
Hydrosphere
All water on earth
Lithosphere
He solid portion of earth that floats on the semi fluid portion of the mantle
Atmosphere
Layer of gases that extend outward 300 km from the surface of earth
Biosphere
The relatively thin layer of earth that has conditions suitable for supporting life
Thermal energy
Total kinetic energy of the particles in a substance
Solar radiation
Radiation transmitted as waves from the sun
Climate
The average weather conditions that occur in a region over a long period of time
Weather
The environmental conditions that occur at a particular place at a particular time
