GHC Ch 9: External Energy Fuels Weather and Climate Flashcards
Albedo
The reflectivity of a body; for Earth, how much solar radiation is reflected back to space.
Adiabatic process
The change in temperature of a mass without adding or subtracting heat. Examples are cooling with expansion and warming upon compression.
Anticyclone
A region of high atmospheric pressure and outflowing air that rotates clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Barometer
An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure.
BCE
Before the common era. Equivalent to BC.
Climate
Long-term processes: Ice ages, droughts, atmosphere changes, ocean circulation shifts, etc.
Convection
A process of heat transfer whereby hot material at depth rises upward due to its lower density while cooler material above sinks because of its higher density.
Coriolis effect
Moving objects experience earth move out from beneath them; in the northern hemisphere, bodies move towards their right-hand side, while in the southern hemisphere, they move toward their left.
Coriolis effect
Moving objects experience Earth move out from beneath them; in the northern hemisphere, bodies move toward the right-hand side, while in the southern hemisphere, they move toward their left.
Cyclone
A region of low atmospheric pressure and converging air that rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Dew point temperature
The air temperature when the relative humidity of an air mass reaches 100% and excess water vapor condenses to liquid water.
Front
A boundary separating masses of different temperature and moisture content.
Greenhouse effect
The buildup of heat beneath substances such as glass, water vapor, and carbon dioxide that allow incoming, short-wavelength solar radiation to pass through, but block the return of long-wavelength radiation.
Heat capacity
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of a substance by 1°C.
Humidity
A measure of the amount of water vapor in an air mass.
Hydrologic cycle
The solar powered cycle in which water is evaporated from the oceans, dumped on the land as rain and snow, and pulled by gravity back to the oceans as glaciers, streams, and groundwater. It drives the erosion process.
Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
The zone where collision occurs between the trade winds of the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Insolation
Amount of solar radiation received at any area on Earth.
Ion
An electrically charged atom or group of atoms.
Isobar
A map line connecting points of equal pressure.
Jet stream
Fast-moving belts of air in the upper troposphere that flow towards the east.
Kilopascal
A unit of pressure equal to 0.1 millibar.
Lapse rate
The rate at which Earth’s atmosphere cools with increasing altitude, or warms with decreasing altitude due to change in pressure.
Latent heat
The energy absorbed or released during a change of state.