PS Module 7a Flashcards
Aphelion
The point at which the earth is farthest from the sun
Perihelion
The point at which the earth is closest to the sun
Lines of longitude
Imaginary lines that run north and south across the earth
Lines of latitude
Imaginary lines that run east and west across the earth
Coriolis effect
The way in which the rotation of the earth bends the path of winds, sea currents, and objects that fly through different latitudes
Air mass
A large body of air with relatively uniform pressure, temperature, and humidity
Weather front
A boundary between two air masses
Weather
The condition of the earth’s atmosphere (mostly the troposphere) at any particular time.
Climate
A steady weather condition that prevails day in and day out in a particular region of creation.
Thermal energy
Energy in the form of heat. Caused by the movement of particles (Kinetic). Most of the earth’s thermal energy comes from the sun.
Uneven distribution of thermal energy
the idea that thermal energy is unevenly distributed due to factors that affect the thermal energy that the earth receives.
Water vapor in the atmosphere
Humidity or clouds
Cumulus clouds
Clouds that look like fluffy, rounded piles of cotton.
Cumulonimbus Clouds
Large cumulus clouds that are usually dark at the bottom and whiter at the top.
Cirrus clouds
Clouds in the troposphere which are maded of tiny ice crystals. They have a feathery appearance.
Stratus clounds
Formed when a mass of warm air is lifted slowly upward, and the vapor condenses to form clouds when it reaches the higher, cooler air. This forms a flat layer of clouds relatively close to the ground.
Nimbostratus clouds
Stratus clouds that turn into dark, rain producing clouds.
Lenticular clouds
Clouds formed in mountainous regions where there are pockets of low pressure in the sky. These clouds usually form an oval.
Cirrocumulus clouds
Clouds that have the feathery appearance of cirrus clouds because they are made of ice crystals, but they are not blown apart by the wind.
Stratocumulus clouds
Stratus clouds that do not dorm a flat layer, but instead form puffs that look very similar to cumulus clouds.
Cirrostratus clouds
Clouds that have the feathery appearance of cirrus clouds, but form flat layers like the stratus clouds.
Insolation
Light that comes to the earth. An abbreviation for “INcoming SOLar radiATION”
Axial tilt
The angle that a planet’s axis is tilted from vertical
Distance from the sun
The distance of the earth’s orbit from the sun.
Summer solstice
The time when the earth’s path around the sun has forced the Northern Hemisphere to start pointing directly at the sun. June 21 or 22.
Winter solstice
The time when the earth’s path around the sun has forced the Southern Hemisphere to start pointing directly at the sun. December 21 or 22.
Spring equinox
March 20th - The equator points directly at the sun - 12 hours of sunlight in both hemispheres.
Autumnal equinox
September 22 or 23 - The equator points directly at the sun -12 hours of sunlight in both hemispheres.
Equator
The imaginary line that runs directly between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres of the earth.
Prime meridian
An imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, which marks the 0° line of longitude. This line determines east/west positions on the earth.
Polar easterlies
Air currents near the North Pole.
Sea breeze
Movement of air from sea to land during the day when cooler air from above the water moves over the land, forcing the heated, less dense air above the land to rise.
Changing air temperature
An effect in which a loop of winds travel continuously from the pole to a latitude of about 60 degrees N and back again.
Local winds
Winds that blow over short distances caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a small area.
Land breeze
Movement of air from land to sea at night, created when cooler, denser air from the land forces up warmer air over the sea
Meteorologist
A scientist who studies weather
Arctic air masses
Air masses low in humidity and cold.
Polar air masses
Cold air masses that are not as cold as arctic air masses.
Tropical air masses
Air masses that are warm.
Maritime air masses
Air masses formed over the ocean.
Continental air masses
Air masses formed over a continent.
Maritime tropical air masses
Abbreviated as mT, these are warm and moist air masses that form over the ocean.
Maritime polar air masses
Abbreviated as mP, air masses that are cold and moist and formed over the ocean.
Continental tropical air masses
Abbreviated as cT, air masses formed over continents that are warm and dry.
Continental polar air masses
Abbreviated as cP, air masses formed over continents that are cold and dry.
Cold front
A front where cold air moves in under a warm air mass and lifts it up off the ground, pushing it up and away.
Warm front
When a warm air mass moves into a region occupied by colder air. The warm front usually moves over a cold front, flattening the cold front.
Stationary front
The result of two air masses collide and neither moves.
Occluded front
The result of two air masses traveling in the same direction collide. Since cold air masses travel faster than warm air masses, it is possible for cold air masses to overtake and collide with warm air masses.
