Textbook - Chapter 2: Climate Flashcards
Adiabatic lapse rate
Rate at which a parcel of air loses temperature with elevation fi no heat is gained from or lost to an external source
Atomospheric Pressure
The downward force exerted by the weight of the overlying atmosphere
Adiabatic cooling
A decrease in air temperature when a rising parcel of warm air cools by expanding (which uses energy) rather than losing heat to the surround air.
Climate
Long-term average pattern of local, regional or global weather.
Condensation
the transformation of water vapor to a liquid state
Currents
Water movements that result in the horizontal transport of water masses.
Coriolois effect
Physical consequence of the law of conservation of angular momentum; as a result of Earth’s rotation, a moving object veers to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere relative to Earth’s surface
Dew point temperature
Temperature at which condensation of water in the atmosphere begins
Evaporation
Loss of water vapor from soil or open water or another exposed surface
Equatorial low
A low air pressure near the surface of the equatorial zone.
Environmental lapse rate
Rate at which temperature decreases with altitude; see adiabatic lapse rate
ENSO / El Nino
Global event arising from large-scale interactions between ocean and atmosphere
Greenhouse effect
Selective energy absorption by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which allows short wavelength energy to pass through but absorbs longer wavelengths and reflects heat back to Earth.
Gyre
Circular motion of water in major ocean basins
Habitat
Place where a plant or animal lives
Intertropical convergence zone {ITCZ}
The boundary zone separating the northeast trade winds of the Northern Hemisphere from the southeast trade winds of the Southern Hemisphere
Longwave radiation
Infrared radiation that occurs as wavelengths longer than 3 or 4 microns
Latent heat
Amount of heat given up when a unit mass of a substance converts from a liquid to a solid state, or the amount of heat absorbed when a substance converts from the solid to liquid state
Microclimate
Climate on a very local scale, which differs from the general climate of the area; influences the presence and distribution of organisms.
Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)
That part of the light spectrum between wavelengths of 400 and 700 nm that is used by plants in photosynthesis.
Polar easterlies
Easterly wind located at high latittudes poleward of the subpolar low.
Relative humidity
Water vapor content of air at a given temperature, expressed as a perentage of the water vapor needed for saturation at that temperature
Rain shadow
A dry region on the leeward side of a mountain range resulting from a reduction in rainfall
Subtropical high
A semipermanent high-air-pressure belt at the surface encircling the Earth.
Subpolar low
A zone of low air pressure near the surface of the earth
Shortwave radiation
Infrared radiation that occurs as wavelengths shorter than 3 or 4 microns
Saturation vapor pressure
Warer vapor content of a parcel fo air when it is saturated; saturation is defined as condition when rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation.
Trade winds
Tropical easterly winds that blow in a steady direction from the subtropical high pressure areas to equatorial low pressure areas.
Vapor pressure
The amount of pressure water vapor exerts independent of dry air
Visible light
light comprising wavelengths of 3400 of 740 nanometers
westerlies
the dominant east-to-west motion of the winds centered over the middle latitudes of both hemispheres
weather
the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, cloudiness and other atmospheric conditions at a specific place and time.
