Weather And Climate Flashcards
Altitude
Height above sea level. Lose up to 1C per 100m gain
Anthropogenic climate change
Human induced climate change
Anticyclone
An area of high atmospheric pressure
Atmosphere
The envelope of air surrounding the Earth
Atmospheric pressure
Pressure exerted by the atmosphere on any surface by virtue of its weight
Climate
The long term average weather at a location; usually over a 30yr period
Cold front
Cold air catching up the arm air mass, forcing its way under
Continentality
Inland areas being away from the coast are drier
Continental air
Dry air from a continent
Conventional rainfall
Caused by rapidly rising air rising, cooling and condensing
Depression
Area of low atmospheric pressure
Evaporation
The physical process by which a liquid or solid substance is transformed to a gas
Eye
Centre of the hurricane where sinking air creates clear conditions
Eye wall
A high bank of cloud around the eye where wind speeds are high and heavy rain falls
Fetch
Distance waves travel before landfall
Fog
Water that has condensed close to the ground to form a dense low cloud with poor visibility
Front
The boundary between two air masses
Frontal rainfall
Warm air pushed over cold air forcing it to rise, cool and condense
Global warming
An increase in average temperatures as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse effect
The blanketing effect of the atmosphere which retains heat
Greenhouse gases
Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane which effectively absorb heat
Hurricane
Area of extreme low pressure. Also known as cyclones/typhoons/willy willies
Insolation
Energy from the sun that heats the earth
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the global authority on the latest climate change data and predictions
Isobar
Line of equal pressure
Kyoto Protocol
International Agreement in 1997 to get countries to reduce their emissions
Maritime air
Air with lots of moisture from the oceans
North Atlantic Drift
Ocean current, originating in the Gulf of Mexico that warms Northern Europe
Occluded front
Where a cold front catches up with a warm front
Okta
Measurement of cloud cover, measured in 1/8ths
Polar air
Cold air from one of the poles
Precipitation
All forms of water particles that reach the ground
Prevailing wind
The direction from which the wind most frequently blows
Rain shadow
Area in the lee of uplands where there is less rainfall
Relief/orographic rainfall
Caused as air masses are forced over higher land
Seasonality
Periodic fluctuations in an area’s climate
South-West
The UK’s prevailing wind
Track
The path or course of a hurricane
Tropical air
Warm air from one of the tropics
Warm front
Warm air catching up with cold air mass, and rising above it
Warm sector
Area of warm air between warm front and cold front
Weather
The conditions in the atmosphere at a given point in time
Wind
Movements of wind caused by changes in temperature or pressure
Air mass
A large body of air that has similar temperature, pressure and moisture
