Weathering the Storm Flashcards
What is Weather?
Weather is the day to day conditions in a place
What is Climate?
The conditions in a place/region over a longer period of time usually atleast 10 years.
Define Temperature
How hot or cold the air is at a particular time. It is expressed in degrees on the Celsius scale. Measured with a thermometer
What is Latitude?
Affects temperature: areas closer to the equator tend to be warmer, while regions farther away experience colder temperatures.
What is Altitude?
Affects Temperature: The height above sea level, the higher you go, the colder it gets
What are the 6 Controls of Climate?
- Latitude
- Relief
- Altitude
- Size of Landform and Proximity
- Ocean Temperatures and Currents
- Wind Pressure Systems
What is Relief?
The variation in elevation of the Earth’s surface, such as mountains. This impacts local weather patterns
What are the Three Types of Rainfall?
Relief (Orographic) Rainfall: Caused by warm, moist air rising over land features, cooling, and condensing into rain.
Frontal (Cyclonic) Rainfall: Occurs when warm air rises over colder air masses, leading to cooling, cloud formation, and rain.
Convectional Rainfall: Results from sun-heated ground warming the air above, causing it to rise and produce rain.
What is Rain Shadow?
A region on the leeward side of a mountain where rainfall is significantly reduced due to the blocking of moisture by the mountain, resulting in drier conditions.
What are the climates tropical, temperate and polar?
Tropical Climate: Warm, humid, high rainfall; near the equator.
Temperate Climate: Moderate temperatures, distinct seasons.
Polar Climate: Very cold, low precipitation; ice and tundra.
Greenhouse Effect
The process by which certain gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat from the sun, leading to a warming of the planet’s surface.
Global Warming
Earth’s surface temperature is rising due to human activities. Key contributors are fossil fuel burning and deforestation.
El Nino and La Nina
=El Niño: Warm ocean waters, disrupts weather patterns.
La Niña: Cool ocean waters, enhances normal patterns.
Definitions of Isobars and Millibars.
Isobars: Lines connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure on weather maps.
Millibars: Unit of measurement for atmospheric pressure.
Definitions of High Pressure and Low Pressure.
High Pressure (Anticyclone): Area with higher pressure, leading to clear skies.
Low Pressure (Cyclone): Area with lower pressure, often resulting in clouds and rain.
