Chapters 6-10 Vocabulary

Front 1

wind

Back 1

air molecules in motion

Front 2

pressure gradient force

Back 2

goes from high to low

Front 3

coriolis force

Back 3

turns air movement to the right

Front 4

friction

Back 4

a drag that slows wind speeds. it is the largest at the surface and decreases quickly away from the surface

Front 5

divergence

Back 5

move apart

Front 6

convergence

Back 6

come together

Front 7

intertropical convergence zone

Back 7

a narrow zone near the equator where northern and southern air masses converge, typically producing low atmospheric pressure

Front 8

jet streams

Back 8

areas of winds up to 200 mph, flow along polar and subtropical boundaries acting as steering currents for weather systems moving west to east

Front 9

ridge

Back 9

made by warm air being less dense and pushing upward, warm air, usually moving from equator to pole. "heat dome"

Front 10

trough

Back 10

made by cold air being more dense and compacting, cold air, usually moving from pole to equator. "weather systems"

Front 11

upwelling

Back 11

water is colder and rich with nutrients, creates thermohaline circulation

Front 12

teleconnection

Back 12

connectedness of large-scale weather patterns across the world (if you poke one area, another area will be affected like dropping a pebble in a pond)

Front 13

evaporation

Back 13

liquid becomes a gas

Front 14

sublimation

Back 14

solid becomes a liquid

Front 15

condensation

Back 15

gas becomes a liquid

Front 16

deposition

Back 16

vapor becomes a solid

Front 17

saturation

Back 17

where the atmosphere is in equilibrium, the rate of evaporation matches rate of condensation, and there is 100% relative humidity, the balance between evaporation and condensation

Front 18

latent heat

Back 18

heat energy that is "stored" in hydrogen bonds within water as it is warmed during phase changes

Front 19

relative humidity

Back 19

measure of how much water vapor the atmosphere actually holds compared to how much it could hold at that temperature

Front 20

dew point

Back 20

temperature is where equilibrium occurs

Front 21

vapor pressure

Back 21

the pressure exerted by water vapor molecules as part of the other atmospheric gases

Front 22

adiabatic

Back 22

the type of process that does not exchange heat or mass with the surrounding

Front 23

condensation nuclei

Back 23

salt, dust, aerosols, or ice and they provide surfaces onto which water may condense, and they must be present to provide a surface on which water will condense

Front 24

air mass

Back 24

relatively large bodies of air that are horizontally uniform in temperature and moisture

Front 25

continental

Back 25

air originates over land

Front 26

maritime

Back 26

air originates over water

Front 27

front

Back 27

the boundary separating two different air masses

Front 28

orographic

Back 28

lifting mechanism that forces upward over land masses like hills

Front 29

occlusion

Back 29

denoted by purple line, formed by cold front overtaking warm front

Front 30

dryline

Back 30

boundary separating warm dry air from warm moist air

Front 31

cyclogenesis

Back 31

begins along boundary between two air masses, air in motion turned right,

Front 32

updraft

Back 32

forms from warm moist air rising

Front 33

downdraft

Back 33

produced by cool air, pulls air downward

Front 34

severe thunderstorm

Back 34

has one or more of: tornado, wind speeds greater than 57mph, hail greater than 1inch

Front 35

wind shear

Back 35

change in direction and speed of the wind with height

Front 36

streamer

Back 36

lightening works its way down from cloud and returns when it gets close to ground

Front 37

transpiration

Back 37

evaporation of water secreted by the leaves of plants

Front 38

evapotranspiration

Back 38

evaporation + transpiration, can be actual or potential

Front 39

infiltration

Back 39

some of the precipitation is absorbed into the ground and filters down through layers of soil and rock

Front 40

runoff

Back 40

precipitation that connote be absorbed by the ground runs off into streams lakes rivers and eventually to the ocean

Front 41

wilting point

Back 41

minimal point of soil moisture held in soil after execs water has drained away

Front 42

water table

Back 42

boundary between saturated and unsaturated soil

Front 43

gaining stream

Back 43

perennial flow partially supplied by a high water table

Front 44

losing stream

Back 44

intermittent, transient, lower water table

Front 45

aquifer

Back 45

a bedrock formation that is effective at storing water, storage capacity is dependent upon type of rock formation and size

Front 46

desalination

Back 46

process to remove salt from seawater, uses reverse osmosis, energy intensive and expensive

Front 47

gray water

Back 47

water from home like from showers laundry sinks, can be sanitized and used for non consumptive purposes

Front 48

genetic

Back 48

based on causative factors, what air mass sources are connected

Front 49

empirical

Back 49

based on statistical analysis, places are "like" each other

Front 50

temperate

Back 50

humid climates near coasts

Front 51

monsoon

Back 51

wet season and dry season

Front 52

savanna

Back 52

wet season and dry season with less rainfall or more dry season than normal monsoon climate

Front 53

steppe

Back 53

precipitation more than half of natural moisture demand

Front 54

tundra

Back 54

average temperature of warmest month = 32 degrees F