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119 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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aerosol
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tiny particles less than 1 micrometer of liquid or solid material so small that they remain suspended in the air. These include tiny droplets water, acid, sea salt, volcanic ash, pollen, soot, and clay
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Air pressure
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the push that air can exert on its surroundings
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adiabatic cooling
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the process by which air temperature descrases because air moves from a higher to lower pressure region without adding or subtracting heat & thus expands
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adiabatic heating
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the process by which air heats when it moves from lower to higher pressure and contracts, thus heating
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relative humidity
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the ratio between the measured water content and maximum possible water amount the air could hold
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dewpoint temperature
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the temperature at which air becomes saturated
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Pauses
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elevations where temperatures stop decreasing and start increasing
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troposphere
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the layer at the surface of the earth that rises tp 9km at poles and 12 km at equator; temperature increases here and convection occurs; weather layer
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stratosphere
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layer between tropopause and stratopause that does not convect, remaining stable and stratified
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mesosphere
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layer that does not absorb much energy and cools with distance from stratosphere; meteors burn here
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thermosphere
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layer with less than 1% of atmosphere's gas; temperature increases with distance because gasses absorb hort-wavelength soar energy; contains little heat
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ionosphere
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interval between 60-400km where short-wavelength solar energy strips nitrogen & oxygen of their electrons and transforms them into positive ions; where auroras occur
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isobar
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a line on a map along which the air has a specified pressure
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insolation
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incoming solar energy
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divergence zone
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the place where sinking air separates into two flows moving in opposite directiona
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convergence zones
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a place where two surface air flows meet so that air has to rise
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polar front
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convergence zone at latitude 60 degrees
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Hadley cells
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low-latitude cells that extend from the equator to a latitude of 30 degrees
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Ferrel cells
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mid-latitude cells
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polar cells
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high latitude cells
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prevailing winds
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airflows in which surface air flows in consistent directions or belts
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doldrums
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slow wind belt along the equator
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jet streams
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zones of rapid movement where winds flow from 200-400 km/hr
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weather system
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a specific set of weather conditions reflecting the configuration of air movement in the atmosphere that affects region for a period of time
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prevailing winds
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airflows in which surface air flows in consistent directions or belts
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doldrums
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slow wind belt along the equator
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jet streams
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zones of rapid movement where winds flow from 200-400 km/hr
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weather system
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a specific set of weather conditions reflecting the configuration of air movement in the atmosphere that affects region for a period of time
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cyclone
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the counterclockwise windflow around a low pressure mass
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anticyclone
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the clockwise windflow around a high pressure mass
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wave cyclone
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a mid latitude cyclone created when air citculates counterclockwise around the mass
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fog
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clouds that form at ground level
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condensation nuclei
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preexisting solid or liquid aerosols on which water condenses
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lifting mechanism
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conditions that cause air to rise
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convective lifting
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process by which ground air warms, becomes buoyant, and rises
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frontal lifting
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process at the fronts of air masses. Warm air pushes up over a steep wall at cold fronts, and rides up & condenses at a gentler slope at warm fronts
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convergence lifting
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process by which air converges, rises, cools, and forms clouds by pushing air to spiral into a low pressure zone or where two deflected winds meet again
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orographic lifting
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lifting process where moisutre-laden wind meets a mountain range and must rise
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collision and coalescence
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process in which tiny droplets in clouds collide and stick together to create a larger drop
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Bergeron process
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precipitation involving the growth of ice crystals in a cloud at the expense of water droplets
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cumulus
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puffy, cotton ball, or cauliflower-shaped clouds
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stratus
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clouds that form in sheet-like or layered shape and are thin/stable
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cirrus
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clouds with a wispy shape and taper into feather-like curls
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hail
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ice balls formed by below-freezing temperatures
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lightning flash
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giant spark or pulse of current
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tornado
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near-verticle, funnel-shaped cloud in which air rotates extremely rapidly around the axis; a vortex under a severe thunderstorm
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enhanced fujita scale
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scale based on estimated damage assessment
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nor'easter
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large mid-latitude cycles of North America where the cold, counterclockwise winds come out of the northeast
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Saffir-Simpson scale
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scale based on wind speed (km/hr), air pressure and damage, with categories of minimal, moderate, extensive, extreme, and catastrophic
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hurricane
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huge rotating storm resembling a giant spiral in which winds are greater than 119 km/hr
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storm surge
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excess water that is carried landward by the hurricane
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isotherm
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lines along which the temperature is exactly the same
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orographic barrier
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a landform (ex. mountain range) that diverts air flow upward or laterally
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monsoon
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a major reversal in the wind direction that causes a shift from a very dry season to a very rainy season
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El Nino
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the event in late December in Peru & Ecuador when the fish population diminished
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southern oscillation
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when pressure cells oscillate back and forth across the Pacific
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pore
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any open space within a volume of regolith or body of rock
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porocity
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total amount of open space within a material
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primary porocity
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forms during sediment deposition and rock formation where the potrd between clastic grains exist because grains do not fit together
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secondary porocity
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new pore space in rocks producced sometime after rock first formed
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permeability
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the ability to all fluids to pass through the interconnected network of pres
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aquifer
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sediment rocks that transmit water easily
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aquitards
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sediment or rock that do not transmit water easily and therefore retard the motion of water
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unconfined aquifer
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aquifers that intersect the surface of the Earth; water can percolate directly from the surface down into the aquifer and that can rise to the surface
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confined aquifers
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aquifers that are separated from the surface by the aquitard; the water they contain is isolated from the surface
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soil moisture
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infiltrating meteoric water adheres temporarily to clay, sand, and organic debris
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unsaturated zone (vadose zone)
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the region of subsurface win which water only partially fills a pore
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saturated zone
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water that completely fills the pores in deep surface
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groundwater
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subsurface water in the saturated zone where water completely fills pores
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water table
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horizon that separates the underground zone above from the saturated zone below
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capillary fringe
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a think layer at the base of the unsaturated zone that draws water molecules to mineral surfaces
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perched water table
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a quantity of groundwater tha lies above the regional water table because of an underlying lens of impermeable rock or sediment preventss water from sinking down to regional water table
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hydraulic head
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the potential energy to available to drive the flow of a given volume of grondwater
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recharge area
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the lotion where water enters the ground, where the flow direction has a downward trajectory
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discharge area
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location where groundwater flows back up to the surface
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hydraulic gradient
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the change in hydraulic head per unit of distance between two locations as measured along the flow path
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unsaturated zone (vadose zone)
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the region of subsurface win which water only partially fills a pore
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saturated zone
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water that completely fills the pores in deep surface
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groundwater
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subsurface water in the saturated zone where water completely fills pores
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water table
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horizon that separates the underground zone above from the saturated zone below
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capillary fringe
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a think layer at the base of the unsaturated zone that draws water molecules to mineral surfaces
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perched water table
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a quantity of groundwater tha lies above the regional water table because of an underlying lens of impermeable rock or sediment preventss water from sinking down to regional water table
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hydraulic head
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the potential energy to available to drive the flow of a given volume of grondwater
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recharge area
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the lotion where water enters the ground, where the flow direction has a downward trajectory
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discharge area
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location where groundwater flows back up to the surface
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hydraulic gradient
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the change in hydraulic head per unit of distance between two locations as measured along the flow path
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Darcy's law
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the law that states that groundwater flows faster through very permeable rocks than through impermeable, where water table has a steep slope
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wells
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hole that people dig or drill to obtain water
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springs
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natural outlets form which groundwater flows
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ordinary well
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the base of th ewell penetrates an aquifer below the water table
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cone of depression
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if a table sinks down around the well the water tale becomes a downward-pointing cone-shaped surface
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artesian well
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well that penetrates confined aquifers in which water is under enough pressure to rise on its own to a level above the surface
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hot springs
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springs that emit water ranging in temperature from 30-104 degrees found in deep groundwater or in geothermal regions
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geothermal regions
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places where volcanism curently takes place or has occurred recently so that magma resides close to the Earth's surface
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geyser
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a fountain of steam and hot water that erupts episodicaly from a vent in the ground
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hard water
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groundwater that has passed through limestones or dolomite that conains dissolved calcium and magnesium ions
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groundwater contamination
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the additions of such substances in quantitues that make the groundwater dangerous to use
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contaminat plume
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the cloud of contaminated groundwater that noves away from the source of contamination
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bioremediation
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injecting oxygen and nutrients into a contaminated aquifer to foster growth of bacteria that can react with and break down molecules of contaminations
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speleothem
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the various intracately shaped formations that grow in caves by accumulations of dripstones
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stalactite
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icicle-like cone of precipitated limestone
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stalagmite
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upward-pointing cone that forms from the precipitate that drips on the floor
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limestone columns
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stalagmites that merge with overlying stalactites
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earth system
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global interconnecting web of physical and biological phenomena on Earth
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global change
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transformations or modifications of both physical and biological components of Earth System over time
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biogeochemical cycle
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exchange of chemicals among living and nonliving reservoirs
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supercontinent cycle
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the process of change during which supercontinents form and break apart
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sedimentary sequence
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blanket of sediment left behind after a continent and sea advance/retreat
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biogeochemical cycle
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passage of a chemical among nonliving and living reservoirs in the earth system, mostly on or near the surface
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steady-state condition
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the proportions of chemicals in different reservoirs remain fairly constant even though there is a constant flux of the cheicals among reservoirs
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greenhouse periods
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warmer periods in the earth's atmosphere
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icehouse (ice age) periods
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times during an icehouse period when earth was cold enough for ice sheets to advance and cover substantial areas of the continents
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runaway greenhouse effect
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in Venus, solar radiation from the Sun caused surface water to evaporate which did not allow infared radiation to escape. The atmosphere became hotter and water molecules broke apart to H and O2; H escapes and O2 formed rust on rocks. CO2 built up in atmosphere and made temp rise
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sunspot cycel
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appearance of large numbers of sunspots (magnetic storms on the Earth's surface)
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albedo
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the degree of reflectivity of sunlight in the atmosphere
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mass-extinction events
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when large numbers of species abruptly vanish
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ozone hole
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when a region of atmospheric ozone has been reduced substantially because CFCs react with ozone in polar stratopheric clouds to destroy the ozone
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sustainable growth
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ability to prosper within the Earth System
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cyclothems
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shorter repeated intervals of sediment sequence because of sea-level rise/fall
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