Oceanography Chapter 6

Front 1

Air Mass

Back 1

Large volumes of air that have a definite area of origin and distinctive characteristics

Front 2

Albedo

Back 2

The fraction of incident electromagnetic radiation reflected by a surface

Front 3

Antarctic Circle

Back 3

The latitude 66.5° south

Front 4

Anticyclonic Flow

Back 4

The flow of air around a region of high pressure clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere

Front 5

Arctic Circle

Back 5

The latitude 66.5° north

Front 6

Autumnal Equinox

Back 6

The passage of the sun across the equator as it moves from the Northern Hemisphere into the Southern Hemisphere, approx Sept. 23, during this time, all places in the world experience equal lengths of day and night

Front 7

Climate

Back 7

The long-term average of weather

Front 8

Cold Front

Back 8

The contact between a cold air mass moving into an area occupied by warm air

Front 9

Convection Cell

Back 9

A circular-moving loop of matter involved in convective movement

Front 10

Coriolis Effect

Back 10

An apparent force resulting from Earth’s rotation causes particles in motion to be deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

Front 11

Cyclone

Back 11

Huge rotating masses of low pressure characterized by strong winds and torrential rain

Front 12

Cyclonic Flow

Back 12

The flow of air around a region of low pressure counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere

Front 13

Declination

Back 13

Angular distance of the Sun from the equatorial plane

Front 14

Doldrums

Back 14

A global belt of light, variable winds near the equator, resulting from the vertical flow of low-density air masses upward within this equatorial belt, associated with much precipitation

Front 15

Ecliptic

Back 15

The plane center of the Earth system as it orbits around the sun

Front 16

Equatorial

Back 16

Spanning the equator

Front 17

Equatorial Low

Back 17

A band of atmospheric pressure that encircles the globe along the equator

Front 18

Ferrel Cell

Back 18

The large atmospheric circulation cell that occurs between 30° and 60° latitude in each hemisphere

Front 19

Hadley Cell

Back 19

The large atmospheric circulation cell that occurs between the equator and 30° latitude in each hemisphere

Front 20

Horse Latitudes

Back 20

The boundary between the trade winds and the prevailing westerlies, also the center at 30° north or south latitude

Front 21

Ice Floe

Back 21

A piece of floating ice other than fast ice or icebergs, may range in maximum horizontal dimension from about 20 cm (8 in) to more than 1 km (.6 mi)

Front 22

Icebergs

Back 22

A massive piece of glacier ice that has broken from the front of the glacier (calved) into a body of water, it floats with its tip at least 5 m (16 ft) above the water’s surface and at least 4/5 of its mass submerged

Front 23

Jet Stream

Back 23

An easterly moving mass of air at an elevation of about 10 km (6 mi), moving at speeds that can exceed 300 km (185 mi)/hr, follows a wavy path in the middle latitudes and influences how far polar air masses may extend into the lower latitudes

Front 24

Land Breeze

Back 24

The seaward flow of air from the land caused by differential cooling of Earth’s surface

Front 25

Pancake Ice

Back 25

Circular pieces of newly formed sea ice from .3 to 3 m (1 to 10 ft) in diameter that form in the early fall in polar regions

Front 26

Polar Cell

Back 26

The large atmospheric circulation cell that occurs between 60° to 90° latitude in each hemisphere

Front 27

Polar Easterly Wind Belt

Back 27

Global wind belt that moves away from the polar regions toward the polar front at about 60° north or south latitude in each hemisphere, they move from a northeasterly direction in the Northern Hemisphere and from a southeasterly direction in the Southern Hemisphere

Front 28

Polar Front

Back 28

The boundary between the global wind belts’ prevailing westerlies and polar easterlies that is centered at about 60° latitude in each hemisphere and is characterized by rising air and much precipitation

Front 29

Polar High

Back 29

The region of high atmospheric pressure that occurs at the poles in both hemispheres

Front 30

Prevailing Westerly Wind Belt

Back 30

Global wind belt that moves from the subtropical high-pressure belts at about 30° north or south latitude toward the polar front at about 60° north or south latitude, they move from a southwesterly direction in the Northern Hemisphere and from a northwesterly direction in the Southern Hemisphere

Front 31

Saffir-Simpson Scale

Back 31

A scale of hurricane intensity that divides tropical cyclones into categories based on wind speed and damage

Front 32

Sea Breeze

Back 32

The landward flow of air from the sea caused by differential heating of Earth’s surface

Front 33

Sea Ice

Back 33

A form of ice originating from the freezing of ocean water

Front 34

Shelf Ice

Back 34

Thick shelves of glacial ice that push out into Antarctic seas from Antarctica, large tubular icebergs calve at the edge of these vast shelves

Front 35

Storm

Back 35

An atmospheric disturbance characterized by strong winds, precipitation, and often thunder and lightning

Front 36

Storm Surge

Back 36

A rise above normal water level resulting from wind stress and reduced atmospheric pressure during storms, consequences can be more severe if it occurs in association with high tide

Front 37

Subpolar Low

Back 37

A global belt of low atmospheric pressure located at about 60° north or south latitude that is associated with vertical flow of low-density air upward and much precipitation

Front 38

Subtropical High

Back 38

A region of high atmospheric pressure located at about 30° latitude

Front 39

Summer Solstice

Back 39

In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the instant when the sun moves north to the Tropic of Cancer before changing direction and moving southward toward the equator, approx June 21

Front 40

Trade Winds

Back 40

Global wind belt that moves from the subtropical high-pressure belts at about 30° north or south latitude toward the equatorial region, they move from a northeasterly direction in the Northern Hemisphere and from a southeasterly direction in the Southern Hemisphere

Front 41

Vernal Equinox

Back 41

The passage of the sun across the equator as it moves from the Southern Hemisphere into the Northern Hemisphere, approx March 21, during this time, all places in the world experience equal lengths of night and day

Front 42

Warm Front

Back 42

The contact between a warm air mass moving in to an area occupied by cold air

Front 43

Weather

Back 43

Describes the condition of the atmosphere at any given time and place

Front 44

Wind

Back 44

Moving air that moves from high-pressure regions towards low-pressure regions

Front 45

Winter Solstice

Back 45

The instant the southward-moving Sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer before changing direction and moving north back toward the equator, approx Dec. 21