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95 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Atmosphere |
The layer of gasses surrounding a planet or celestial body |
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Meteorology |
The study of the atmospheric processes responsible for weather |
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Weather |
The state of the atmosphere at a given place and time |
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Climatology |
The study of climate |
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Climate |
The average conditions of the atmosphere |
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Microclimate |
The climate of a small area at earths surface |
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Global warming |
The increased Earth's temperature caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases |
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Anthropogenic |
Related to human activities |
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System |
An interrelated set of parts |
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Lithosphere |
The rocks/surface of the earth |
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Biosphere |
The life on earth |
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Hydrosphere |
The water on earth |
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Cryosphere |
The ice on earth |
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Evaporation |
The process by which a substance, usually water, changes phase from a liquid to a gas |
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Condensation |
The process by which a substance, usually water, changes phase from gas to liquid |
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Respiration |
The life process in which oxygen is removed from the atmosphere and carbon dioxide is returned |
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Photosynthesis |
The life process in which energy from the sun is used to convert carbon dioxide and water to oxygen and carbohydrates |
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Feedback effect |
A mechanism that operates within a system to either amplify or lessen an initial change |
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Scientific law |
A precise statement that describes the behaviour of nature and is believed to always hold true |
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Scientific theory |
A body of knowledge that provides a detailed explanation for a set of observations |
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Scientific methods |
A series of steps followed in scientific investigation |
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Hypothesis |
A tentative explanation for an observation |
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Model |
A representation of reality used to help in understanding complex or abstract natural phenomena |
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General circulation model (GCM) |
A computer program that represents the physics of the atmosphere through a set of equations |
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Density |
The amount of mass in a unit volume |
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Force |
An action capable of accelerating an object |
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Energy |
The capacity to do work |
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Work |
The transfer of energy by mechanical means |
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Power |
The rate at which energy is transferred, or work is done |
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Pressure |
The force per unit area |
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Energy flux density |
The rate of the flow of energy per unit area of surface |
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Atmospheric pressure |
The force exerted by the atmosphere on Earth's surface |
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Standard atmosphere |
A set of values that represents the average vertical distribution of pressure, temperature and density in the atmosphere |
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Troposphere |
The layer of the atmosphere extending from earth's from earth's surface to an average height of 11km |
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Tropopause |
The top of the troposphere |
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Stratosphere |
The layer of the atmosphere extending from, on average, 11to 50 km above the earth's surface |
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Stratopause |
The top of the stratosphere |
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Inversion |
An increase in temperature with altitude |
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Mesosphere |
The layer of the atmosphere that extends from about 50km above the earth's surface to about 85 km above the surface |
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Mesopause |
The top of the mesosphere |
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Thermosphere |
The top layer of the atmosphere. Its base is located at an altitude of about 85 km; it has no well defined top |
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Constant gases |
Gases that have consistent concentration across the atmosphere, up to a height of 80 km |
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Variable gases |
Gases that have different concentrations in different areas of the atmosphere and at different times |
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Residence time |
The average amount of time that a substance might be expected to remain in a reservoir of the Earth-atmosphere system |
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Biogeochemical |
The model that describes how an element or compound is transferred between the atmosphere, rock, water and life of earth |
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Reservoir |
A storage place |
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Source |
A process by which a substance enters a reservoir |
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Sink |
A process by which a substance leaves a reservoir |
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Steady state |
A condition that exists when the inflow to a reservoir are equal to the outflows from the reservoir |
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Nitrogen fixation |
The process by which nitrogen gas is removed from the atmosphere and converted to a soluble form of nitrogen that can be taken up by plants |
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Denitrification |
The process by which bacteria convert nitrogen in the soil to nitrogen in the soil to nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide gas |
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Photodissociation |
A process in which a molecule is spilt apart by the absorption |
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Anaerobic decomposition |
Process of decay that occurs when oxygen in unavailable |
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Oxidation |
The addition of oxygen to a compound, which is accompanied by a loss of electrons |
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Greenhouse gas |
A gas that allows the shorter wavelength radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere, while it absorbs the longer wavelength radiation leaving earth's surface |
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Greenhouse effect |
An increase in the temperature of a planet due to the presence of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere |
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Carbon cycle |
The model that describes the processes by which carbon is transferred between the various reservoirs of the Earth-atmoshpere system |
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Carbonate-silicate cycle |
The inorganic part of the carbon cycle, in which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere as silicate rocks weather and returned to the atmosphere hundreds of thousands to millions of years later by volcanic eruptions |
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Latent heat |
The energy associated with phase changes |
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Hydrologic cycle |
The model that describes the process by which water is transferred between the various reservoirs of the earth-atmoshpere system |
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Ultraviolet radiation |
Radiation with wavelengths ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 um |
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Homosphere |
The lower atmosphere, in which the constant gases are throughly mixed |
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Heterosphere |
The upper atmosphere, in which the heaviest molecules are on the bottom and the lightest are on the top |
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Aerosols |
Tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere
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Primary aerosols |
Aerosols that are emitted directly into the atmosphere |
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Secondary aerosols |
Aerosols that form in the atmosphere |
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Haze |
A reduction of visibility caused by the scattering of visible radiation in the atmosphere |
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) |
Carbon-containing compounds that easily vaporize |
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Hydrocarbons |
Substances containing hydrogen and carbon, the most common is methane |
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Outgassing |
The release of gases dissolved in rock |
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Ideal gas law |
A scientific law that provides the relationship between the pressure, temperature and volume (or density) of a gas |
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kentic theory of matter |
A scientific theory that states that matter is composed of molecules and the these molecules are in constant motion |
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Isobars |
Lines of constant pressure |
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Front |
A narrow zone of transition between air of different properties |
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Warm front |
A front at which warm air is advancing and replacing cold air |
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Cold front |
A front at which warm air is advancing and replacing warm air |
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Fluid |
A substance that can flow; liquids and gases are both fluids |
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Hydrostatic balance |
The state of a stationary fluid when the vertical forces one it are balanced |
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Temperature |
A measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance |
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Ideal gas |
A gas in which there are NO attractive forces between molecules |
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Equation of state |
An equation that provides the relationship between the temperature, pressure and volume of a substance. The ideal gas law is an equation of state |
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Ideal gas constant |
The constant, R, in the ideal gas equation |
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Virtual temperature |
The temperature used in the ideal gas law to account for the fact that moist air is less dense then dry air |
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Pressure gradient force |
A force that occurs due to differences in pressure. The magnitude of this force is proportional to the pressure gradient, and its direction is from high pressure to low pressure |
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Hydrostatics |
The study of stationary fluids |
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Hypsometry |
The science of measuring heights |
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Pressure surface |
An imaginary surface in the atmosphere upon which the pressure is the same everywhere |
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Thickness |
The difference in height between two pressure surfaces in the atmosphere |
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Thermal pressure system |
Shallow areas of high or low pressure that are created by cooling or warming, respectively |
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Dynamic pressure systems |
Deep high- and low-pressure systems that develop as a result of complex air motions |
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Synoptic weather map |
A weather map that gives a visual synopsis of the weather conditions that are occurring at a given time |
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Radiosonde |
A package of instruments that measure pressure, temperature and moisture and send this information back to the surface through radio transmissions |
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Atmospheric sounding |
Measurement of the change with height of certain atmospheric variables such as temperature, pressure, humidity and wind |
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Weather station symbols |
Symbols plotted on a weather map to provide information about observed weather elements |
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Polar front jet stream |
A narrow band of very fast westerly wind that occurs in the mid-latitudes in the upper portion of the troposphere |
