ESS vocab

Weather

The state of the atmosphere at a given place and time as characterized by temperature, wind, cloudiness, humidity, and precipitation

Climate

The characteristic weather of a region averaged over several decades; refers to yearly cycles of temperature, wind, cloudiness, humidity, and precipitation, and not to daily variations.

Photon

A particle of light; the smallest particle of packet of electromagnetic energy

Electromagnetic radiation

Radiation consisting of an oscillating electric and magnetic field, including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays.

Frequency

The number of complete wave cycles, from crest to crest, that pass by a fixed point in one second.

Electromagnetic spectrum

The entire range of electromagnetic radiation from very-short wavelength (low frequency radiation) to very short wavelength (high-frequency) radiation

Albedo

The reflectivity of a surface; surfaces that reflect more light have a higher albedo

Greenhouse effect

An increase in the temperature of the planets surface caused when infrared-absorbing gases in the atmosphere trap energy from the sun

Temperature

A measure of the average kinetic energy in a substance, proportional to the average speed of atoms and molecules in a sample

Heat

The energy transferred between two substances because of differences in their temperature

Conduction

The transport of heat by direct collision among atoms or molecules

Latent heat

Stored energy; the energy released or absorbed when a substance changes from one state to another by melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, sublimation, or deposition

Specific heat

The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degrees Celsius

Advection

The transfer of heat by the horizontal flow of fluid material

Isotherm

Line on a weather map connecting areas with the same average temperature

Solstice

Either of two times per year when the sun is farthest from the equator and shines directly over head at either 23.5 degrees north or south latitude; the longest day of the year in the hemisphere receiving direct sunlight and the shortest day of the year in the other hemisphere.

Tropic of Cancer

The latitude 23.5 north of the equator; on the summer in the northern hemisphere, sunlight strikes earth from directly overhead at noon at this latitude.

Tropic of Capricorn

The latitude 23.5 degrees south of the equator; on the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere, sunlight strikes earth from directly overhead at noon at this latitude.

Equinox

Either of two times during the year when the sun shines directly overhead at the equator and every area of earth receives 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness