APES Ch. 7 Vocab

albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect light

altitude

Height above sea level

arid

Dry. A desert or other area with a rigid climate that has little percipitation

biome

Terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation

broadleaf deciduous plants

plants such as oak and maple trees that survive drought and cold by shedding their leaves and becoming dormant

broadleaf evergreen plants

Plants that keep most of their broad leaves year-round

climate

Physical properties of the troposphere of an area based on analysis of its weather records over a long period (at least 30 years)

cold front

Leading edge of an advancing mass of cold air.

coniferous evergreen plants

cone-bearing plants (such as spruces, pines, and firs) that keep some of their narrow pointedleaves (needles) all year

coniferous trees

cone-bearing tres, mostly evergreens, that have needle-shaped or scale-like leaves (produce wood known commercially as softwood)

Currents

movements of surface water, driven by prevailing winds and earth's rotation

deciduous plants [trees]

trees, such as oaks and maples, and other plants that survive during dry or cold seasons by shedding their leaves

desert

Biome in which evaporation exceeds precipitation and the average amount of percipitation is less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) per year (little vegetation

evergreen plants

plants that keep some of their leaves or needles throughout the year

front

the boundary between two air masses with different temperatures and densitities

global climate change

broad term referring to long-term changes in any aspects of the earth’s climate, especially temp and precipitation

grassland

biome found in regions where enough annual average precipitation to support the growth of grass and small plants but not enough to support large stands of trees

greenhouse effect

Natural effect that releases heat in the atmosphere near the earth’s surface.

greenhouse gasses

gasses in the earth’s lower atmosphere (troposphere) that cause the greenhouse (carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons)

latitude

distance from the equator

natural greenhouse effect

the process by which energy from the sun is trapped in the form of heat by various types of gas

ocean currents

Mass movements of surface water produced by prevailing winds blowing over the oceans

praire

type of grassland

rain shadow effect

Low precipitation on the leeward side of a mountain when prevailing winds flow up and over a high mountain or range of high mountains, creating semiarid and arid conditions on the leeward side of a high mountain range.

succulent plants

Plants, such as desert cacti, that survive in dry climates by having no leaves, thus reducing the loss of scarce water through transpiration. They store water and use sunlight to produce the food they need in the thick, fleshy tissue of their green stems and branches.

upwelling

Movement of nutrient–rich bottom water to the ocean’s surface. It can occur far from shore but usually takes place along certain steep coastal areas where the warm surface layer of ocean water is pushed away from shore and replaced by cold, nutrient–rich bottom water.

warm front

Boundary between an advancing warm air mass and the cooler one it is replacing. Because warm air is less dense than cool air, an advancing warm front rises over a mass of cool air.

weather

Short–term changes in the temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover, wind direction and speed, and other conditions in the troposphere at a given place and time.