geo unit 10 vocab

radiation

waves of energy traveling through open space

conduction

energy transfer when an object comes in contact with another object

convection

energy transfer via currents in liquids and gases created by the rise and fall due to temperature differences

insolation

radiation from sun

albedo

average percent reflected back toward space - reflectivity

greenhouse effect

thick gasses trap radiation from escaping back into space the energy waves from the sun are short while waves from surface are long

adiabatic heating/cooling

temperature changes caused by pressure changes

temperature inversion

layer of warmer air sits over a layer of cooler denser air near ground

troposphere

lowest layer where all weather takes place

stratosphere

contains the ozone layer which protects earth’s surface from being bombarded with too much harmful radiation

cfc

causing stratospheric ozone depletion and driving global warming

ozone

03 highly reactive gas composed of 3 oxygen atoms

specific humidity

actual amount of water vapor in the air

relative humidity

comparison between actual and capacity

dew point

temp to which air must be cooled at constant pressure and moisture to be fully saturated with water vapor

condensation nuclei

microscopic atmospheric particles that serves as surfaces for water vapor to condense into liquid droplets

orographic lifting

one side of mountain is wetter than the other

coriolis effect

curving of moving objects due to earth’s rotation