Honors Earth and Environmental Science- Unit 3 (Oceans and Atmosphere)

Cohesion

Water molecules stick to other water molecules

Adhesion

Water molecules stick to other things

Specific Heat

The amount of heat to raise the temperature one degree of Celcius

Frost Wedging

When water gets into the ground, freezes, and makes cracks in the rock

Evaporation

When water goes from a liquid to a gas

Condensation

When water goes from a gas back to a liquid

Stratosphere

Where the ozone layer is located

Nitrogen

Most abundant gas in the atmosphere

Albedo

The amount of sunlight/solar radiation reflected on an object

Weather

Day to day conditions at a certain location

Climate

The average conditions at a certain location

Snow/Ice

High albedo

Asphalt

Low albedo

Capillary Action

When liquid flows through narrow spaces without external forces, such as gravity

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms

Hydrogen Bond

An attraction between two atoms that already participate in other chemical bonds

Polarity

When an entity contains two distinct and opposite poles that can either attract or repel each other

Hydrosphere

All the water on Earth

Convection

The process of transferring heat through air or liquid currents

Deep Ocean

The depth at which light begins to dwindle

Coriolis Effect

Circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere

Density

A measure of how compact the in a substance or object is

Salinity

The saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water

Thermohaline Circulation

The movement of ocean currents due to differences in temperature and salinity in different regions of water

Latent Heat

Energy absorbed or released by a substance during a change in it’s physical state that occurs without changing it’s temperature

Greenhouse Gases

Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which heat is trapped near Earth’s surface by substances known as ‘greenhouse gases’

Methane

CH4

Carbon Dioxide

CO2

Fossil Fuels

An energy source formed in the Earth’s crust from decayed organic material, like petroleum, coal, and natural gas

Emission

Something that’s been released or emitted into the world

Ozone

an odorless, colorless gas made up of three oxygen molecules (O3) and is a natural part of the environment

El Nino

A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean

La Nina

The periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific

Jet Stream

A fast, narrow current of air flowing from west to east that encircles the globe

Oceanic Conveyor Belt

A constantly moving system of deep ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity