Hurricanes
________ are tropical storms that cover vast areas and last for days.
Photosynthetic Organisms
________ use carbon dioxide and produce almost all the oxygen in the atmosphere.
Water Vapor
________ and carbon dioxide are examples of greenhouse gases.
Convection
________ transfers thermal energy by movement of air from place to place.
Cirrus
________ clouds form at heights above 6, 000 m and are made of ice crystals.
Lithosphere
The ________ is the solid Earth, including its soil, rocks, and mantle.
direction of airflow
The ________ is also affected by Earths rotation.
Large Eruptions
________ can produce droplets of sulfuric acid in the stratosphere that reflect incoming solar radiation.
Cryosphere
The ________ is frozen water in snow, ice, and glaciers.
Temperature
________ decreases with height in the troposphere up to the tropopause.
Ultraviolet Rays
The ozone layer shields Earth from ________ that can harm living organisms.
Greenhouse Effect
________: The emission of infrared waves by gases in Earths atmosphere.
Maritime Air Masses
________ are moist because they originate over the oceans.
Biosphere
________: all living organisms and the environments in which they live.
Downdrafts
________ can result in a form of severe weather called downbursts.
Antarctica
The concentration of springtime ozone over ________ has decreased over the past several decades.
Hydrosphere
The ________ is liquid water in oceans, lakes, rivers, soil, and underground.
Tornadoes
________ are intense, short- lived, localized storms in the mid- latitudes.
Seasonal Changes
________ are smallest near the equator and become greater with increasing latitude.
Latent Heat
________: the thermal energy released when water changes state from a gas to a liquid, or from a liquid to a solid.
Thunderstorm
A(n) ________ can form when moist air rises high in the atmosphere.
Energy
________ from the Sun evaporates water from Earths surface.
Jet Streams
________: control many weather processes, such as storm development.
Westerlies
________: winds that blow from the west in middle latitudes.
Weather Fronts
________: associated with low pressure systems.
La Niña
________: occurs when trade winds in the Pacific are unusually strong and equatorial oceanic surface temperatures are colder than normal.
tall cumulonimbus cloud
A(n) ________ produces a thunderstorm.
El Niño
________ can dramatically alter global weather patterns.
Clouds
________ form when water vapor cools and condenses to form droplets of water.
Global Warming
________: An increase in the average global temperature.
Sea Breeze
________: blows from the water toward the land in the afternoon, when the land is warmer than the water.
Troposphere
a layer extending about 12 km, on average, above Earths surface; temperature normally decreases with height
Temperature Inversion
When temperature increases with height
Greenhouse Effect
The emission of infrared waves by gases in Earths atmosphere
Latent Heat
the thermal energy released when water changes state from a gas to a liquid, or from a liquid to a solid
Westerlies
winds that blow from the west in middle latitudes
Jet Streams
control many weather processes, such as storm development
Weather Fronts
associated with low pressure systems
Biosphere
all living organisms and the environments in which they live
Maritime Climate
A climate that is strongly affected by an ocean
Continental Climate
A climate that is not directly affected by an ocean
Sea Breeze
blows from the water toward the land in the afternoon, when the land is warmer than the water
Global Warming
An increase in the average global temperature
El Niño
the warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of western South America that occurs every 3 to 10 years
La Niña
occurs when trade winds in the Pacific are unusually strong and equatorial oceanic surface temperatures are colder than normal