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Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about air pressure and wind.
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Air Pressure
Force exerted by the weight of the air above.
Millibar (mb)
Unit of measurement for air pressure; standard sea level pressure is 1013.2 mb."
Barometer
Instrument for measuring air pressure.
Aneroid barometer
Barometer that uses an expanding chamber and does not contain liquid; 'without liquid.'
Barograph
Instrument that continuously records air pressure.
Wind Vane
Instrument for measuring wind direction.
Cup anemometer
Instrument used to measure wind speed.
Isobars
Lines of equal air pressure.
Pressure gradient
Pressure change over distance.
Coriolis Effect
Apparent deflection in the wind direction due to Earth's rotation.
Geostrophic winds
Winds that generally blow parallel to isobars in the upper air.
Jet stream
A 'river' of air; high altitude, high velocity winds.
Cyclone
A center of low pressure.
Anticyclone
A center of high pressure.
Monsoon
Seasonal change in wind direction.
Rossby Waves
Develop at the polar front and form convoluted waves; primary mechanism for poleward heat transfer.
Land breeze
Local wind that blows from land to sea.
Sea breeze
Local wind that blows from sea to land.
El Niño
A countercurrent that flows southward along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru, usually appearing during the Christmas season.
Southern Oscillation
Pressure change between the eastern and western Pacific related to El Nino.
La Niña
Opposite of El Niño; triggered by colder than average surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific.
Polar Easterlies
Cold, subsiding air spreads equatorward and produces polar easterly winds
Polar Front
Area of storms, in the Subpolar low pressure zone, warm and cool winds interact
Trade Winds
Air traveling equatorward from the subtropical high.
Westerly Winds
Air traveling poleward from the subtropical high.