Unit 4A APES Vocab

Albedo

Albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect light. Higher for snow, lower for dark soil or pavement.

Atmosphere

A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth; mainly nitrogen and oxygen.

Climate

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time (at least 30 years).

Convection Current

a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid

Coriolis effect

The effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents, causing them to turn left in the southern hemisphere and right in the northern hemisphere.

El Niño

A periodic change of climate conditions that occurs in the equatorial Pacific, when trade winds weaken causing less upwelling.

Elevation

The height above sea level; altitude.

ENSO

The El Niño Southern Oscillation, the combined effects of El Niño and La Niña climate conditions.

Equator

Imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

Equinox

The two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun; once in March and once in September.

Exosphere

The outer layer of the atmosphere extending into outer space that is the thinnest layer with molecules far apart.

Infrared radiation

Electromagnetic waves with wavelengths that are longer than visible light but shorter than microwaves.

Insolation

Incoming solar radiation from the sun.

La Niña

A periodic change of climate conditions that occurs in the equatorial Pacific, with stronger tradewinds and increased upwelling.

Latitude

Distance north or south of the equator.

Mesosphere

The middle and coldest layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up, between the stratosphere and thermosphere

Precipitation

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface; including rain, snow, and hail.

Prevailing winds

The predominant direction of the movement of air in a particular place or season.

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.

Solstice

The two days of the year on which the sun is farthest north or south of the equator leading to the longest day in one hemisphere and the shortest in the other; occurs in June and December.

Stratosphere

The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere; where the ozone layer is found.

Thermosphere

The region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the exosphere, where temperature increases as altitude increases, Northern Lights occur here.

Troposphere

The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere; most dense layer of air; where weather occurs.

Upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface.

Weather

The conditions of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Wind

The movement of air from an area of high pressure to one of low pressure.

Biome

A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

Global Ocean Conveyor Belt

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

Ferrel Cell

Cell that moves air form 30 degrees to 60 degrees latitude

Greenhouse Effect

Natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases

Gulf Stream

A warm ocean current that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northward through the Atlantic Ocean

Hadley Cell

Convection Currents that cycle between the equator, 30 degrees North and South.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees

Ocean Gyre

An ocean gyre is a large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth's rotation.

Ozone Layer

A layer in the stratosphere that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun

Polar Cell

A convection current in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60 degrees N and 60 degrees S and sinks at the poles, 90 degrees N and 90 degrees S

Thermohaline Circulation

Water circulation produced by differences in temperature and/or salinity (and therefore density), As ocean water freezes at the poles it concentrates salt, and the colder, denser water sinks.

Aurora Borealis

A colorful, glowing display in the Thermosphere caused when particles from the sun strike oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the ionosphere; also called the Northern Lights