Climate Flashcards
(20 cards)
the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.
atmosphere
the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization.
Radiation
a current in a fluid that results from convection.
convection current
the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.
greenhouse effect
a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.
global warming
Any form of precipitation, including rain, snow, hail, fog, or dew, that is high in acid pollutants, especially sulfuric and nitric acid. Acid precipitation has a pH of less than 5.6 (the normal acidity of unpolluted atmospheric water) and is often less than pH 5.0. Also called acid rain.
acid precipitation
a shield is a region of Earth’s stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It contains high concentrations of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in relation to other gases in the stratosphere.
Ozone layer
short term weather
weather
long term weather
climate
the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth’s equator, or of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes
latitude
a wind from the direction that is predominant at a particular place or season.
prevailing winds
high rock formations
mountains
seasonal directed movement of seawater generated by forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, the Coriolis effect
ocean currents
a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra
Biome
a glacial episode during a past geological period.
ice age
Sun’s activity (including changes in the levels of solar radiation and ejection of solar material) and appearance (changes in the number and size of sunspots, flares, and other manifestations).
solar cycle
releases the energy of several million nuclear weapons detonating simultaneously, when an asteroid of only a few kilometers in diameter collides with a larger body such as the Earth
asteroid impact
a volcano explodes
volcanic eruption
the movement of earths crust
plate tectonics
when glaciers melt
glacial melting
