🌦️ Weather Hazards Flashcards
What is adaptation in the context of climate change?
Responding to climate change by developing ways to live with and adjust to its effects.
What is atmospheric circulation?
The large-scale movement of air around the Earth, distributing heat and influencing climate patterns.
What is an atmospheric hazard?
Natural hazards originating from atmospheric processes, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts.
What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)?
A technology aimed at capturing carbon dioxide emissions from sources like power plants and storing them underground to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.
What is climate change?
Significant and lasting changes in weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.
What is a conservative plate margin?
A tectonic boundary where two plates slide past each other horizontally, often causing earthquakes.
What is a constructive plate margin?
A tectonic boundary where two plates move apart, allowing magma to rise and form new crust, typically resulting in volcanic activity.
What is continental crust?
The thick, less dense part of the Earth’s crust that forms the continents.
What is a convection current?
The circular movement of fluid (such as magma) caused by the heating and cooling process, driving plate tectonics.
What is the Coriolis effect?
The deflection of moving air and water due to Earth’s rotation, influencing wind patterns and ocean currents.
What is a cyclone?
A system of winds rotating inwards to an area of low atmospheric pressure, commonly associated with tropical storms in regions like Oceania and Madagascar.
What is a destructive plate margin?
A tectonic boundary where two plates move towards each other, and one is forced beneath the other, leading to volcanic activity and earthquakes.
What is eccentricity in relation to Earth’s orbit?
The variation in Earth’s orbital shape around the Sun, ranging from nearly circular to elliptical, affecting climatic patterns over geological timescales.
What is the eye of a tropical storm?
The calm, clear central part of a tropical storm with the lowest atmospheric pressure.
What is the eyewall of a tropical storm?
The surrounding area of a tropical storm’s eye, characterized by the most severe weather, including strong winds and heavy rain.
What is a Ferrel cell?
A mid-latitude atmospheric circulation cell where air flows poleward and eastward near the surface and equatorward and westward at higher altitudes, influencing temperate climates.
What are fossil fuels?
Energy resources like coal, oil, and natural gas formed from the ancient remains of living organisms.
What is a geological hazard?
Natural hazards resulting from geological processes, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis.
