Week 18 Vocab Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Week 18 Vocab Deck (14)
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1
Q

Precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a high concentration of acids, often because of the pollution of the atmosphere.

A

Acid Precipitation

2
Q

A value that is used to express the acidity or alkalinity (basicity) of a system; each whole number on the scale indicates a tenfold change in acidity; a pH of 7 is neutral, a pH of less than 7 is acidic, and a pH of greater than 7 is basic.

A

pH

3
Q

The sudden runoff of large amounts of highly acidic water into lakes and streams when snow melts in the spring or when heavy rains follow a drought.

A

Acid Shock

4
Q

The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time.

A

Climate

5
Q

The distance north or south from the equator; expressed in degrees.

A

Latitude

6
Q

The warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation; a periodic occurrence in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surface-water temperature becomes unusually warm.

A

El Nino

7
Q

The cool phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation; a periodic occurrence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surface-water temperature becomes unusually cool.

A

La Nina

8
Q

The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40 km in which the ozone absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation.

A

Ozone Layer

9
Q

Hydrocarbons in which some or all of the hydrogen atoms are replaced by chlorine and fluorine; used in coolants for refrigerators and air conditioners and in cleaning solvents; their use is restricted because they destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere.

A

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)

10
Q

A thinning of stratospheric ozone that occurs over the poles during the spring.

A

Ozone Hole

11
Q

A cloud that forms at altitudes of about 21,000 m during the Arctic and Antarctic winter or early spring, when air temperatures drop below -80C

A

Polar Stratospheric Clouds

12
Q

A gas composed of molecules that absorb and radiate infrared radiation from the sun.

A

Greenhouse Gases

13
Q

A gradual increase in average global temperature.

A

Global Warming

14
Q

An international treaty according to which developed countries that signed the treaty agree to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that may contribute to global warming by 2012.

A

Kyoto Protocol