| meteorology | | the uppermost layer of the atmosphere in which temperature increases as altitude increases; includes the ionosphere |
| heat | | the layering of warm air on top of cool air |
| condensation | | the study of Earth's climate and the factors that affect past,present, and future climatic changes |
| wind barb | | how fast or slow molecules move |
| maunder minimum | | used to measure temperature |
| dew point | | average weather of a particular area over a long period of time |
| insulator | | a gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms |
| dissipation | | cool dense air moves during the night from the land toward water |
| temperature | | latitude zone that receives the most solar radiation because the rays strike that area most directly overhead |
| relative humidity | | the force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere |
| cloud cover | | an observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is moving |
| psychrometer | | having little or no rain; too dry or barren to support vegetation |
| atmosphere | | the layer of gases that surrounds earth |
| anemometer | | a windless zone at earth's equator where air rises almost straight up |
| global warming | | the sky being marked by a covering of clouds |
| thermometer | | a psychrometer that you whirl around to get a reading |
| polar zone | | short-term period of climatic change caused by regular variations in temperature, hours of daylight and weather patterns that are due to the tilt of Earth's axis as it revolves around the sun, causing different areas of earth to receive different amounts of solar radiation |
| arid | | a scientist who gathers data to study climate changes |
| prevailing westerlies | | a long period of climatic cooling during which the continents are glaciated repeatedly |
| barometer | | ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the amount of water vapor needed to reach saturation at a given temperature |
| air mass | | a line on a map connecting points having the same atmospheric pressure at a given time or an average over a given period |
| sea breezes | | transfer of energy that occurs because of a temperature difference |
| radar | | measures air pressure |
| weather | | the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases;contains the ozone layer |
| doldrums | | temps here are moderate |
| seasons | | type of thunderstorm usually produced by an advancing cold front, which can result in a line of thunderstorms hundreds of kilometers long |
| land breezes | | one thousandth of a bar, the cgs unit of atmospheric pressure |
| climograph | | the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level |
| air mass modification | | a package of instruments that is carried aloft by balloons to measure upper atmosphere conditions including, temperature, dew point and wind velocity |
| temperature zone | | the amount of water vapor in the air |
| atmospheric pressure | | cool dense air near the sea moves inland toward warm less dense areas during the day and sets up these |
| conductor | | rising or sinking air, combined with the coriolis effect, results in the formation of rotating high and lows of this. |
| doppler shift | | the standard weather values for an area |
| ice age | | air masses move-they acquire some characteristics of the new surface |
| coriolis effect | | a graph that shows the precipitation and temperature patterns for a certain place |
| troposphere | | high-altitude, narrow, westerly wind band that occurs above large temperature contrasts and can flow as fast as 185 km/h |
| altitude | | deflects moving particles such as air to the right above the equator and to the left below the equator; caused by Earth's rotation and combines with the heat imbalance found on Earth to create the trade winds, polar easterlies, and prevailing westerlies |
| jet stream | | light rays that the sun gives off to warm the earth and the ozone layer protects us from them |
| radiosonde | | a vast, flat, treeless arctic region of europe, asia, and north america in which the subsoil is permanently frozen |
| airmass thunderstorm | | warm ocean current that develops off the western coast of south america and can cause short-term climatic changes felt worldwide |
| temperature inversion | | these blow from southwest to northeast at 30º to 60º latitude in the northern hemisphere |
| UV rays | | the change of state from a gas to a liquid |
| climatology | | measures the humidity of the air |
| source region | | symbols used on weather maps to indicate the speed and direction of wind |
| normal | | the study of atmospheric pressure |
| isotherm | | records wind speed |
| frontal thunderstorm | | a large body of air that takes on the characteristics of the area over which it forms |
| stratosphere | | something that holds air |
| trade winds | | the area over which an air mass forms |
| tornado | | the lowest layer of the atmosphere in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist |
| humidity | | temperature at which air is cooled at a constant pressure to reach saturation, at which point condensation can occur |
| ozone | | rise in global temperatures, which may be due to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide from deforestation and burning fossil fuels; a phenomenon related to the greenhouse effect |
| climate | | a prolonged minimum in sunspot acivity on the sun between about 1645 and 1715 which coincided with the little ice age in the northern hemisphere |
| humid | | at 15º north or south of the equator, air descending to Earth's surface creates steady, |
| overcast | | one of the most widely used climate classification systems |
| sling psychrometer | | solar radiation strikes here at a low angle. cold temps |
| thermosphere | | a line on a map connecting points having the same temperature at a given time or an average over a given period |
| isobar | | boundary between two air masses of differing densities; can be cold, warm, stationary, or occluded and can stretch over large areas of earths surface |
| koeppen classification | | radio detection and ranging, a system that uses reflected radio waves to determine the velocity and location of objects |
| El Niño | | something that air can pass through |
| millibar | | violent, whirling column of air in contact with the ground that forms when wind direction and speed suddenly change with height, is often associated with a supercell and can be extremely damaging |
| front | | the portion of the sky cover which is attributed to clouds, usually measured in tenths of sky covered |
| climatologist | | marked by a relatively high level of water vapor in the atmosphere |
| tundra | | current state of the atmosphere, including short-term variations such as temperature and precipitation |
| tropics | | type of thunderstorm in which air rises because of unequal heating of Earths surface within a single air mass and is most common during the afternoon or evening |
| pressure system | | when the warm moist air runs out the convection cell steps. no precipitation is made and the storm breaks up |
