Atmosphere Vocabulary

ozone

• a colorless toxic gas with a strong odor that makes up the ozone layer

troposphere

• lowest region of the atmosphere

stratosphere

• the layer of the atmosphere above the trophosphere

mesosphere

• region of the atmosphere above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere

thermosphere

• the top layer of the atmosphere, above the mesosphere

conduction

• the process when heat/electricity is directly transmitted through something

convection

• the movement caused within a fluid when a hotter fluid rises and the colder fluid sinks

radiation

• the emission of energy as an electromagnetic wave/ divergence out from a central point

greenhouse effect

• the trapping of solar heat in a planets lower atmosphere

sublimation

• chemical process where a solid turns into a gas without going through the liquid stage

deposition

• geological process where sediments, rocks, and soil are transported by wind, water, and ice

humidity

• atmospheric moisture

dew point

• the atmospheric temperature below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form.

hygrometer

• an instrument that measures the humidity of the air/ gas

air pressure

• the force exerted onto a surface by the weight of the air

barometer

• an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure

Coriolis effect

• an effect that happens when the earth deflects moving objects into the atmosphere

jet stream

• a narrow, variable band of very strong, predominantly westerly air currents encircling the globe several miles above the earth

cyclone (Tropical storm)

• a system of winds that rotate inwards to an area of low atmospheric pressure in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion (fast)

anticyclone

• a weather system with high atmospheric pressure at its center which air slowly circulates in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion (calm and slow)

anemometer

• an instrument that measures wind speeds

el nino

• an irregular and complex series of climate changes that affect the pacific region every few years, makes everything very warm and humid

la nina

• the cooling of the water in the pacific region that occurs irregularly (less extensive and damaging than el nino)

air mass

• a body of air with horizontally uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure

front

• The boundary between two air masses that have different temperatures or humidity

warm front

• the boundary of an advancing mass of warm air, in particular the leading edge of the warm sector of a low-pressure system

cold front

• the boundary of an advancing mass of cold air, in particular the trailing edge of the warm sector of a low-pressure system

stationary front

• a pair of air masses, neither of which is strong enough to replace the other

occluded front

• a composite front produced by occlusion

thunderstorm

• a storm with thunder and lightning and typically also heavy rain or hail

tornado

• a mobile, destructive vortex of violently rotating winds having the appearance of a funnel-shaped cloud and advancing beneath a large storm system

hurricane

• a storm with a violent wind, in particular a tropical cyclone in the Caribbean

global warming

• 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