GLY 1001 Earth Science Name:____________
Chapter 18 Part K: Key Terms
Fill in the blanks with the word(s)
that best fit the description:
1. El
Niņo - the name
given to the periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern
Pacific. One of these major episodes can cause extreme weather in many parts of
the world.
2. barograph - a recording barometer
3. chinook - a wind blowing down the leeward side of a mountain and
warming by compression.
4. cyclone - a low pressure center
characterized by a counter clockwise flow of air in the northern hemisphere
5. cup anemometer - an instrument used to determine
wind speed.
6. wind - air flowing horizontally with
respect to earth's surface.
7. geostrophic
wind - a wind
usually above a height of 600 meters that blows parallel to the isobars.
8. land breeze - a local wind blowing from land toward the water
during the night in coastal areas.
9. mountain breeze - the nightly downslope
winds commonly encountered in mountain valleys.
10. prevailing wind - a wind that consistently blows
from one direction more than from another.
11. jet stream - swift (120-240- kilometers per hour) high altitude
winds.
12. Santa
Ana - the local
name given a chinook wind in southern California.
13. La
Niņa - an episode
of strong trade winds unusually low sea surface temperatures in the central and
eastern pacific. The opposite of El Niņo.
14. polar easterlies - In the global pattern of
prevailing winds. winds that blow from the polar high
toward the subpolar low. These winds, however
should not be thought of as persistent winds such as the trade winds.
15. valley breeze - the daily upslope winds commonly encountered in a
mountain valley.
16. westerlies - the dominant west to east motion
of the atmosphere that
characterizes the regions on the pole
ward side of the subtropical highs.
17. trade winds - two belts of winds that blow almost constantly from easterly directions
and are located on the equa-towarded sides of the
subtropical highs.
18. sea breeze - a local wind blowing from the sea during the
afternoon in coastal areas.
19. monsoon - seasonal reversal
of wind direction associated with large continents, especially Asia. In winter,
the wind blows from land to sea; in summer, from sea to land.
20. Southern
Oscillation - the
seesaw pattern of atmospheric pressure between the eastern and western Pacific.
21. equatorial low - a belt of low pressure lying near
the equator and between the subtropical layers.
22. high - a center of high
pressure characterized by anticyclonic winds
23. low - a center of low pressure characterized by cyclonic winds
24. anticyclone - a high pressure center characterized by a clockwise flow
of air in the Northern hemisphere
25. isobar - a line drawn on a
map connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure, usually corrected to the
sea level.
26. barometric tendency - the nature of the change in
atmospheric pressure over the past several hours. It can be a useful aid in
short range weather prediction.
27. air pressure - the force exerted by the weight of a column of air
above a given point.
28. convergence - the condition that exists when the
distribution of winds within a given area results in a net horizontal inflow of air into the area.
Because this at lower levels is associated with an upward
movement of air into the areas of these winds are regions favorable to
cloud formation and precipitation.
29. aneroid barometer - an instrument for measuring air
pressure that consists of evacuated metal chambers very sensitive to variations
in air pressure.
30. Coriolis effect - the deflective force of earths
rotation on all free moving objects, including the atmosphere and oceans. Deflection is to the right in the Northern
Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere
31. divergence - the condition that exists when the distribution of winds
within a given area results in a net horizontal outflow of air from the region.
In these at lower levels the resulting deficit is compensated for by a downward
movement of air from aloft; hence, areas of these winds are unfavorable to
cloud formation and precipitation.
32. mercury barometer - a mercury filled glass tube in
which the height of the mercury column is a measure of air pressure.
33. wind vane - an instrument used to determine wind direction
34. polar high - anticyclones that are assumed to occupy the inner
polar regions and are believed to be thermally induced at least in part.
35. subtropical high - not a continuous belt of high
pressure but rather several semipermanent, anticyclonic centers characterized by subsidence and
divergence located roughly between latitudes 25 and 35 degrees.
36. polar front - the stormy frontal zone separating air masses of
polar origin from air masses of polar origin from air masses.
37. pressure gradient - the amount of pressure change occurring over a
given distance.
38. subpolar
low - low pressure
located at about the latitudes of the
Arctic and Antarctic circles
39. pressure tendency - the nature of the change in atmospheric pressure
over the past several hours. It can be a useful aid in short range weather
prediction.
40. Country
Breeze - A
circulation pattern characterized by a light wind blowing into a city from the
surrounding countryside. It is best developed on clear otherwise calm nights
when the urban heat island is most pronounced
Chapter 18 Word List:
|
air pressure aneroid barometer anticyclone barograph barometric tendency chinook convergence Coriolis effect Country Breeze cup anemometer cyclone divergence El Niņo equatorial low |
geostrophic wind high isobar jet stream land breeze La Niņa low mercury barometer monsoon mountain breeze polar easterlies polar front polar high |
pressure gradient pressure tendency prevailing wind Santa Ana sea breeze Southern Oscillation subpolar low subtropical high trade winds valley breeze westerlies wind - wind vane |