Download Unit 2 Terms

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Unit 2 Terms – World Climate Patterns
Weather - the state of the atmosphere at any one place or time.
Climate - the average weather conditions of a region.
Rotation - The earth spins on its axis which takes 24 hours and results in day and
night .
Revolution -The earth orbits around the sun which takes 365 days and results in
seasons.
Solstice - Occurs Dec 21 & June 21;Longest day of the year & shortest day of the
year
Equinox - Sun is directly over head @ 12 noon on the equator; Occurs Sept. 21 &
March 21; Equal length of night and day everywhere on earth
Tropics - refers to warm equatorial climates; technical - located between 23.5
degrees north and 23.5 degrees south.
Sea Breeze - the wind is blowing off the sea.
Prevailing Wind - regular, predictable, normal wind direction. They are caused by
global convection cells in the earth's atmosphere.
Coriolis Effect - a law of physics that states: objects in motion in the northern
hemisphere are deflected to the right while in the southern hemisphere they are
deflected to the left. Therefore winds in the north are deflected right and the winds
in the south are deflected left.
Relief Rainfall - Moisture laden air blows off the sea;It is forced up by mountains
(high relief); Air cools at higher altitudes; Cool air holds less moisture; Consequently
clouds condense and rain falls.
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Frontal Rainfall - Warm moisture laden air meets cold air; Warm air is less dense & is
forced up over the cooler, more dense air; Warm Moisture laden air cools at higher
altitude; Cool air holds less moisture; Consequently clouds condense and rain falls.
Convectional Rainfall - Usually occurs in hot areas like tropics or continental summer;
Sun heats the earth causing large amounts of water to evaporate; Hot air rises
forming convection currents; Warm Moisture laden air cools at higher altitude; Cool
air holds less moisture; Consequently clouds condense and rain falls.
Ocean Currents - Permanent or semi-permanent horizontal movement of surface
water (the top 100m).
Temperature Range - the range between the highest and the lowest average monthly
temperatures of a region.
Climograph - a graph of monthly average temperature plotted against average
humidity.
Monsoon (from Arabic for seasonal wind) - A sudden wet season in the tropics.
Elevation - the height of a region above sea level.
Rain Shadow - The Leeward side of a mountain is often in a dry _____ because the
moisture has all been lost.
Tropical - This climate has average temperatures over 18̊C every day due to low
latitude & warm ocean currents & prevailing winds.
Dry - this climate receives less than 500mm precipitation annually; has little
vegetation and is often windy.
Arid - this climate occurs mostly between 10-30̊N & 10-30̊S and receive 10-250mm
rain annually.
Semiarid Steppe - this climate is really a transition zones between desert & Forest.
It receives 250-500mm rain annually which is often enough to support grasses but not
forests.
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Temperate Mild Winter - this climate’s temperature varies with seasons; Mid
Latitudes; Mild winter; Summer temperatures vary but winters are warmer than –3̊C.
Temperate Cold Winter - this climate’s temperature varies with seasons; Mid-high
Latitudes; cold winters; Summer temperatures vary but winters are colder than –3̊C.
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Polar - this climate distinguished by its extremely low winter temperatures and low
summer temperatures.
Tundra - this polar climate’s summer temperature is never above 10̊C.
Ice Cap - this polar climate’s summer's average monthly temperature is never above
0̊C.
Highland - These climates are only characterized by their elevation and decreased
temperature because of that. However the climates vary with latitude of the
mountain, closeness to the ocean etc.
Global Warming - /the gradual increase of the earth's average temperature since the
industrial revolution.