| A | B |
|---|
| climate | normal pattern of weather in an area over many years |
| El Nino | periodic change in direction of warm currents in the Pacific Ocean |
| nitrogen & oxygen | gases Earth's atmosphere is mostly made of |
| air mass | huge volume of air responsible for certain types of weather in a given area |
| troposphere | layer of atmosphere where almost all weather occurs |
| maritime | air mass that forms over water and is moist |
| cT | continental tropical air mass |
| cold front | forms when cold air pushes its way into a warmer air mass |
| meteorologists | scientists who study weather |
| radar | uses transimitter to send out radio signals which bounce off and are recorded |
| tropical, temperate, polar | 3 major climate zones |
| sea breeze | flows from water toward the land |
| land breeze | flows from land toward the water |
| poles | where ocean waters are the coldest |
| equator | where ocean waters are the warmest |
| mesosphere | the top of this layer is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere |
| weather | the overall condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place |
| barometer | weather instrument that is used to measure air pressure |
| tropical climate | climate that occurs at or near equator and is warm year round |
| windward side | side of the mountain that faces the wind and is very wet |
| ocean currents | moving streams of water created by winds pushing against the ocean's surface |
| front | a narrow region between two air masses that have different properties |
| high-pressure system | in this system air sinks to the surface and moves away from the center; it brings clear weather |
| weather satellites | orbit high above earth and use instruments to gather data from the upper atmosphere |
| fossil fuels | when these are burned the level of carbon dioxide in the air increases, damaging the ozone layer & possibly causing gobal warming |
| weather vane | indicates direction from which wind is blowing |
| thermometer | measures temperature in F or C |
| barometer | measures air pressure in inches of mercury |
| rain gauge | measures amount of precipitation |
| anemometer | measures wind speed |
| temperate climate | climate with warm summers & cold winters |
