| A | B |
|---|
| weather | short term state of the atmosphere |
| climate | the average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
| latitude | the distance north or south of the equator; expressed in degrees |
| prevailing winds | winds that blow mainly from one direction |
| elevation | the height of an object above sea level |
| surface currents | a horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the surface of the ocean |
| main climate zones of the Earth | tropical, temperate, and polar |
| biome | a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animals |
| tropical zone | the region that surrounds the equator from 23.5 North latitude to 23.5 south latitude |
| temperate zone | climate zone between the polar and tropical zones |
| permafrost | permanenty frozen layer of soil |
| polar zone | the Noth or South pole and its surrounding area |
| microclimate | climate of a small area |
| an example of a microclimate | a city or an alpine biome |
| ice age | a long period of climate cooling during which ice sheets cover the Earth's surface; a glacial period |
| interglacial period | warm time between glacial periods; ice melts and sea levels rise |
| Milankovitch Theory | proposes that changes in the orbit of the Earth cause cold and warm periods |
| global warming | a gradual increase in the average global temperature |
| greenhouse effect | the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of the Earth caused by CO2 and other gasses trapping thermal heat |
