| A | B |
|---|
| Advection | horizontal heat transfer within the atmosphere; air masses moved horizontally, usually by wind. |
| Albedo | the ability of something to reflect light. |
| Angle of inclination | describes the earths axial tilt, 23 ½ degrees from 90 degrees. |
| annual march of temperature | changes in monthly temperatures throughout the months of the year |
| annual temperature lag | time lag between the maximum (minimum) of isolation during the solstices and the warmest (coldest) temperatures of the year. |
| antarctic circle | 66 ½ degrees south |
| antarctic zone | 66 ½ degrees south - 90 degrees south |
| aphelion | July 4, when earth is farthest from the sun |
| arctic circle | 66 ½ degrees North |
| arctic zone | 66 ½ degrees North - 90 degrees North |
| atmosphere | the blanket of air that consists mainly of a mixture of gasses |
| axial tilt | earths tilt, at an angle not strait |
| axis | imaginary line from the north and south poles around which the earth rotates |
| biosphere | everything alive; plants, animals, germs |
| calorie | certain amount of energy: exact amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree C |
| circle of illumination | divides the sunlit half from the darkened half of the earth |
| climate | the long term average weather for an area |
| climatology | scientific study of climates of earth and their distribution |
| convection | process by which circulation is produced within an air mass or fluid body (heated material rises, cooled material sinks); also in the tectonic plate theory, the method where by heat is transferred towards earth’s surface from deep within the mantle |
| conduction | transfer of heat within a body or between adjacent matter by means of internal molecular movement |
