| A | B |
|---|
| Atmosphere | A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or moon. |
| troposphere | The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere |
| stratosphere | The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. Ozone layer is found here. |
| Ozone layer | Layer of the stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone |
| mesosphere | The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere, where most meteors/meteorites burn up (shooting stars) |
| thermosphere | the region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the height at which the atmosphere ceases to have the properties of a continuous medium. The thermosphere is characterized throughout by an increase in temperature with height. |
| ionosphere | Layer of electrically charged particles in the thermosphere that absorbs AM radio waves during the day and reflects them back at night. |
| exosphere | The outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space. |
| Ultraviolet radiation (UV) | Electromagnetic waves between visible light and X-rays in the electromagnetic spectrum. |
| evaporation | The change of state from a liquid to a gas |
| condensation | The change of state from a gas to a liquid |
| precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface. |
| infiltration | Downward movement of water through soil. |
| Collection (water) | process in the water cycle during which streams and rivers carry water back to the oceans |
| runoff | Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers |
| groundwater | water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock. |
| transpiration | the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants |
| weather | The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place. |
| climate | The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time |
| Water cycle | The continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back |
| Air mass | a body of air with horizontally uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure. |
| front | A boundary between two air masses |
| Cold front | forms when cold air moves under warm air which is less dense and pushes air up (produces thunderstorms heavy rain or snow |
| Warm front | a front where warm air moves over cold air and brings drizzly rain and then are followed by warm and clear weather |
| Occluded front | a front where a warm air mass is caught between two colder air masses and brings cool temperatures and large amounts of rain and snow |
| Stationary front | A boundary between air masses that don't move possibly causing rain for several days |
| Coriolis Effect | Causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere due to Earth's hemisphere. |
| meteorologist | scientists who study the causes of weather and try to predict it |
| humidity | a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air |
| isobar | A line on a weather map that joins places that have the same air pressure |
| isotherm | A line on a weather map that joins places that have the same temperature |
| Dew point | The temperature at which condensation begins |
| convection | The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid |
| Global winds | winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances |
| Jet stream | A narrow belt of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere |
| Climate change | Change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over periods of decades |
| smog | air pollution by a mixture of smoke and fog |
| Fossil fuels | Coal, oil, natural gas, and other fuels that are ancient remains of plants and animals. |
| Global warming | A gradual increase in average global temperature |
| Greenhouse effect | the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface. |
