Earth Science 8: Meteorology: Vocabulary
Terms
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- lapse rate formula
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6.5 degrees C/km
(3.5 degrees F/1000 ft.) - outer part of earth's atmosphere, extending from 80 km (50 mi.) to 400 km (250 mi.)
- ionosphere
- warming of the atmosphere's lower layers by infrared radiation given off from the earth after it has been heated by the sun
- greenhouse effect
- path of high-speed wind in the stratosphere
- jet stream
- gas layers above the homosphere, consisting of oxygen, helium, and hydrogen and located several hundred miles above the earth's surface
- heterosphere
- exerted by the weight of the gases in the atmosphere
- atmospheric pressure
- bands of light which appear in the northern hemisphere sky when charged particles escape from the magnetosphere into the lower atmosphere
- aurora borealis (the northern lights)
- the streamers of light which appear in the southern hemisphere sky when charged particles escape from the magnetosphere into the lower atmosphere
- aurora australis (the southern lights)
- extends up to 11 km (6.8 mi.)
- troposphere
- apparent temperature drop due to wind
- wind-chill factor
- the layers of air surrounding the earth
- atmosphere
- lowest layer of the atmosphere where continual changes occur in temperature, pressure, wind, humidity, and precipitation
- troposphere
- condition of the atmosphere at any given time
- weather
- the amount of water a certain volume of air holds
- absolute humidity
- intensity of heat in a mass
- temperature
- layer of atmosphere just above the mesosphere
- thermosphere
- uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere where temperature rises rapidly with altitude
- thermosphere
- region of the atmosphere between the troposphere and mesosphere
- stratosphere
- percentage of water the air is holding compared to the amount that it could hold at a given temperature
- relative humidity
- rate that temperature drops as altitude increases in the troposphere
- lapse rate
- layer located 20 to 50 km (12 to 31 mi.) above the earth's surface
- ozone layer
- colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that forms approximately 21% of the air by volume
- oxygen
- a zone that protects living things from cosmic radiation
- magnetosphere
- layer of the atmosphere nearest the earth's surface which consists of a homogeneous mixture of gases
- homosphere
- part of earth's atmosphere consisting of layers of electrically charged atoms of gas
- ionosphere
- colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that forms approximately 78% of the air by volume
- nitrogen
- shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet light
- ozone layer
- a zone that encircles the earth and consists of electrons and protons from the sun which are trapped in the earth's magnetic field
- magnetosphere
- science of the atmosphere
- meteorology
- layer of the atmosphere above the stratosphere where temperature steadily decreases with increasing altitude
- mesosphere