All terms in this list:
salinity: a measure of the amount of dissolved salt in water
altitude: height above sea level
humidity: the amount of water in the air
hydrogen fusion: the process by which the sun produces energy by fusing together hydrogen atoms to produce helium releasing heat in the form of solar radiation
climate zone: a geographic zone of earth's that is classified according to its latitude and prevailing climate
drainage basin: a land area where the fresh water is drained to the ocean by a major river and its tributary streams
reservoir: a natural or manmade area where a large amount of something is stored or reserved
aqueduct: a system of manmade canals tunnels and pipelines that transport fresh water into highly populated areas that do not have
greenhouse effect: global warming caused by a build up of atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide that trap solar radiation in the form of heat that is radiated back from the warmed surface of the earth
precipitation: water in the form of rain sleet snow or hail that falls from the atmosphere to the earth's surface
atmosphere: all of the layers of gas that surround the earth
hydrosphere: all forms of water found on earth's including salt water and fresh water
biosphere: all of the earths living organisms and the environments they live in
lithosphere: the hard rocky outer shell of the earth which includes the crust and the solid portion of the upper mantle
climate: the average weather associated with a region of the earth over a long extended period of time it is what you expect
weather: the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place it is what you get
evaporation: the process of adding heat to change a liquid into gas
condensation: the process of removing heat to change a gas into a liquid
ozone: a gas molecule made of three oxygen atoms found in the stratosphere that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun
photosynthesis: the biological process by which organisms take carbon dioxide (Co2) from the atmosphere and combine it with sunlight and water to produce glucose (sugar) then release oxygen (O2) back into the atmosphere as a waste product
troposphere: the first layer of atmosphere from the earth's surface up to 16 km above the earth's surface referred to as the layer of weather
stratosphere: the second layer of atmosphere directly above the troposphere extending from 16 km to 50 km above the earth's surface containing the ozone layer
mesosphere: the third layer of atmosphere directly above the stratosphere extending from 50 km to 80 km above earth's surface
thermosphere: the fourth layer of atmosphere above the mesosphere extending from 80km to 480 km above the earth's surface temperatures reach 1000.C
air mass: a large section of atmosphere with the same temperature and humidity conditions throughout
wind cell: large convection currents in the earth's atmosphere that move warm moist air from the equator towards the poles while moving cold dry air from the poles towards the equator
temperature inversion: an abnormal atmospheric condition in which the temperature of the troposphere increases with altitude when a layer of cool air at earth's surface is trapped by a layer of warmer above it
respiration: the biological process by which organisms take oxygen (O2) from the atmosphere to produce energy and release carbon dioxide (CO) and water H2O) back into the atmosphere as waste products
gyre: a closed current system in the oceans that moves warm from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles to the equator
rain shadow: an area of earth's surface that receives little precipitation due to the effect of a mountain range that causes the prevailing winds to lose their moisture on the windward side of the mountain causing the leeward side to be dry and desert
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