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| a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and minute amounts of other gases that surrounds the earth and forms its atmosphere. |
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| the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air. |
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a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO2, present in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the most significant greenhouse gas created by human activity. Is produced either through burning of carbon-based fuels or the decay of biomass. Natural CO sources include volcanic eruptions, respiration of organic matter in natural ecosystems, natural fires, and exchange of dissolved
CO with the oceans. The main human sources are (a) fossil fuel combustion and (b) deforestation and land use changes (such as converting agricultural land or forests to urban development), which release stored organic matter and reduce the ability of natural
ecosystems to store carbon. |
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| a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, CO, that burns with a pale-blue flame, produced when carbon burns with insufficient air: used chiefly in organic synthesis, metallurgy, and in the preparation of metal carbonyls, as nickel carbonyl. |
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| the oxidation of organic compounds that occurs within cells, producing energy for cellular processes. |
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| A type of gas commonly used for aerosol propellants, refrigeration and industrial processes. Production of these compounds were greatly restricted as part of the Montreal Protocol because they were found to interact and destroy the Ozone layer. |
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| Are the component of CFC's that are released by UV radiation. Free ions of these can react with ozone, which is also present in the stratosphere breaking the Ozone (03) down into Oxygen (O2). Because they are chemically very inert and insoluble in water, they are also not easily removed from the atmosphere by normal processes such as rainfall therefore, the concentration in the atmosphere increases with continued release. |
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| the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years. |
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| The angle of the earth’s axis relative to the sun |
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| the circle on the earth which is perpendicular to the axis, equidistant everywhere from the two poles of the sphere or heavenly body. |
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| Occurs when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun. At the equinox, the Sun's rays are vertical above a point on the Equator. There are two of these each year, the Autumnal in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Vernal in the Southern Hemisphere. |
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| the highest region of the atmosphere, above the thermosphere, where the air density is so low that a fast-moving air molecule is more than 50 percent likely to escape from the atmosphere instead of hitting other molecules. The final transition between the atmosphere and interplanetary space. It contains mainly helium and hydrogen. Most satellites operate in this region. |
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| any combustible organic material, as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the remains of former life. |
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| an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. |
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| The greenhouse effect is caused by an atmosphere containing gases that absorb and emit infrared radiation. |
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| Gases which cause the earth to trap and retain solar energy within the troposphere, causing heating at the surface of the planet or moon.increasing the warmth of the earth. Includes CO2 (carbon dioxide), CFCs, nitrous oxide and methane among other gases. |
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| the angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the earth's surface, measured on the meridian of the point. |
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| the region between the ionosphere and the exosphere, extending from about 250–650 mi. (400–1050 km) above the surface of the earth. |
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| A colorless, odorless, flammable gas, CH4. Is a potent greenhouse gas. Is produced by the decay of organic material in landfills, wetlands, and rice fields; in the digestive tracts of animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep; manure management; wastewater treatment; fossil fuel combustion; and leaks from natural gas transportation and distribution systems and abandoned coal mines. It is used for cooking, heating and power generation and is the primary component of "natural gas". |
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| is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. |
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| a colorless, sweet-smelling, sweet-tasting, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble gas. N2O is produced by fertilizer use, animal waste management, fossil fuel combustion, and industrial activities. N20 is a greenhouse gas. |
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| the point at which the extended axis of the earth cuts the northern half of the celestial sphere, about 1° from the North Star. |
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| Strike's the earth at an angle greater than 90 degrees and spread energy over a larger surface area. |
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| a form of oxygen, O3, with a peculiar odor suggesting that of weak chlorine, produced when an electric spark or ultraviolet light is passed through air or oxygen. Is very unstable and is readily destroyed by reactions with other atmospheric species such nitrogen, hydrogen, bromine, and chlorine. |
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| any part of the ozone layer that has become depleted by atmospheric pollution, resulting in excess ultraviolet radiation passing through the atmosphere. |
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| Within the stratosphere this absorbs solar energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation (UV), and the energy is ultimately dissipated as heat. This heat leads to the rise in temperature. This layer is also very important for living organisms on the surface of the earth as it protects them by absorbing most of the harmful UV radiation from the sun. |
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| The process by which plants synthesize complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, using sunlight as the source of energy and with the aid of chlorophyll and associated pigments. |
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| are the dry, cold prevailing winds that blow from the high-pressure areas of the polar highs at the north and south poles towards low-pressure areas within the Westerlies at high latitudes. |
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| The winter one and summer one solstice happens twice each year (summer in one hemisphere and winter in the other), when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun. The rays of the sun are the most oblique at this point. |
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| the point at which the axis of the earth cuts through the southern half of the planet. |
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| The layer that extends from the troposphere to roughly 50 kilometers above the earth's surface. The temperature remains relatively constant up to roughly 25 kilometers and then gradually increases up to the upper boundary of the layer. The amount of water vapor is very low,. Most of the ozone in the atmosphere is contained in this layer of the atmosphere. |
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| The fourth layer of the atmosphere extends outward from the Stratosphere about 85 kilometers to about 600 kilometers. Its upper boundary is ill defined. The temperature in this lyaer increases with altitude, up to 1500º C or more. The high temperatures are the result of absorption of intense solar radiation by the last remaining oxygen molecules. |
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| any of the nearly constant easterly winds that dominate most of the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, blowing mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere |
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| The atmospheric layer closest to the earth's surface. There is a steady drop in temperature with increasing altitude. The name means “region of mixing.” For this reason, all weather phenomena occur in this layer. |
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| Radiation from the sun that can be useful or potentially harmful. This frequency of solar radiation rays enhance plant life while other rays from other parts of the spectrum can cause skin cancer or other tissue damage. |
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| The rays that reach the earth at a 90 degree angle. At the equinox points along the equator receive these rays and the sun will appear directly overhead. |
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| a dispersion, in air, of molecules of water. May be caused by heating water or at temperatures below boiling as a result of the vapor pressure of water. Fog and clouds are examples. |
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| Refers to the short term changes in the physical characteristics of the troposphere. These physical characteristics include: temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, cloud cover, wind speed and direction. Radiant energy from the sun is the power source for weather. It drives the convective mixing in the troposphere which determines the atmospheric and surface weather conditions. |
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| The prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 35 and 65 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the north latitudes towards the poles. These prevailing winds blow from the west to the east,[2] and steer extratropical cyclones in this general manner. The winds are predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. |
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| Occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though it lasts only an instant in time, the term is also used as the first day of winter to refer to the day on which it occurs. This occurs on the shortest day, and longest night, and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. In the Northern hemisphere this occurs approximately December 21st. |
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