Weather and Climate

• Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term average weather patterns in a particular region.
• Radiation is the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves
• Specific heat is the amount of thermal energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of a material by 1°C
• Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy between materials by the collisions of particles
• Wind is the movement of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure
• Cold air sinks and puts more pressure on Earth
• Convection is the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of particles within matter
• Trade winds are steady winds that flow from east to west between 30°N latitude and 30°S latitude
• Prevailing westerlies are steady winds that flow from west to east between latitudes 30°N and 60°N, and 30°S and 60°S
• Polar easterlies are cold winds that blow from east to west near the North Pole and the South Pole
• The Coriolis effect is the phenomenon where the rotation of Earth causes moving air and water to appear to move to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere
• Density current is the vertical movement of water caused by differences in density
• Surface current is a wind-driven current that carries ocean water horizontally across the ocean's surface
• Upwelling is the vertical movement of water toward the ocean's surface
• Weather is the atmospheric conditions, along with short-term changes, of a certain place at a certain time
• Air temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of molecules in the air
• Temperature is measured using a thermometer
• Air pressure is the pressure that a column of air exerts on the air or surface below it
• Air pressure is measured with a barometer in millibars (mb)
• Wind is created as air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure
• Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air and can be measured in grams per cubic meter of air
• Precipitation is water in liquid or solid form that falls from the atmosphere
• Types of precipitation include rain, snow, sleet, and hail
• Rain is precipitation that reaches Earth's surface as droplets of water
• Snow is precipitation that reaches Earth's surface as solid, frozen crystals of water
• Sleet may start out as snow, melt into rain, and refreeze when passing through different air temperatures
• Hail reaches Earth's surface as large ice pellets formed by repeated lifting within a cloud
• Air masses are large bodies of air with distinct temperature and moisture characteristics
• Air masses are classified as continental, maritime, tropical, polar, arctic, and antarctic
• High-pressure systems have high pressure at the center and lower pressure outside, with heavy air moving away from the center
• Low-pressure systems have low pressure at the center and higher pressure outside, with air spiraling towards the center
• A weather front is the boundary between two air masses, with types including cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts
• Climate is the long-term average weather conditions in a particular region
• A rain shadow is an area of low rainfall on the downwind slope of a mountain
• A rainforest is a forest with high annual rainfall, no freezing temperatures, and a rich collection of plant and animal life
• Deserts are dry lands covering many parts of Earth's land