METR 112 Vocab
Midterm #1
Week #2 Vocab Words
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Weather: The state of the atmosphere at a given time and
place
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Climate: The average weather conditions of a place or area
over a period of years
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Radiation: Transmission of heat energy
Shortwave Radiation: Ultraviolet (from the Sun)
Longwave Radiation: Infrared (from the Earth)
Milankovitch Cycles: The combined influences of
astronomical factors that produce changes in Earth’s climate
Week #3 Vocab Words
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Glacier: A permanent body of ice, consisting largely of
recrystallized snow, that shows evidence of movement, due to the
stress of its own weight
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Polynya: A hole in the sea ice where one would not be expected
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Crevasse: A deep, gaping fissure in the upper surface of a glacier
Calving: The progressive breaking off of icebergs for a glacier
that terminates in deep water
Catabatic Winds: “a drainage wind, a wind that carries high
density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of
gravity.”
Week #4 Vocab Words
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Storm surge: a rising of the sea as a result of atmospheric
pressure changes and wind associated with a storm.
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Ocean circulation: movement of ocean waters
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Ekman transport: surface waters move at an angle of about
90 degrees from the wind
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Thermal expansion: ocean waters expand as they warm,
raising sea levels
Thermohaline circulation: global patterns of water circulation
propelled by the sinking of dense cold and salty water
Week #5 Vocab Words
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Convection: The process by which hot, less dense materials
rise upward, being replaced by cold, dense, downward
flowing material to create a convection current
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Low: An area of relatively low air pressure, characterized by
converging winds, ascending air, and precipitation
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High: An area of relatively high air pressure, characterized
by diverging winds
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Stratification (ocean): formation of water layers based on
salinity and temperature
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Stratification (atmosphere): the dividing of atmosphere into
layers with warm air above cool air
Week #6 Vocab Words
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Convergence: The coming together of air masses, caused by the
inward spiral flow in a cyclone
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Divergence: The separation air masses in different directions,
caused by the outward spiral flow in an anticyclone
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Jet Stream: An upper-atmosphere westerly wind associated with
a steep gradient in the height of the tropopause
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Coriolis force: An effect that causes any body that moves freely to
veer towards the right in the Northern Hemisphere
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Tradewinds: Low level easterly winds that return air in a Hadley
cell toward the tropics