Atmospheric Sciences: Terms and Concepts, Quizzes of Astronomy

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Atmospheric Pressure

the surface pressuring resulting from the overlying weight of an atmosphere TERM 2

Bar

DEFINITION 2 the standard unit of pressure, approximately equal to Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level TERM 3

Greenhouse Effect

DEFINITION 3 the process by which greenhouse gases in an atmosphere make a planet's surface temperature warmer than it would be in the absence of an atmosphere TERM 4

Greenhouse Gases

DEFINITION 4 gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that are particularly good absorbers of infrared light but are transparent to visible light TERM 5

Atmospheric Structure

DEFINITION 5 the layering of a planetary atmosphere due to variations in temperature with altitude

Troposphere

the lowest atmospheric layer, in which convection and weather occur TERM 7

Stratosphere

DEFINITION 7 an intermediate-altitude layer of Earth's atmosphere that is warmed by the absorption of ultraviolet light from the sun TERM 8

Thermosphere

DEFINITION 8 a high, hot, x-ray absorbing layer of an atmosphere, just below the exosphere TERM 9

Exosphere

DEFINITION 9 the hot, outer layer of an atmosphere, where the atmosphere "fades away" to space TERM 10

Magnetosphere

DEFINITION 10 the region surrounding a planet in which charged particles are trapped by the planet's magnetic field

Charged Particle Belts

zones in which ions and electrons accumulate and encircle a planet TERM 12

Aurora

DEFINITION 12 dancing lights in the sky caused by charged particles entering our atmosphere TERM 13

Weather

DEFINITION 13 the ever-varying combination of winds, clouds, temperature, and pressure in a planet's troposphere TERM 14

Climate

DEFINITION 14 the long-term average weather TERM 15

Global Wind Patterns

DEFINITION 15 wind patterns that remain fixed in global scale, determined by the combination of surface heating and the planet's rotation

Circulation Cells

large scale cells (similar to convection cells) in a planet's atmosphere that transport heat between the equator and the poles TERM 17

Coriolis Effect

DEFINITION 17 the effect due to rotation causes air or objects on a rotating surface or planet to deviate from straight line trajectories TERM 18

Precipitation

DEFINITION 18 condensed atmospheric gases that fall to the surface in the form rain, snow or hail TERM 19

Factors that Cause Long-Term Climate

Change

DEFINITION 19 solar brightening, change in axis tilt, changes in reflectivity, changes in greenhouse gas abundance TERM 20

Sources of Atmospheric Gas

DEFINITION 20 outgassing, evaporation, sublimation, surface ejection

Carbonate Rock

a carbon rich rock, like limestone, that forms underwater from chemical reactions between sediments and carbon dioxide TERM 22

Feedback

Processes

DEFINITION 22 processes in which a small change in some property (such as temperature) leads to changes in other properties that either amplify or diminish the original small change TERM 23

Runaway Greenhouse Effect

DEFINITION 23 a positive feedback cycle in which heating caused by the greenhouse effect causes more greenhouse gases to enter the atmosphere, which further enhances TERM 24

Carbon Dioxide

Cycle

DEFINITION 24 the process that cycles carbon dioxide between Earth's atmosphere and surface rocks TERM 25

Great Red Spot

DEFINITION 25 a large, high pressure storm on Jupiter

Tidal Heating

a source of internal heating created by tidal friction. It is particularly important for satellites with eccentric orbits such as to Io and Europa. TERM 27

Orbital Resonance

DEFINITION 27 a situation in which one object's orbital period is a simple ration of one another object's period, such as 1/2 , 1/4 or 5/3. In such cases, the two objects periodically line up with each other, and the extra gravitational attractions of these times can affect the object's orbit. TERM 28

Primitive Meteorites

DEFINITION 28 meteorites that formed at the same time as the solar system itself, about 4.6 billion years ago. TERM 29

Processed Meteorites

DEFINITION 29 meteorites that apparently once were part of a larger object that "processed" the original material of the solar nebula into another form. TERM 30

Nucleus

DEFINITION 30 the solid portion of a comet- the only portion that exists when the comet is far from the South

Coma

the dusty atmosphere of a comet , created by sublimation of ices in the nucleus when the comet is near the Sun TERM 32

Plasma

Tail

DEFINITION 32 one of two tails seen when a comet passes near the Sun (the other is a dust tail). It is composed of ionized gas blown away from the Sun by solar wind. TERM 33

Dust

Tail

DEFINITION 33 one of two tails seen when a comet passes near the Sun (the other is the plasma tail). It is composed of small solid particles pushed away from the Sun by the radiation pressure of sunlight TERM 34

Meteor Shower

DEFINITION 34 a period during which many more meteors than usual can be seen TERM 35

Oort Cloud

DEFINITION 35 a huge, spherical region centered on the Sun, extending perhaps halfway to the nearest stars, in which trillions of comets orbit the Sun with random inclinations, orbital directions, and eccentricities

Kuiper Belt

the comet-rich region of our solar system that spans the distance of about 30-100 AU from the Sun. TERM 37

Mass Extinction

DEFINITION 37 an event in which a large fraction of the species living on Earth go extinct, such as the event in which the dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago.