AQA (A) Geography Weather and Climate WML – Flashcards
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Climate
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The average weather conditions calculated based on recorded data from the past 30 or more years.
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Weather
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The day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere involving, for example, temperature, cloud cover, wind direction and speed.
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Convectional rainfall
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Intense rainfall often in the form of thunderstorms resulting from very high temperatures and rapidly rising cool air.
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Relief rainfall
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Rainfall occuring over high land formed as air forced to rise, cool form clouds and rain.
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Rain shadow
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Area of lowland on the leeward (sheltered) side of highland. This area experiences less rainfall because it recieves dry air following relief rainfall on the highlands. eg. East Anglia
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Latitude
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Determines the geographic North-South position of a point on the earth. 0 Degrees is at the equator and 90 Degrees are at the poles.
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Prevailing winds
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The dominant or most common wind direction
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Maritime influence
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The influence of the sea on climate (often makes an area humid and cloudy)
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Continentality
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The influence of the sea on climate. Inland areas well away from the sea have a continental climate.
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Altitude
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Height above sea level usually given in metres. Impacts on temperatures with 9.8 Degree C drop in temperature per 1000m gain in altitude. Upland areas also usually experience more precipitation.
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Precipitation
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The transfer of water from the atmosphere to the ground, eg. rain and snow.
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Polar Continental
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An air mass formed over northern continental areas, usually cold but dry.
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Polar Maritime
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An air mass formed over northern maritime areas, usually cold and wet.
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Tropical Continental
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An air mass formed over southern continental areas, usually hot and dry.
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Tropical Maritime
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An air mass formed over southern maritime areas, usually hot and wet.
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Polar air mass
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An air mass formed over polar areas, often bitterly cold and bringing snow.
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Anticyclone
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An area of high atmospheric pressure (greater than 1013 mb) usually bringing settled weather.
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Depression
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An area of low atmospheric pressure (lower than 1013 mb).
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Pressure (atmospheric)
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Pressure exerted on the earths surface my the mass of overlying atmosphere, measured in millibars (mb).
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Front
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A boundary between warm and cold air.
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Warm front
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A boundary with cold air ahead of warm air.
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Cold front
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A boundary with warm air ahead of cold air.
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Occluded front
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A front formed when the cold front catches up with the warm front.
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Warm sector
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An area of warm air between a warm front and a cold front.
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Frost
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The result of water vapour condensing and freezing when the temperature of the ground or the air drops below 0 degrees C.
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Fog
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Water that has condensed close to the ground to form a dense low cloud with poor visibility.
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Extreme weather
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A weather event which is record breaking, or significantly different from the average. eg. Flash flood or severe snowstorm.
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Global warming
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An increase in average world temperatures as a result of the increase in greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere (eg. carbon dioxide, methane, CFC's and nitrous oxide). Brought about by human activities eg. burning fossil fuels or landfill sites and animal agriculture.
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Climate change
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Long term changes in the climate such as cooling leading to an ice age, or the current trend of global warming.
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Flash flood
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A sudden, violent flood that occurs within a few hours, or even minutes, of a storm.
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Pleistocene period
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a geological time period lasting from about 2 million years ago until 10,000 years ago. Sometimes this is referred to as the Ice Age
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Glacial retreat
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when glaciers melt, they appear to retreat up the valley from which they flow
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Ice core
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A tube of ice cut from an ice cap. These can be used to sample gasses trapped in bubbles in the ice and from this data, calculate climate data for the past 400,000 years.
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Ice age
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A period during which the world was dramatically colder than it is now, during which ice caps and glaciers would have covered huge swathes of the world.
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Interglacial
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A period between ice ages, these are usually quite short. The current interclacial began around 10,000 years ago.
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Greenhouse effect
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The blanketing effect of the atmosphere in retaining heat given off from the earths surface.
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Short wavelength radiation
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Radiation of a short wavelength which originated from the sun and has a warming effect on the ground.
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Long wavelength radiation
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Radiation of a long wavelength which originates from the earth as it gives off heat.
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Enhanced greenhouse effect
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The increased greenhouse effect as a result of the greenhouse gasses added to the atmosphere by humans.
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Greenhouse gases
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Gases which absorb long wavelength radiation and lead to a warming of the atmosphere. eg. carbon dioxide, methane, CFC's and nitrous oxides.
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Recycling
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Using materials multiple times rather than discarding them. eg. glass and aluminium.
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Congestion charging
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Charging vehicles to enter certain areas of cities eg. London, with the aim of reducing the use of vehicles. London currently charges £10 per day.
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Kyoto Protocol
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An international agreement to try to reduce carbon emissions from industrialised countries.
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Carbon credits
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A means of trading carbon between organisations or countries in order to meet an overall target.
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Hurricane
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A severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 120 km/h spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center
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Eye (of the storm)
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The center of a hurricane- a core of warm, calm air with low pressure and light winds
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Eye wall
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The strongest winds of a hurricane surrounding the eye.
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Track
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The path or course of a hurricane
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Carbon Dioxide
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Greenhouse gasses formed by the burning of hydrocarbons eg. coal, oil and gas.
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Methane
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A greenhouse gas which is more potent than carbon dioxide and is formed by anaerobic decomposition in landfill sites and by cattle.
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Nitrous Oxide
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A very potent greenhouse gas (300 times more effective than carbon dioxide) which is created by car exhausts, power stations, agricultural fertilisers and sewage treatment.
