CHAPTER 4 Key Terms

CHAPTER 4 Key Terms

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly, they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

aerovane
anemometer
anticyclone
barometer
boundary layer
chinook wind
Coriolis force
cyclone
desertification
doldrums
dynamic pressure
foehn wind
horse latitudes
isobar
ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone)
katabatic wind
land breeze
monsoon
mountain breeze
offshore wind
onshore wind
polar easterlies
polar high
polar jet stream
pressure-gradient force
prevailing wind
Rossby wave (longwave)
Santa Ana winds
sea breeze
sea-level pressure
subpolar low
subtropical high
thermal pressure
trade winds
valley breeze
westerlies
wind vane
An area of cold, dense air at each pole that forms a zone of thermal high pressure.
(or Coriolis effect) The perceived deflection of moving objects in relation to Earth’s surface.
Cold, dry winds originating near both poles and flowing south and east.
Surface winds that come from the west and are found in both hemispheres between the subpolar low and the subtropical high.
A line drawn on a map connecting points of equal pressure. Isobars are quantitative representations of the changing molecular density of the air over a geographic region.
A coastal wind flowing from land to sea.
Air pressure resulting from changes in temperature.
(or weather vane) An instrument used to measure wind direction.
The force resulting from changes in barometric pressure across Earth’s surface.
The low-wind regions centered on 30° north and south.
The layer of the atmosphere where wind is slowed by friction with Earth’s surface; extends about 1 km (3,280 ft) above the surface.
A coastal wind flowing from sea to land.
(pronounced an-eh-MOM-eter) An instrument used to measure wind speed.
A belt of low pressure roughly centered on 60° north and south and made up of cyclonic systems that bring frequent precipitation.
The transformation of fertile land to desert, usually by overgrazing of livestock, deforestation, or natural drought.
A meteorological system in which air flows toward a low-pressure region, creating counterclockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise circulation in the Southern Hemisphere.
A meteorological system in which air flows away from a high-pressure region, creating clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise circulation in the Southern Hemisphere.
Air pressure caused by air movement.
A combination of an anemometer and a wind vane; measures wind speed and direction.
A low-wind region near the equator, associated with the ITCZ.
A discontinuous narrow band of fast-flowing air found at high altitudes between 30° and 60° latitude in the Northern Hemisphere.
Winds that originate in the Great Basin and are heated adiabatically as they descend to sea level on the southern California coast and northern Baja California; often associated with major wildfires.
(pronounced FEH-rn) A downslope wind that forms on the leeward size of the European Alps.
A local offshore breeze created by heating and cooling differences between water and land.
Easterly surface winds found between the ITCZ and the subtropical high, between 0° and 30° north and south latitude.
A local onshore breeze created by heating and cooling differences between water and land.
An instrument used to measure air pressure.
A discontinuous belt of aridity and high pressure made up of anticyclones roughly centered on 30° north and south latitude.
(or intertropical convergence zone) A global band of unstable, buoyant air parcels that tracks the migration of the subsolar point.
A local upslope breeze produced by heating and cooling differences in mountainous areas.
The direction the wind blows most frequently during a specified window of time.
Air pressure that has been adjusted to sea level.
(or longwave) A large undulation in the upper-level westerlies.
A local downslope wind that forms on the leeward side of the Rocky Mountains.
A seasonal reversal of winds, characterized by summer onshore airflow and winter offshore airflow.
(or gravity wind) Wind that forms mainly over ice sheets or glaciers when intensely cold, dense, and heavy air spills downslope by the force of gravity.
A local downslope breeze produced by heating and cooling differences in mountainous areas.