Chapter 6 Vocabulary

rapidly moving, towering clouds

Result from zillions of tiny molecules of gases (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) in the atmosphere zipping around at incredible speeds and hitting and bouncing off anything they encounter

When the temperature drops below a certain level where condensation takes place

major surface winds that blow almost continually and distribute air and moisture over the earth’s surface

movement of nutrient-rich bottom water to the ocean’s surface. This can occur far from shore but usually occurs along certain steep coastal areas where the surface later of ocean water is pushed away from shore and replaced by cold, nutrient-rich bottom water

Changes in climate patterns Prevailing tropical trade winds blowing westward weaken or reverse direction

Distance from the Equator

Height above sea level

In the semiarid zones between deserts and grasslands This Biome is dominated by thorn trees and shrubs adapted to long dry spells followed by brief, sometimes heavy rains

vegetation consisting chiefly of tangled shrubs and thorny bushes temperate shrubland

Fleshy plants such as the saguaro cactus. These plants have 3 adaptations.. No leaves, store water in fleshy tissue, reduce water loss by opening pores

a perennially frozen layer of the soil that forms not to far below the surface when the water there freezes

Polar grasslands Occur just south of the arctic polar ice cap

air plants plants that grow without soil, get water from the humid air and rain, and receive nutrients falling from the trees’ upper leaves and limbs

consists of only one tree species Clears and replaces diverse forests

cone-bearing spruce, fir, cedar, hemlock, and pine that keep some of their narrow-pointed leaves (needles) all year round

Temperate Rain Forests are found in scattered coastal temperature areas with ample rainfall or moisture from dense ocean fogs.

wet muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body.

land that is filled with a variety of different plants and animals.

Coriolis effect

A phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to clear with the travel across or above earth surface

Curve

West to east

The earth is a sphere and wider in the middle