Unit 4 Vocabulary List
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A reversal of wind and water currents in the South Pacific.
El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
An oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water
Thermohaline Circulation
The upward movement of ocean water toward the surface as a result of diverging currents
Upwelling
A large-scale pattern of water circulation that moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
Gyre
A region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side.
Rain Shadow
The maximum amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature
Saturation Point
The percentage of incoming sunlight reflected from a surface
Albedo
The deflection of an object’s path due to the rotation of Earth
Coriolis Effect
A convection current in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60° and 60° S and sinks at the poles, 90° N and 90° S
Polar Cell
a convection current in the atmosphere that cycles between the equator and 30° N and 30° S
Hadley Cells
the average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period of time
climate
the top layer of soil, a zone of organic material and minerals that have been mixed together
topsoil
The property of soil determined by relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay
texture
the loss of some or all of a soil’s ability to support plant growth
soil degradation
A mix of geologic and organic components that forms a dynamic membrane covering much of Earth’s surface
soil
The accumulation of depositing of eroded material such as sediment, rock fragments, or soil
deposition
the physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem
erosion
an area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other
transform fault boundary
An area where plates move toward one another and collide
convergent plate boundary
An area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other.
Divergent Plate Boundary
the process of one crustal plate passing under another.
Subduction
the outermost layer of Earth, including the mantle and crust
lithosphere
The layer of earth located in the outer part of the mantle, composed of semi-molten rock
asthenosphere
The exact point on the surface of Earth directly above the location where rock ruptures during an earthquake
epicenter