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- Convection cell
- Surface temperature differences cause warmer air at the equator to rise. As it rises, it moves poleward, cools and begins to drop. This cool air is then circulated back toward the equator. These loops of moving air are called convection cells. The Earth's rotation causes this circulation to take the form of three convection cells in each hemisphere.
- Coriolis Effect
- A phenomenon that arises solely from the Earth's rotation, having a deflecting affect. It is dependent on the latitude and the speed of the moving object. In the Northern Hemisphere, air is deflected to the right of its path, while in the Southern Hemisphere, air is deflected to the left of its path. It is greatest at the North and South poles and is almost nonexistent at the equator.
- Global warming
- The observation that average global temperatures have been rising over the last century.
- Greenhouse gases
- Gases that contribute to the overall warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere primarily due to carbon dioxide and water vapor which permit the sun's rays to heat the earth, but then restrict some heat-energy from escaping back into space. This is called the greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold to habitate.
- Jetstream
- A current of fast-moving air found in the upper levels of the atmosphere.
- Prevailing wind
- A wind that blows from one direction more frequently than any other during a given period, such as a day, month, season, or year.
- Specific heat
- Specific heat refers to how much heat energy it takes to raise 1 gram of material by 1 oC. Water has a high specific heat which means that it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of water.
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