Biomes
land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation and sometimes used for commercial logging
What is a forest?
Terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation. Examples include various types of deserts, grasslands, and forests.
What is a biome?
seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons
What are monsoons?
movement of air from land to sea at night created when cooler, denser air from the land forces up warmer air over the sea
what is a land breeze?
El Niño Southern Oscillation, see-sawing of air pressure over the S. Pacific
what is el nino?
An extremely dry area with little water and few plants
What is a desert?
a treeless grassy plain
What is a prairie?
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
What are hurricanes?
Prevailing winds that blow northeast from 30 degrees north latitude to the equator and that blow southeast from 30 degrees south latitude to the equator
What are trade winds?
forms when cold air moves under warm air which is less dense and pushes air up
what is a cold front?
a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees.
What is a savanna?
Biome that encircles the Earth just south of ice-covered polar seas in the Northern Hemisphere
What is artic tundra?
Precipitation falls on the windward side of a mountain range, resulting in lush vegetation & a warm, moist climate on one side, but a desert area on the leeward side.
What is the rain shadow effect?
Prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60degrees-90degrees latitude in both hemispheres.
What are the polar easterlies?
a front where warm air moves over cold air and brings drizzly rain and then are followed by warm and clear weather
What is a warm front?
Biome in which the winters are cold but summers are mild enough to allow the ground to thaw
What is a taiga?
Dense forest of evergreens located in the upper regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
What is boreal forest?
permanently frozen layer of soil beneath the surface of the ground
What is permafrost?
prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres
What are westerlies?
the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and condensation begins
What is dew point?
A warm air mass that forms in the tropics and has low air pressure
what is tropical?
This biome has permafrost and is found at the top of mountains above the tree line
What is alpine tundra?
A long-term pattern of precipitation and climate vs. the circumstances of any given day
What is climate vs. weather?
Causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere due to Earth's hemisphere.
What is the Coriolis effect?
Ability of a surface to reflect light