Earth's Extreme Weather
In just one day. Hurricane Katrina intensified into this dangerous category?
Category 5
One average, Antarctica is this many degrees colder than the North Pole.
43 degrees.
Forces inside the Earth provide these basic materials that nurture life.
Nutrients.
Sandstorms from this desert can travel thousands of miles to transform the Amazon Rain Forrest.
Sahara Desert.
If the full electromagnetic spectrum was a line from NYC to LA, the part humans can see would be the size of this coin?
Dime(s)
This invisible gas is produced when the sea evaporates rapidly at high temperatures.
Water vapor.
When sea ice forms, this "microscopic process" becomes large enough to be seen from this location.
Space.
Water near deap-sea vents is heated by one of these located below the sea floor.
Magma chamber.
Sahara sandstorms travel this many miles across the ocean to reach South America.
5,000 miles.
This city serves as the starting point for the "full spectrum" analogy in the worksheet.
New York City.
Over one million square miles of ocean must reach this specific temperature in degrees to reach a "critical" state for storm formation.
80 degrees.
This substance is denser than regular sea water, causing it to sink deep into the ocean.
Brine (salty water).
A magma chamber can heat underwater vent water up to this many degrees Fahrenheit.
750 degrees.
This country's rice paddies are ideally suited for the rain brought by the eastern-moving monsoon.
China.
This city serves as the ending point for the "full spectrum" analogy.
Los Angeles.
This seasonal weather pattern moves east to flood rice paddies in China.
Monsoon.
This sea receives a "torrent" of salty brine every hour, equal to five times the volume of Niagara Falls.
Weddell Sea.
Along with tube worms, these small crustaceans are part of the thriving ecosystem near seafloor vents.
Shrimp.
The "volume" of this famous waterfall is used to measure the massive flow of brine in the ocean.
Niagara Falls.
As this "grip tightens" the formation of sea ice spreads up and spreads across the ocean.
Winters grip.
Near Antarctica, storms rage almost daily, whipping water into a "ceaseless" one of these.
Frenzy.
Every hour, this many trillion gallons of salty brine plunge down to the ocean floor.
One trillion.
These "exotic creatures" live at the bottom of the ocean and depend on nutrients from the Earth's interior.
Tube worms.
These two "players" (systems) work together with the Earth's interior to support life on our planet.
Ocean currents and the atmosphere.
These "slicks" appear on the ocean surface thickening into a solid mass of ice.
Large slicks.