Convection & Uneven Heating
What causes convection currents in the atmosphere?
Uneven heating of Earth’s surface causes warm air to rise and cool air to sink.
What two factors mainly affect deep ocean currents?
Temperature and salinity
What source of energy drives the water cycle?
The sun
Which factor directly drives global wind patterns?
Uneven solar heating
What term describes the repeated circular movement of warm rising air and cool sinking air?
Convection Current
Why does warm air rise in a convection current?
Warm air is less dense than cool air.
How does increased salinity affect ocean water density?
It increases density, causing water to sink.
What is runoff?
Water flowing over land into larger bodies of water.
What is a local wind?
Winds that affect a smaller local area. These occur typically when global winds are weak in the area.
What term describes the bending of wind or ocean currents due to Earth’s rotation?
Coriolis Effect
Which area of Earth receives the most direct solar energy?
The equator
Which type of current moves heat around the globe?
Surface ocean currents
Cloud formation shows which process of the water cycle?
Condensation
Which direction do the Polar Easterlies blow?
Hint: Not the direction that you think
To the west. They blow from the east to the west.
What term means water falling from clouds to Earth’s surface?
Precipitation
Why does Earth experience uneven heating from the Sun?
Earth is tilted and curved
A diagram shows warm water rising near the equator and cold water sinking near the poles. What is this an example of?
Ocean convection current
What is evaporation?
Liquid water changing into water vapor due to heat.
Air moves from ______ areas to ______ areas.
warm, cool
What term describes slow-moving currents driven by temperature and salinity differences?
Deep Ocean Current
What happens to air particles as air warms?
They gain energy and spread out
Why do ocean currents move in curved paths?
Earth’s rotation (Coriolis Effect)
How does condensation lead to precipitation?
Water droplets combine and become heavy enough to fall.
At night, a land breeze blows from ______ to ______.
land to water
What vocabulary word means the amount of salt in ocean water?
Salinity