Earth's Energy Budget
This term describes long-term shifts in temperature, precipitation, and weather patterns that occur over several decades or longer.
climate change
To make evidence-based forecasts, geoscientists monitor trends in temperature, precipitation, ice cover, and this rising oceanic metric.
sea level
These boundaries form when two air masses with different temperature and humidity characteristics meet, often triggering thunderstorms or precipitation.
fronts
This specific warm and humid air mass forms over tropical ocean waters like the Gulf of Mexico, bringing hot, muggy weather and thunderstorms.
Maritime Tropical (mT)
These specific types of gases, which include CO2, trap heat from the sun within the atmosphere and cause the Earth's average temperature to rise.
greenhouse gases
GCMs are computer simulations used by scientists to project future climate changes. GCM stands for this three-word term.
Global Climate Models
Wind naturally moves across the Earth's surface by traveling between these two types of barometric pressure areas.
from high pressure to low pressure
Abbreviated as cP, this cold and dry air mass originates over the vast landmasses of northern Canada and Alaska.
Continental Polar
While human activities alter the climate over decades, this type of sudden, violent geological event can cause rapid, short-term changes in climate by blocking solar radiation.
volcanic eruption
This specific consequence of sea level rise poses an immediate threat to coastal communities and can result in the permanent loss of vital coastal wetlands.
Flooding
Meteorologists rely on these specific diagrams to get real-time, localized data on weather conditions at a single exact location.
station models
This extreme air mass forms over the frozen, ice-covered regions near the North Pole, bringing the absolute coldest, bone-chilling winter weather.
Continental Arctic (cA)
To understand the complex relationships driving climate change, scientists build models that simulate data from atmospheric measurements, oceanic measurements, and these frozen, historic archives.
ice core records
When analyzing the terrestrial environment for climate data, scientists closely track the shrinking volumes of this specific type of land-bound glacial ice.
Glaciers
Operating alongside the trade winds and polar easterlies, this is the third major planetary wind belt responsible for driving weather systems across much of North America.
prevailing westerlies
A Maritime Polar (mP) air mass is best characterized by these two distinct atmospheric properties, typical of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
cool (or cold) and humid (or wet/moist)
Over massive scales of time, long-term shifts in Earth's climate can be driven naturally by variations in Earth's orbit or by this slow, crustal movement.
plate tectonic movement
Climate models must simulate the complex, ongoing interactions between these three main surface components of the Earth system.
atmosphere, oceans, and land surface
This primary force drives global atmospheric circulation because the equator receives direct sunlight while the poles receive slanted, less intense sunlight.
uneven heating of Earth's surface
In the two-letter classification system for air masses, these two specific lower-case letters are used to designate whether the air mass formed over a maritime or continental source region.
m and c