Air Masses & Fronts
A large body of air with the same density and moisture level
What is an air mass?
Type of front shown by a blue spiked line
What is a cold front?
Currents of water that run along the surface of the water
What are surface currents?
Currents that run deeper than surface currents
What are deep currents?
The four directions on a map
What is North, South, East and West?
A form of weather caused by two or more air masses colliding.
What is a front?
Type of pressure area that brings bad, gloomy weather (shown by an L)
What is a low pressure area?
The depth that ocean currents can be
What is 200 meters?
Salinity and temperature affect this
What is density?
Way to measure location: Goes north to south on a globe
What is longitude?
A form of front that occurs when two air masses run into each other going opposite directions: Rain for many days
What is a stationary front?
Shown on a weather map as a bumpy line
The force that controls surface currents
What are global winds?
The force that controls deep currents
What is density?
Way to measure location: Goes left to right on a globe
What is latitude?
When two cold fronts run into one warm front
What is an occluded front?
Brings happy, nice weather (NOT a front!)
What is a high pressure area?
The reason currents (and only currents!) don't go in straight lines
What is continental deflection?
Deep currents go lower than this depth
What is 200 meters?
Sometimes comes after El Nino
What is La Nina?
A type of dry, warm air mass
What is a CT air mass? (continental tropical)
Represented by a purple line with bumps and spikes
What is an occluded front?
The reason currents (and wind) doesn't go in straight lines.
What is the Coriolis Effect? (The Earth's Spin)
The gulf stream starts here
What is Florida?
When South Pacific trade winds move less warm water than usual
What is El Nino?