Earth Science Chapter 19

Counter Clockwise

What way does a cyclone go in the Northern Hemisphere

Clockwise

What way does an anticyclone go in the Northern Hemisphere

Air Pressure

The force exerted by the weight of a column of air above a given point

Barometer

An instrument that measures atmospheric pressure

Pressure Gradient

The amount of pressure change occurring over a given distance

Coriolis Effect

The apparent deflective force of Earths rotation on all free moving objects including the atmosphere and oceans

Jet Stream

Swift, high altitude winds

Cyclone

A low pressure system

Anticyclone

A high pressure system

Trade winds

Two belts of wind that blow almost constantly from easterly directions and are located on the north and south sides of the subtropical highs

Westerlies

The dominant east to west motion of the atmosphere that characterizes the regions on the polar ward side of the subtropical highs

Polar Easterlies

In the global pattern of prevailing winds that blow from the polar high toward the subpolar low

Polar Front

The stormy frontals zone separating cold air masses of polar origin from warm air masses of tropical origin

Monsoon

Seasonal reversal of wind direction associated with large continents

Prevailing wind

A wind that constantly blows from one direction more then from another

Anemometer

An instrument used to determine wind speed

El Ni�o

The name given to the periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern Pacific