Weather & Climate Homework

The Earth’s present atmosphere consists of ____% nitrogen and ____% oxygen.

Unlike the atmosphere of Mars and Venus, which are mostly made of carbon dioxide, most of the carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is dissolved in the Earth’s oceans or is found in _________.

All of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere was made by the process of ______.

The Earth’s surface is protected from lethal levels of ultraviolet radiation by the Earth’s ______.

The temperature at which air is exactly saturated with water vapor is called its _______.

All weather phenomena are powered by _____.

Most of the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are completely transparent to visible and infrared radiation, and thus are not heated directly by sunlight.  The so-called “greenhouse gases,” including _____, absorb infrared radiation and are responsible for adding about 59 degrees F to the Earth’s average temperature.

The transfer of heat by direct contact, such as between the ground and adjoining air, is called ____.

The transfer of heat by moving currents of air or water is called _____.

The Earth has seasons because _____.

The Earth is closest to the Sun in ____________, which helps moderate temperatures in the northern hemisphere.

Winds on Earth are powered by _______, which creates differences in ______ from one place to the next because ______ air rises and _____ air sinks.

In Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas, rising warm air during the summer causes thunderstorms in a weather phenomena called the ________.

In coastal areas during summer ________, heating over land creates rising air, inducing a _____ breeze from the sea to the land.

In coastal areas during summer ________, radiational cooling over land creates sinking air, while the warmer water creates rising air, inducing a _____ breeze from the land to the sea.

A ________ is a moving, narrow zone of strong temperature contrast in which the cold air is replacing warm air at the surface.

A _________ forms when warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets hot, dry air moving from Mexico, New Mexico or west Texas.

Cloud types are given Latin names according to their altitude and structure.  Mid-level clouds have the prefix _____, while very high clouds have the prefix ______.  Cloud structures that form flat sheets are called ______, while upright lumpy clouds are called ______.

The two global climate categories found in most of Texas are the ______ climate found in the east half of the state, and the _____ climate found in the west half of the state.

In Texas, the El Nino weather pattern usually brings _____ during the winter, while the La Nina pattern brings  _____.