| GLOSSARY |
Our comprehensive earth science glossary is available to assist in your understanding of the MY NASA DATA microsets, lesson plans and computer tools. Please select the first letter of the word you wish to check for a definition and further information. |
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| water vapor: |
| water in its gaseous state, and one of the most important constituents of the atmosphere. Not only does water vapor contribute to cloud formation and precipitation, but it also regulates the atmospheric temperature by being a vital greenhouse gas and transporter of energy (latent heat). The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere varies by location and time due to processes of evaporation and condensation, but over half of its amount can be found close to the surface, below two kilometers.
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| watt: |
| a standard unit of power. In radiation studies, watts are used to quantify the flux of shortwave or longwave energy across a unit area such as Earth's surface (watts per meter squared).
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Image courtesy NASA |
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| weather: |
| The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. Weather includes variables such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, cloudiness, precipitation, and relative humidity.
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| weather balloon: |
| see definition for radiosonde.
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Image courtesy MY NASA DATA |
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| wet bulb temperature: |
| The temperature taken on a sling psychrometer from the thermometer with its bulb covered in a wet wick (piece of fabric), after slinging or whirling the psychrometer for the prescribed amount of time.
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Image courtesy NOAA Photo Library |
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| wind vector: |
| an arrow on a map that represents both the direction and magnitude (speed) of the wind at a particular location for a particular time. The direction that the arrow points illustrates the direction of wind flow, and the length of the arrow tail indicates the wind speed proportional to a unit scale such as knots, meters per second or miles per hour.
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