A heat dome is a persistent area of high pressure in the middle and upper atmosphere that helps extreme heat build near the ground. The name describes the pattern’s cap-like effect. Sinking air suppresses cloud growth, sunshine warms the surface and the weather changes slowly enough for hot conditions to intensify over several days. NOAA’s…
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A fish ladder is a water-filled route that helps migrating fish move around a dam or another barrier. Instead of making one impossible leap, a fish enters flowing water at the base. It advances through smaller changes in elevation while resting in pools between them. NOAA’s definition of a fish ladder, also called a fishway,…
The words hurricane and typhoon both describe the same kind of rotating ocean storm within the broader tropical cyclone family. The preferred name changes with the ocean basin. A mature storm in the Atlantic is called a hurricane, while its counterpart in the western North Pacific is called a typhoon. NOAA’s comparison places hurricanes and…
The cryosphere is all the frozen water on Earth. It includes vast ice sheets and mountain glaciers, but also seasonal snow, frozen lakes, sea ice and ground that remains frozen for years. Some parts last only through winter, while Antarctic ice can preserve snow deposited hundreds of thousands of years ago. NOAA’s definition of the…
