The area of the surface over which an air mass formed is called the air mass's?

The area of the surface over which an air mass formed is called the air mass's?

• A. Front
• B. Origin area
• C. Formation zone
• D. Source region

Answer: (D)

Air masses inherit the temperature and moisture characteristics of the surface they form over. The name for that area where the air mass originates is the source region. Because the surface type (land or sea) and the climatic zone (polar, tropical, etc.) of the source region determine an air mass’s basic properties, this term is the most accurate way to describe where it formed. A front, by contrast, is just a boundary between different air masses, not where a single mass originated. The other terms aren’t standard ways to name where an air mass forms.

Air masses inherit the temperature and moisture characteristics of the surface they form over. The name for that area where the air mass originates is the source region. Because the surface type (land or sea) and the climatic zone (polar, tropical, etc.) of the source region determine an air mass’s basic properties, this term is the most accurate way to describe where it formed. A front, by contrast, is just a boundary between different air masses, not where a single mass originated. The other terms aren’t standard ways to name where an air mass forms.