Transcript Solar, Weather and Ocean Systems

Solar, Weather and Ocean
Systems
8th grade
• Climate – refers to the average year-after-year
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conditions of temp., precipitation, winds, and clouds
Windward – side of the oncoming wind hits
Leeward – downward side of mountains
Tropical zone – area near the equator
Polar zone – area near both poles
Temperate zone – area between tropical and polar
zones
Marine climates – climate of some coastal regions with
fairly warm winters and cool summers
Continental climates – climate of the centers of
continents with cold winters and warm or hot
summers
Climate vs. Weather
Weather is the day to day condition of the
area at a certain place and time.
Climate is the year-after-year events in a
particular area.
The amount of snow and rain an area
receives determines how dry or
wet its climate is for that particular
region.
Precipitation
The main factors that affect precipitation are prevailing
winds and mountains.
Prevailing winds –
winds move lg. air masses
air masses may be warm or cool, dry or humid
warm air carries more water than cool
air rising cools off water comes out
cool air falling usually dry
amount of moisture in air depends on where it
came from
Precipitation continued
Mountain ranges influence precipitation
humid air from ocean hit windward side
of mountain
and rain or snow falls
when air reaches leeward side water all
gone so air is
cool and dry, considered to be in a
rain shadow
Temperature
Factors that affect temperature:
•Latitude
•Altitude
•distance from lg. bodies of water
•ocean currents
Latitude
Cold climate 66.5o – 90.5oN/S
Has direct sun, nearly direct sun year round, climate warm
Warm/hot summers, cool/cold winter – 23.5o/66.5oN/S
Altitude
Temperature decreases as altitude rises
Highland areas all over have cool climate no
matter the latitude
Oceans/lg. lakes affect temperature
Water heats up more slowly, cools down more slowly
Winds from ocean keep coastal regions from extreme
hot, cold
West coasts of N. America, S. America, Europe have
mild marine climate (warm winter, cool
summer)
Center of continents too far from ocean to be affected
– have continental climate
(get extreme temp. – winter cold, summer
warm, hot)
Marine climates influenced by ocean currents
Warm ocean currents carry warm water from tropics to
poles
Cold currents from poles bring cold water toward
equator
Surface water warms/cools air above it, which then
moves over nearby land and warms or cools
temp. to land it touches
Best known current is Gulf Stream, gives Ireland and
southern England a mild, wet climate
Changes in currents and winds greatly affect climate
Most famous is El Nino – is an abnormal climate event that occurs
every 2 – 7 years in Pacific Ocean
Causes lg. sheet of warm water to move eastward toward S. America
Conditions may last 2 yrs. Before normal winds, currents return
Smaller areas affected by inland mountains, lakes,
forests, other natural features
Said to have own microclimate
Lab - Microclimate Temperature
Question: How does the temperature differ at different
heights on different surfaces?
Hypothesis:
Materials:
meter stick 3 thermometers
tape
timers
Procedure:
1.Tape a thermometer to the meter stick at 0cm, 50cm,
and at 100cm.
2. You will be going outside to the grass field, the parking
lot, a rocky area and the concrete sidewalk outside B
building.
Lab - Microclimate Temperature
cont.
3. At each location hold the meter stick with the
thermometers perpendicular to the ground for 1 minute to
allow the thermometers to stabilize. Then take a reading
and record the temperature in the Data Table.
4 After the temperature at all locations has been taken
return to the room and untape the thermometers from the
meter stick. Place all material on the
lab table.
Data Table
temp 0 cm
50 cm
100 cm
grass
temp
0 cm
50 cm
100 cm
concrete
grass
rock
asphalt
Results:
concrete
rock
asphalt
Conclusion:
1.Graph the results putting all surfaces in one
graph. Use a different color for each surface.
Lab - Microclimate Temperature
cont.
2. On which surface and at which height was it the hottest?
the coolest?
3. On which surface was there the biggest change?
4. Based on your graph how does altitude effect the
temperature?
Does the surface make a difference?