Weather and Climate
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Transcript Weather and Climate
Weather and Climate
Chapter C3
Where Weather Occurs
Almost all weather occurs in the ________ layer of air, or
atmosphere that surrounds Earth. This layer is called the
______________
The atmosphere stretches about _______ miles from the
Earth’s surface to outer space
Very little weather occurs above the _____________
There is little water in the _____________, the next
higher layer, so few ________ form there
The stratosphere contains the ________ layer which
protects life on Earth by _________ some of the sun’s
harmful rays
From the stratosphere to the edge of space, there is no
________ and too little air for any __________ to occur
Measuring Atmospheric
Conditions
Weather changes because the _________ is constantly
changing
As air _________, its weight, or air pressure, lessens
Warm air can also hold more ______, or can have more
_________, than cold air
Humidity in the air is measured using a ______________
A ____________ measures air temperature
Air pressure is the __________ of the atmosphere and is
measured using a ___________
A ________ __________ measures the amount of precipitation
A ________ ________ measures the direction from which the
wind is blowing and an _________ measures wind speed
Measuring atmospheric conditions helps to ___________ what
upcoming weather will be
Air Pressure
The atmosphere pushes on you all the time, and this weight is ______
__________
Warm air weighs _______ than cold air and a mass of cold air is called
a _______-_________ area, weighing more that 76 cm of
___________
A mass of warm air, called a ______-___________ area weighs
_______ than 76 cm of mercury
Weather changes because areas of high- and low-pressure areas
________
In the winter, areas of high pressure often move from ________ in the
north bringing ______, ________ weather conditions
In the summer, areas of _______ pressure often move from the south
bringing _______, _______ weather conditions
___________ readings indicate changes that may be coming--when
barometer rises, weather will become _________ and when barometer
is falling, _________ weather may be coming
Water in the Air (#1)
In addition to temperature and air pressure, ___________, or the
amount of water in the air, can affect weather conditions
Earth’s ________ are the biggest source of water and as the sun heats
them the water changes into an invisible _______ called water
________
The process of liquid water changing into water vapor is called
____________
High in the atmosphere, where air is _________, water vapor turns
back into liquid drops of water, forming __________
When cloud drops come together, __________ returns the water to the
Earth’s surface as ____________ in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow
Water vapor __________ into cloud drops
When water ___________ from soil, plants, lakes, and rivers,
solids and any pollutants are left behind and when water
evaporates from the __________, salt is left behind
Water in the Air (#2)
When the surface of the Earth cools quickly, water vapor may
condense to form a ________ near the ground, called ______
Clouds form when water vapor ___________ onto dust and
other tiny particles as it cools and rises or when water vapor
condenses as a result of moving from a _______ place to a
___________
The three basic names of clouds are _________ (the highest
type which look thin and wispy), ___________ (form when
large bubbles of warm air rise rapidly and look puffy), and
__________ (form as a mass of warm air is slowly pushed over
a mass of colder air and often produce rain or snow)
Uneven Heating
Roughly _____% of sun’s energy is absorbed by
Earth’s surface; _____% is absorbed and reflected by
clouds; and ____% is absorbed by air
Soil heats up ________ than water and therefore
land absorbs the sun’s energy more quickly and heats
up faster than bodies of water
________ also releases heat and cools off faster
when the sun goes down than bodies of water do
Local Winds
Because Earth’s surface is heated unevenly, the air above it is in
constant ________
_________ air is heavier than _______ air, so it sinks, forcing
lighter, warm air to rise
At the surface, two places can have differences in temperatures
and, therefore, differences in _____ __________ and this
causes air to move from the _________ pressure to the area of
_______ pressure
This horizontal movement of air is called _________
Local winds depend on local changes in ____________
Describe what is happening in diagrams on page C73
Prevailing Winds
Prevailing winds are _________ winds that blow constantly from
the same ___________
Prevailing winds are caused by _______ heating of large parts
of Earth’s atmosphere and by Earth’s __________
Cold, _______ polar air flows toward the _________, forcing an
upward movement of the warmed air at the equator in the
direction of the _________
The global winds that blow over most of the Unites States are
prevailing __________ and curve ________
Weather conditions on the _______ Coast today often move to
the middle of the country tomorrow and from there to the
_______ Coast the next day
Climate
The repeated weather conditions that occur
year after year are known as ____________,
and is the average of all weather conditions
through all seasons over a period of time
_________ and _________ are the major
factors that determine climate
A ____________ is the climate of a very
small area and may reflect differences in
precipitation or temperature
Climate and Latitude
In the United States, there is the cold, _________ climate of
northern Alaska and the hot, _________ climate of Hawai’i
Most of the country has more moderate, or ________, climates
Along the east coast of the United States temperatures vary
according to the area’s __________, or the distance a place is
from the equator
Most areas near the ________ have tropical climates because
the sun is directly overhead nearly all year long
In __________ climates the sun is directly overhead for only
part of the year and they often have warm summers and cod
winters
Near the _________ the sun is never directly overhead and the
decreased heating of the Earth’s surface at ___________from
the equator results in cold, polar climates
In addition to latitude, ______________ causes differences
among temperate climates
World Climates
Anything that affects ________ or __________
affects climate
In the United States, prevailing ____________ help
to moderate the hot summer climate by pushing
_______ air masses across the country
Ocean _________ can affect climate, too, especially
along the coast
Another factor that can affect climate is the
_________ of the land to include landforms
The five major climate zones of Earth are ________,
___________, _____________, _____________, and
____________
Climate Changes
Scientists have determined through research that Earth’s
climate is slowly _________
During the most recent Ice Age, __________ covered
30% of Earth’s surface
Changes in Earth’s temperature might be caused by a
change in the size of shape of Earth’s ________ or a
change in the _______ of Earth’s axis (read caption for
graph on page C81)
Earth’s temperature has _________ and _________ over
time
The ___ ________ is an example of a short-term change
in climate and affect areas around the ________ ocean
Humans Affect Climate
_________ are warmer than country areas or surrounding areas
due to the heat held by buildings, roads, and sidewalks and the
blocking by large buildings of _______ to move warm air out
Warm air also results from an effect of the burning of ________
_______ such as gasoline
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs some of the heat
given off by Earth and this is known as the ___________
__________
Earth needs ________ ________ to keep Earth from becoming
too cold to sustain life, but too much can lead to climate
changes
Scientists hypothesize that excess carbon dioxide will lead to
_______ _________
If Earth’s average temperature rises just a few more degrees,
the polar icecaps will begin to melt and the increased sea levels
could lead to ______________ in many coastal cities