Transcript 4.1-Climate - MrKanesSciencePage

4.1-Climate
Weather vs. Climate
• Weather is the day to day condition of
Earth’s atmosphere.
• Climate is a regions year after year pattern
of temperature and precipitation.
Climographs
• A Climograph shows the monthly
precipitation and temperature.
– Patterns of temperature and precipitation can
be easily spotted.
Philadelphia, PA
Long Beach, CA
Microclimates
• Microclimates are environmental
conditions that vary over small distances.
• Moss, which needs a
wet environment,
usually only grows on
the north side of trees
due to the lack of
sunlight they receive.
Other Examples of Microclimates
The opposing hillsides have
contrasting vegetation due
to the amounts of sun each
receive
These manatee are gathering
near the hot water that is
discharged from a power plant
Factors That Affect Climate
• Climate is affected by many factors
including:
– Solar energy
– Latitude
– Transport of heat by winds
– Transport of heat by ocean currents
Solar Energy and the Greenhouse
Effect
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light strikes
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ourtoatmosphere
where
isspace
reflected
by itgreenhouse
by
as
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the
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toEarth’s
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gases.
it up.
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surface.
• As the Sun’s light energy enters the Earth’s
atmosphere, it can take a number of paths.
– Some light strikes the ground where it acts to warm it
up.
– Some light is scattered in our atmosphere and is
reflected back to space.
– Some light is reflected back to space by the Earth’s
surface.
– Some light is reflected back to space as heat.
– Some light strikes clouds and is reflected back to
space.
– Some heat is reflected Earthward by greenhouse
gases.
• Without this, the Earth would be about 30oC cooler.
Latitude
• Latitude is a measure of how far north or
south of the Equator an area is.
– Because the Earth is curved, the Sun’s light
gets smeared towards the poles
At the Equator
• A given amount of light will
create a circular patch of light
that is very concentrated.
At the Poles
• The same amount of light will
be spread over a larger area.
Latitude and Solar Energy
• This uneven distribution creates three
different clime zones.
– The tropical zones surrounding the equator
(23.5o N and S of the equator)
– The arctic or polar regions (66.5oN or S of the
equator to the North and South Poles (90oN
and S)
– The temperate regions (between 23.5 and
66.5 N and S of the equator)
Heat Transport in the Biosphere
• Unequal heating of the Earth creates wind
and ocean currents which transport heat
from the tropics towards the poles.
Atmospheric Circulation
• At the equator, hot air expands,
becomes less dense and rises.
• Cooler, denser air from the midlatitude regions rushes in to
replace the warm air
• Meanwhile, the hot air that has
risen, begins to cool and
become more dense and begins
to sink at around 30oN and S of
the equator.
• Due to the Coriolis effect,
objects traveling are deflected to
the right in the northern
hemisphere and left in the
southern hemisphere
Oceanic Circulation
• Oceanic circulation is driven by the
formation of cold dense water towards the
poles.
– As water cools, it becomes more dense and
sinks.
– At the same time, sea ice formation adds salt
to the surface water which also make the
surface water more dense causing it to sink.