DO NOW THURSDAY Do you think you and/or your family do anything to affect the Earth’s weather and climate? Explain.

TODAY’S PLAN TODAY’S DO To explain factors that affect the Earth’s weather and climate. TODAY’S DO We will discuss things that affect the Earth’s weather and climate and watch some short videos during the discussion.

Weather & Climate

Weather by Brainpop 1) What cycle is the basis of our weather? 2) What causes precipitation to occur? 3) Where do storms usually occur?

Weather Temporary behavior of atmosphere (what’s going on at any certain time) Small geographic area Can change rapidly

Weather --The study of weather is meteorology --Someone who studies weather is called a meteorologist

Climate Long-term behavior of atmosphere (100+ years) Large geographic area Very slow to change

Climatology The study of Earth’s climate and the factors that affect past, present, and future climatic changes

Normals Standard values for a location Average values over a long period of time

Climate Types by Brainpop .What is climate? .Where are tropical climates most likely to be? .What does “arid” mean?

What Factors Affect Weather & Climate? The Sun The Water Cycle The Atmosphere The Ocean Ice Landforms (Topography) Latitude and Altitude Living Things

How Does the Sun Affect Weather and Climate? It warms the atmosphere & oceans (causing wind, ocean currents, temperature changes, etc.) It creates climate zones (ie. Tropics, temperate, polar) It keeps the water cycle going It affects weather patterns

The Water Cycle All the water on the planet is recycled in this manner!

Parts of the Cycle Evaporation—Water going from a liquid to a gas (gains energy from the sun)

Parts of the Cycle Transpiration—evaporation of water from/out of plants. Locate this on the diagram! transpiration

Parts of the Cycle Condensation—Water going from a gas to a liquid (cools or loses energy) When this happens in the atmosphere, CLOUDS form.

Clouds by Brainpop

Parts of the Cycle Precipitation—when water falls out of the atmosphere. Forms when the water droplets in clouds become too heavy to stay up.

Frozen water = snow or sleet or hail Precipitation Liquid water = rain Frozen water = snow or sleet or hail Rain Clip

The Water Cycle Water Cycle by Brainpop Water Cycle Advanced by Brainpop

The Water Cycle by Brainpop What process must happen for clouds to form? What is “collection”? Name one way to conserve water.

How does the atmosphere affect weather? The atmosphere is a mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth Has five different layers; each has different properties We’ll label them in just a minute… Air Temperature and Pressure change with altitude (lower temperature and less pressure as altitude increases) Weather occurs in the layer closest to Earth (troposphere)

Write in the labels! Exosphere Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Ozone layer Stratosphere Troposphere

DO NOW FRIDAY Explain the difference between weather and climate. What is one way the Sun affects weather and climate?

TODAY’S PLAN TODAY’S DO To explain factors that affect the Earth’s weather and climate. TODAY’S DO We will discuss things that affect the Earth’s weather and climate and watch some short videos during the discussion. We will practice reading a weather map.

Atmosphere: Air Masses = body of air with a certain temperature and moisture level Can be warm or cold Can contain a lot of moisture or not a lot of moisture

Fronts = places where air masses meet 4 Types: Warm, Cold, Occluded, Stationary Each kind can bring different kinds of weather

Thunderstorms ahead of this front: then weather will become cold Severe weather: Then weather will become warm and humid Occluded Front: Stationary Front: Less severe weather Rain, snow, or fog for several days

FRONTS Complete the “Reading a Weather Map” Worksheet.

How does Air Pressure affect weather? How much the earth’s atmosphere is pressing down on us Measured with a BAROMETER If it CHANGES, then new weather is on the way: Falling Air Pressure (Low pressure)= associated with warm air rising; stormy weather coming Rising Air Pressure (High pressure) = associated with cold air sinking; fair weather coming Steady Air Pressure = no change is coming

Winds created from differences in air pressure Moves from areas of HIGH to LOW pressure Greater the difference in pressure, the FASTER the wind blows Measured with wind vanes and anemometers or you can estimate with the Beaufort Wind Scale

Global Winds Thousands of kilometers long; can cause weather to move in different directions Examples: Jet stream, prevailing westerlies, doldrums, horse latitudes, trade winds

Global Winds Caused by the temperature difference in different regions Hot Tropical Regions—causes air to rise Cold polar Regions—causes air to sink

Global Winds Also affected by Earth’s Spin Coriolis Effect = causes winds to curve to the right in the N. Hemisphere; to the left in the S. Hemisphere

Winds by Brainpop . What does warm air do? . What do you call winds that blow all the time in the same part of the world? . What are jet streams?

How does the Ocean affect weather? Ocean currents affect the temperature of the land they pass by Cold ocean currents = cooling effect Warm ocean currents = warming effect Temperature changes affect pressure – which then creates WINDS Winds blow this cooling or warming effect over the land Ocean currents distribute heat from the equator to the poles. http://earth.rice.edu/MTPE/hydro/hydrosphere/topics/Ocean_Atm_Circ_ElNino.mov

http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/

Science Saurus Sections 203-204-205-206

How Does Ice (the Cryosphere) Affect Weather and Climate? Ice in the arctic is white and so it reflects almost all of the sunlight that hits it. This reflection of the sun is what keeps the artic regions cold because the sun’s rays never reach the surface to heat it. In other words, ice (the cryosphere) keeps the Earth from getting too warm. Changes in snow and ice cover affect air and surface temperatures: less ice= warmer air and surface

How Does Ice (the Cryosphere) Affect Weather and Climate? Hands-On Activity

How Does Topography Affect Weather and Climate? Mountain also affect climate of an area. Since the mountains act as a barrier to air movements and moisture (such as rain clouds), one side of the mountain may be desert-like, while the other receives lots of rain and is lush with vegetation.

How Does Topography Affect Weather and Climate? Coastal Regions, areas near water, are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer This is because seasonal changes affect oceans more slowly than land. Therefore, oceans heat up more slowly in the summer and produce cooler temperatures. Likewise, oceans cool down more slowly in the winter and produce warmer temperatures.

How Does Latitude Affect Climate? Equator Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Cancer Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle 66.5° N 23.5° N 23.5° S 66.5° S 0°

Polar Temperate Tropics Tropics Temperate Polar

Climate Zones Tropics (warmest because most direct sun rays hit here) Most solar radiation, generally warm Between Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer Temperate (warm summers and cold winters) Between 23.5 and 66.5 North and South Mild temperatures Polar (coldest because receives least direct sun rays) 66.5 North and South to the Poles Cold Temperatures

How Do Living Things Affect Weather and Climate? Trees and other plants can actually help keep climates cooler by providing shade and using carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide gas is a greenhouse gas that traps heat near the surface of the Earth, when trees, algae, and other plants remove it from our atmosphere, they are helping to keep our planet cooler.

How Do Living Things Affect Weather and Climate? Farm animals, microbes, and humans produce lots of methane and carbon dioxide, both of which are greenhouse gases. Thus, many living things, mainly humans, are causing climates across the globe to grow warmer.

Climate Change

Long-Term Climatic Change Climates change over extremely long periods of time Ice Ages – Periods of extensive glacial coverage Most recent ended 10,000 years ago Temps dropped 5°C

Short-Term Climatic Change Caused by regular variations in daylight, temp, and weather patterns Examples: Seasons El Nino (Warm ocean current)