Climate Notes Climate is the description of long-term weather patterns. described according to temperature ranges (seasonal variations) and seasonal changes in precipitation

3. Climate is determined by two things:      i.      the duration of insolation (length of daylight) and the intensity of insolation (how strong the sun is, from the angle of insolation).   ii.      Available water. This is shown in the water cycle   Evaporation: energy absorbed Condensation: energy released 

4. Factors Affecting Climate 1. latitude 2. nearness to large bodies of water 3. elevation 4. mountain ranges: leeward and windward 5. prevailing wind direction 6. if coastal, ocean currents 7. landforms and vegetation

Temperature changes with altitude

From internet land…. http://hays. outcrop From internet land….. http://hays.outcrop.org/images/groundwater/press4e/figure-13-03.jpg and http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/~tbw/wc.notes/15.climates.veg/climate/B/rain.shadow.deserts.diagram.jpg

Why death valley is so dry

Latitude and sunlight

http://disc. sci. gsfc. nasa. gov/oceancolor/images/Benguela_upwelling http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/images/Benguela_upwelling.gif

Coastal and inland temperatures Temperatures in California

5. Oceans Effect Climate. Water is a moderator because it: Has a high specific heat (p. 1 ESRT) Moves and transfers energy Evaporates water from the surface Is transparent and lets energy pass through to deeper water Reflects light (at sunrise/sunset)

6. Climographs are a graphic representation of average temperatures and precitpitation for a location for a year.

7. Monsoons : dramatic changes in precipitation. .India: Hot dry land has light air (summer) and winds blow in from ocean, bringing moisture. In winter, droughts occur because cold, dense air flows out to ocean.  

8. Temperature changes with Insolation Temperatures change due to: net loss : surface is reradiating more energy than it is absorbing from the sun.  (colder) net gain: surface is absorbing more than it is releasing (it gets warmer). Daily: hottest time is usually 1-2 hours after solar noon Yearly: hottest time is 4-6 weeks after June 21 coldest time is 4-6 weeks after December 21

Compare the dates of the highest temperature with the date of the greatest insolation. Why aren’t they the same? On what date does New York begin to get warmer after the winter? Cooler after the summer? How can you tell?  

Note at what time the temperatures begin to drop Note at what time the temperatures begin to drop. Up until that point the temperature was increasing. Do the warmest temperatures occur when the sunlight is most intense (sun is highest in the sky)? Explain. Do you notice that the earth’s surface is ALWAYS reradiating energy? Day and night? Why is the coolest hour just before dawn?  

9. The Greenhouse Effect. a.       Visible and ultraviolet light from the sun are absorbed by earth’s surface. b.      The hot surface reradiates the absorbed energy as longer wavelength infrared (heat energy). c.       Greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane) absorb infrared energy, trapping more energy near the surface

d. These greenhouse gases are: water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane gas

10. Global warming is the slow, steady average increase in the temperature of the entire planet. It is measured in tenths of degree changes. It does not mean that EVERY place on earth will get steadily hotter.

Global warming is caused by: b. Increase in Greenhouse gases. Factories, cars, homes, living things release these. c. Deforestation: losing trees that should absorb CO2 and water vapor. d. Paving of ground. e. Increase in soot on snow at poles, which increases the amount of energy absorbed by the snow.

11. Climate Change Warming is not the only change that occurs to climate: Length of seasons; amount and timing of precipitation; Severe weather

12. Factors that control Global climate: Tilt of earth (wobble and orbit) Distance from sun (perihelion and aphelion)

Variations in climate: including types of gas, Coriolis Effect, prevailing wind direction. Water (and ice, water cycle) Amount, type and placement of land ( ex. Pangaea had different global climate) Albedo (percent sunlight reflected)