Sextant - an astronomical instrument used to determine latitude and longitude at sea by measuring angular distances, especially the latitudes of sun, moon, and stars. Text from, The Apothecary Image of a sextant used to locate latitude or time of day

The Difference Between Weather and Climate Weather is what the forecasters on the TV news predict each day. They tell people about the temperature, cloudiness, humidity, storms... It is the mix of events that happens each day in our atmosphere. Weather is not the same everywhere. It may be hot and sunny in one part of the world, but freezing and snowy in another.

Climate Climate is the average weather in a place over many years. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change. Sometimes the climate of a place is described with graphs like this. They are known as climatograms.

WHAT FACTORS AFFECT CLIMATE? 1. latitude 2. air and water currents 3. altitude 4. distance (proximity) from the sea

1. Latitude Latitude is the distance a region is from the equator, to the north or south. The 0* latitude at the equator receives more direct sunlight and is warmer. The 90* latitude at the N and S poles receive less sunlight and has cooler temperatures.

Why we have seasons… The north polar region is pointed toward the sun from March until September, so it has more hours of daylight and summer during those months. The north polar region points away from the sun from September until March, so it has less hours of sunlight and winter during those months..

2. Air and Water Currents Warm air and water are transported towards the poles, while cool air and water are transported towards the equator.

3. Altitude Altitude refers to the vertical distance between the lowest point and the highest point of an area. A land's altitude is calculated by measuring the distance from sea level to the highest point. Temperatures rise 6ºC every 1,000 m high.

4. Distance from the sea Distance from the sea: land heats and cools faster than the sea. Therefore, coastal areas have a lower temperature range than those areas inland. On the coast winters are mild and summers are cool. In inland areas temperatures are high in the summer and cold in the winter.

below. WORLD CLIMATES

The Study of Weather and Climate Weather stations have meteorological instruments to get information about the weather conditions. Some of these instruments are: Wind gauges (anemometers) and weather vanes Rain gauges (pluviometers) Thermometers Barometers

Measuring Humidity A psychrometer is an instrument used to measure relative humidity made of two thermometers; dry-bulb and wet-bulb (covered with a damp cloth). The difference between the readings indicates the amount of water vapor in the air. The larger the difference, the less water vapor in the air, therefore lower humidity. The smaller the difference, the more water vapor in the air, therefore higher humidity.