The Sun’s Energy

Climatic interactions exist among Earth, ocean and weather systems. The Sun provides the energy that drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.

The energy on Earth comes from the Sun. The Sun heats up Earth’s surface and all things on it Matter that absorbs heat energy tends to rise Matter that loses heat energy tends to fall The constant churning of hot and cold is called convection

Draw what you remember about the Water Cycle. Label: condensation, evaporation, precipitation, transpiration

Wind is mostly caused by unequal heating of the Earth Warmer air has less pressure than cooler air The differences in pressure cause movement of air High pressure pushes lower pressure High pressure sinks because it is more dense. Low pressure rises because it is less dense.

Ocean currents are similar to winds Currents are driven by wind at the surface Deeper currents are influenced by temperature and salinity differences Warm water is less dense than cold water Water with more salt is more dense

A meteorologist studies weather patterns. Uses weather maps to predict weather patterns Weather maps show different air masses, which are areas of air with similar pressure and temperature The boundaries between air masses are called “fronts” The location and movement of fronts are used to predict weather

Weather Fronts A front is the line of contact at ground level marking the boundary between 2 different air masses.

Warm Fronts A warm front is the leading edge of a warm, humid air mass, which rises into the atmosphere as it is pushed up by the surrounding colder air. Warm fronts are represented by lines of half circles on a weather map

Cold Fronts A cold front is the leading edge of a cool, dry air mass moving into an area, displacing the warmer air, and contributing to storm formation Cold fronts are represented by lines of triangles on a weather map

Occluded Fronts An occluded cold front occurs when a cold front catches up to a warm front Occluded fronts are represented by lines of alternating half circles and triangles on a weather map pointing to the direction the system is moving

Stationary Fronts A stationary is a boundary between a cold and warm front which are not moving Stationary fronts are represented by lines of alternating half circles and triangles pointing in opposite directions on a weather map

What is air pressure? Air pressure is a measure of the weight or density of the air in a given area Measured with a barometer High pressure = good (sunny) weather Low pressure = bad (stormy) weather High pressure sinks Low pressure rises