Tuesday, February 17, 2009 “B” Day What is Climate? Tuesday, February 17, 2009 “B” Day

WARM-UP/HYPOTHESIS One-paragraph extended response… Make a hypothesis… WHAT IS CLIMATE?

Objective Students will begin to investigate the make-up of climates, both locally and globally.

Essential Question “What is the difference between weather and climate?”

Close Your Eyes… It is February in Delaware and we are walking along the beach enjoying the 70°F temperature. People are sunbathing, fishing, walking their dogs and playing in the surf. Has the climate changed in Delaware? In other parts of the world, people are experiencing very cold temperatures where it is normally warm. What do you think is happening?

Questions to Answer… What is the difference between weather and climate? What factors influence climate? How is climate influenced by El Nino?

What is Weather? Work quietly with your group to arrive at a definition. Write it in your journals. 2 minutes… Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place.

www.wunderground.com FIRST PART OF LAB… PART 1 Type in Middletown’s zip code. (19709) Go to the detailed history and climate section, put in yesterday’s date and click the GO button. Record the actual minimum and maximum temperatures and the precipitation from the daily summary chart. Go down the page and find and click on seasonal weather averages. Check the box “Show Normals/Averages” and click off everything else. Look at the TODAY line and record on the chart the average min and max temperatures and precipitation.

Actual vs. Average How does the day’s minimum and maximum temperatures compare with the average?

Actual vs. Average How does the day’s precipitation compare with the average?

Weather vs. Climate Think about it… Which of the temperature and precipitation values do you think represents weather? Which of the values do you think represent climate?

Dover, Delaware

Does the graph represent Dover’s climate or weather? Decide in your groups. Write a response and WHY you think you’re correct.

Temperature Variance How does the temperature vary throughout the year? How does the amount of precipitation change throughout the year?

Temperature and Precipitation Variance How does the temperature vary throughout the year? Temperature rises gradually from a minimum in January to a maximum in July. How does the amount of precipitation change throughout the year? The amount of precipitation is fairly constant throughout the year with highs occurring in July and August.

Yuma, Arizona

Arizona? Del-A-Where?

Temperature and Precipitation (Yuma, AZ) How does the temperature vary throughout the year? How does the amount of precipitation change throughout the year?

Delaware vs. Yuma! How does the climate of Dover and Yuma differ? Average monthly precipitation in Yuma is much lower throughout the year while average monthly temperatures are higher. How is it possible that for some days of the year Dover would have the same temperature as Yuma? The weather in both cities can vary from the daily average so that Yuma’s average temperature could be matched by an air mass induced high temperature in Dover.

Look at the Locations of the World Below Angmagssalie, Greenland Berlin, Germany Baghdad, Iraq Manaus, Brazil

Let’s Be Geographers

LATITUDE! What is latitude? Temperature Based on what we have learned about uneven heating of the earth, what do you think is the most important factor in determining average temperature? LATITUDE! What is latitude?

Questions to Answer in Groups What is the relationship between altitude and temperature? Why for the shown cities doesn't altitude seem to be related to temperature?

Questions to Answer in Groups What is the relationship between altitude and temperature? As altitude increases, temperature decreases. Why for the shown cities doesn't altitude seem to be related to temperature? The altitudes are too close together. The temperature differences due to latitude override any altitude effect.

Mexico City and Cairo How would you explain the temperature differences between Mexico City and Cairo? Mexico City is located at a higher elevation than Cairo.

So Now let’s Talk About It… Climate is a pattern of weather that occurs over a long period of time. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a certain time and place. Weather would include data on air pressure, temperature, dew point, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, amount of cloud coverage and precipitation. Climate is determined by scientists by taking an average of factors such as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation and number of days of sunlight over a period of time. Some of the factors that influence the climate of a particular area are latitude, location near water, ocean currents, human influence and El Nino.

Latitude Latitude is a measurement of the degrees north and south of the equator. The equator is 0 degrees latitude. Regions closer to the equator receive more solar radiation than regions further away from the equator. The tropics (23.5 ° N to 23.5 ° S latitude) receive the greatest amount of solar radiation because the Sun shines almost directly over these areas for a great portion of the year.

Water’s Effect on Climate If you live near large bodies of water, the water can influence your climate by absorbing or giving off heat. Many coastal areas are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than inland areas at the same latitude. Ocean currents can also affect coastal climates. Warm ocean currents near the equator warm the land they pass over. Cooler ocean currents cool the land.

El Nino El Nino is a term that refers to large scale ocean atmosphere climate events linked to the periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east central equatorial Pacific. La Nina refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east central equatorial Pacific and it occurs every 3 to 5 years. La Nina represents the cool phase of El Nino. During both the El Nino and La Nina, changes in the Pacific Ocean temperatures affect rainfall from Indonesia to the west coast of South America and these changes affect weather patterns throughout the world.

LINKS http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/s2753.htm http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/prelude_to_ensofaq.shtml http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/extremes.html extreme weather conditions and climate changes http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wetnino/wetnino.htm http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/cpo/news/story_092006-hurricanesclimatechange.pdf great web site on the influence of climates on hurricanes

TIME FOR JOURNAL HOMEWORK: In your journal or notebook, write a concise summary of this activity. Be sure to address the following questions and use your data to support your responses. What factors influence climate? How is climate influenced by El Nino? What is the difference between weather and climate?