Major Factors affecting climate

Latitude Affects Climate Least Radiation! Low sun angle & ice Reflects back sun! Most Radiation! Sun directly overhead Most of US in this area of moderation! The tilt of the earth determines the amount of solar energy received by a region.

“Changes in latitude, changes in attitude…” Why is it warmer in Dallas than Minneapolis? Dallas gets more direct rays of sun.

Elevation Places at high elevations are generally cooler than places at low elevations in a given region. Temperatures decrease 3.6 degrees F for every 1000 foot gain in elevation. This is a reason for glacier formation.

“I left my heart in San francisco…” What causes San Francisco’s climate to be milder than Wichita, Kansas ? Ocean waters moderate the temperatures. Warm currents can warm the areas they are near, breezes bring in more moisture.

Heat Capacity The quantity of heat energy needed to increase the temperature of a substance. Formally: the amount of energy required to generate a 1 degree Celcius rise in temperature of 1 gram of a substance at atmospheric pressure and 20 degrees C.

Heat Capacity Air coming off a cold lake or ocean will be cooler because the water requires more heat to increase its temperature than land. Land areas warm up more quickly and cool down more quickly. Temperatures over oceans and large lakes don’t vary as much. As a result, nearby land will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. The nearby water has a moderating effect on land temperatures.

Oceans The ocean stores a much greater quantity of energy than the atmosphere. This is due to both its larger heat capacity (4.2 times that of the atmosphere) and its much greater density (1000 times that of air).

Mountain impact on climate Cooler!! Moisture leaves the air as clouds pass over the mountain. Example: Stampede pass in central Washington gets 91 inches of rain per year. Yakima is east of this and gets an average of 8 inches per year!

Lake Effect Snow Snowfall occurs near the Great Lakes in late fall and early winter. This is due to cooler air flowing over the warm lake water. The moisture in the air cools as it reaches the colder land creating snow.

Urban Heat Island Affect Cities absorb a lot of heat in the materials used for roads, buildings, and parking lots. Cars add to this. So does pollution.

Polar areas – the cryosphere Reflect sun’s rays off ice, reducing heat absorption of earth’s surface Ice reduces amount of water in oceans that can absorb and hold heat. The cryosphere is a buffer between the atmosphere and oceans. It stabilizes the energy transfer between the atmosphere and ocean. The formation of sea ice begins global thermohaline circulation patterns in the oceans, which greatly influence the global climate system. Polar ice affects the volume of the oceans and global sea levels, changes to which can affect the energy budget of the climate system.

Landforms and climate The biosphere, both on land and in the oceans, affects the albedo (solar energy absorption/reflection) of the Earth's surface. Continental forests reflect less solar energy than deserts. Tropical rainforest reflects even less energy.

Life forms and climate The biosphere also influences the changing levels of certain greenhouse gases. Plankton take in dissolved carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. This gas comes down from the atmosphere. On death, the plankton sink, transporting the carbon dioxide to the deep ocean. Millions of spores, viruses, bacteria, pollen and other minute organic species are transported into the atmosphere by winds, where they can scatter incoming solar radiation.

The Geosphere Volcanic eruptions replenish the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and emit considerable quantities of dust and other gases like water vapor and sulfur dioxide. Soils, sediments and rocks, the continental and oceanic crust and the Earth’s interior are parts of the geosphere. They play a role in the regulation and variation of global climate, to a greater or lesser extent, over varying time scales. Variations in global climate over tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years are due to modulations within the interior of the Earth. Changes in the shape of ocean basins and the size of continental mountain chains (driven by plate tectonic processes) may influence the energy transfers within and between the coupled components of the climate system.