1. CLIMATE SYSTEMS

2. What is a climate system?
Air
Ice
Water
Climate System
Land
Living Things
The interaction of air, land, water, ice and living things to determine Earth’s global climate.

3. Part 1 The Sun Earth’s Energy Budget
Components of Earth’s climate System

4. The Sun Nearly all of the energy on Earth comes from the sun
3 types of radiation:
Ultraviolet radiation (invisible, high energy)
Visible light
Infrared radiation (invisible, low energy)
Earth absorbs energy from sun

5. Earth’s Energy Budget
About 30% of energy from sun is reflected back to space by clouds, particles in atmosphere and Earth’s surface
70% is absorbed by Earth’s surface, clouds and certain gases in atmosphere

6. Earth’s Energy Budget
As Earth absorbs energy, it gains thermal energy and temperature rises
The surface then emits lower energy infrared radiation back out

7. 4 main components of Earth’s climate system
Atmosphere – gases surrounding earth
Hydrosphere - liquid water, water vapour and ice
Lithosphere - solid rock, soil, minerals (Earth’s crust )
Living things – all plants, animals, bacteria, etc.
Each of these components receive the sun’s energy, traps it, stores it, and transports it from one place to another until it all radiates back out to space

8. A. ATMOSPHERE 5 main levels: Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere

9. A. ATMOSPHERE Trophosphere This is the air we breathe:
78% nitrogen
21% oxygen
1% mix of argon, carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen and ozone
This is where weather occurs

10. Ozone – Both Good and Bad
Prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching us
The “hole” in the ozone layer
Antarctica and Arctic both have “thin” ozone layers
 Caused by CFCs – chlorofluorcarbons (pressurized spray cans, refrigerators, air conditioners)
Chlorine reacts with ozone molecules and destroys ozone layer
1987 – Montreal Protocol
governments around the world signed an agreement to stop the production and use of CFCs
success story and ozone recovering – 50 more years until original thickness?
GOOD OZONE IN STRATOSPHERE

11. Ozone – Both Good and Bad
Photochemical Smog
BAD OZONE IN TROPOSPHERE
UV RAYS + EXHAUST FROM CARS = TOXIC CHEMICALS + GROUND LEVEL OZONE
Harmful to humans health, damages buildings, affects plants and animals
Drive Clean
reduce smog-causing emissions from cars
all cars over 5 years old must be tested every two years

12. B. HYDROSPHERE Liquid water, water vapour and ice Water cycle
Factors that affect climate
Presence of large bodies of water
Presence of ocean or air currents

13. B. HYDROSPHERE
energy absorbed when water evaporates from oceans and lakes  cools it’s surroundings
Energy given off when water vapour condenses into clouds  warms surroundings

14. C. LITHOSPHERE Earth’s crust
solid rock, soil, and minerals – absorb energy
Factors that affect climate
Land formations
Height above sea level (altitude)

15. D. LIVING THINGS Plants and animals change gases in the atmosphere
photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Carbon dioxide and methane absorb infrared radiation
if amount of carbon dioxide or methane changes it affects how much radiation is absorbed

16. Part 2
A closer look at factors that affect climate

17. Recall factors that affect climate
Distance from equator (latitude)
Presence of large bodies of water and presence of ocean or air currents
Land formations
Height above sea level (altitude)

18. A.Latitude
Latitude plays a role in determining climate because energy from the sun hits the Earth’s surface at different angles
Closer to equator the sun’s rays hit more directly
Closer to poles the sun’s rays hit the earth on an angle and energy spreads across a larger area and must go through more of the atmosphere

19. B. Presence of Large Bodies of Water and Ocean and Air Currents
Climate Zones and Large Bodies of Water
Water absorbs and stores more thermal energy than land does
This water heats up and cools down slower than land does
Regions near ocean or large lake
cooler in the summer than inland because water takes a long time to warm up
warmer in the fall as the water slowly loses thermal energy
Regions downward of water get more snowfall in winter

20. B. Presence of Large Bodies of Water and Ocean and Air Currents
 Ice
2% of eath’s water is frozen
mostly at poles (Arctic Sea Ice and land-based ice sheets in Antarctic)
Also in glaciers in mountains – icebergs are glacier pieces that fell into the ocean
Permanent ice reflects more radiant energy than surfaces covered in soil, rock or vegetation
much energy is reflected – adds to coldness factor

21. C. Land Formations Land formations
clouds blow up mountains and lose their moisture as rainfall
Other side of mountain - rain shadow effect

22. D. Altitude
atmosphere pressure is lower the higher you go because there is less air above pushing down
Causes air from lower altitudes rises to higher ones – the air expands and cools down