1. The Sun’s Effect on Weather

2. Contents The Sun’s Key Roles The Sun’s Key Roles n Effects on Earth’s weather n Moving Air: The Wind n Evaporation n Hurricanes

3. What is the Sun?? n The Sun is a star, the closest star to planet earth. n It is the largest object in the solar system, contains 99.8% of the total mass. n It is estimated to be about 4.5 billion years old. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4445502369/in/set 72157623527696147/ Let’s take a look!!

4. The Sun’s Key Roles n The sun supplies light and heat to our solar system. n The sun is the Earth’s major source of heat energy. n The Sun’s heat sustains life and controls our climate.

5. The Sun’s Key Roles n The Sun keep the temperature of most of the Earth’s surface at 51 to 49 degrees Celsius. –Most living things can only survive at 0 to 49 degrees Celsius. n Did You Know: If the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth was cut by 1/10th, the oceans would turn to ice and life on Earth would cease to exist.

6. Sun’s Effect on Weather n The Sun is a major contributor to the world’s weather. n The Sun’s heat warms the Earth’s land and water surfaces. n The Earth absorbs the heat and releases it into the atmosphere, which heats the air above, and causes moving air. n The movement of air causes winds which lead to weather changes.

7. Sun’s Effect on Weather

8. The Wind n The absorption and release of heat energy into the atmosphere results in moving air, also known as Wind. n The air moves, because the surface is unevenly heated. (some surfaces absorb heat faster than others) n With movement, the air pressure (weight of air pressing on everything around it) changes, these changes affect weather.

9. The Wind: Sea Breeze n n On a Beach: When land heats up faster than water, air above land becomes warmer than air above water. n n The warm land air rises, and is replaced by cool moving air from above the water. n n This is known as a breeze (or Sea Breeze) n n This type of air movement can happen anywhere where the surfaces are unevenly heated.

10. The Wind: Sea Breeze

11. Evaporation n One factor that affects air and weather is water vapor. –Creates Air Moisture n Evaporation is the process of changing liquid to gas. When Earth’s liquid water (oceans etc…) evaporates, it releases gas called water vapor. n Heat from the Sun speeds up evaporation

12. Evaporation n The water vapors are held in the atmosphere, as air cools, the vapors become condensation (tiny droplets of water that form clouds) n When the droplets grow larger and get too heavy, they fall back to Earth as precipitation: – rain, snow, hail, or sleet.

13. Evaporation n Water vapors in the air causes humidity. n Humidity and temperature combined causes moving air masses, which results in weather front. –Cold Front – moving mass of cool air –Warm Front – moving mass of warm air –

14. Evaporation and Air Movement Let’s take a look at this process, click on the umbrella!!!  Water vapors in the air cause humidity. Humidity and temperature combined causes moving air masses, which results in weather fronts.  A front refers to the “front or leading” edge of a moving air mass: Cold Front – leading edge of a mass of cool air Warm Front – leading edge of a mass of warm air

15. Hurricanes n Weather Fronts can lead to severe weather, such as Hurricanes. n Hurricanes are large, violent tropical storms with wind speeds greater than 117km/hr n Hurricanes begin as thunderstorms over warm water, the heat from the water, wind, and moisture help fuel the storm.

16. Hurricanes n Hurricane winds move counterclockwise, while the eye of the storm (middle) remains calm. n Let’s take a look at the movement of a hurricane. –http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=H urricane_Ike_by_3D_Weather_Globe&video_id=49 703 http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=H urricane_Ike_by_3D_Weather_Globe&video_id=49 703http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=H urricane_Ike_by_3D_Weather_Globe&video_id=49 703

17. Lesson Recap: The Sun’s Key Roles The Sun’s Key Roles n Effects on Earth’s weather n Moving Air: The Wind n Evaporation n Hurricanes

18. Online Resources n www.HurricaneK atrina.com www.HurricaneK atrina.com www.HurricaneK atrina.com n www.teachertube.com www.teachertube.com www.teachertube.com n www.Google.com www.Google.com n http://nineplanet s.org/sol.html http://nineplanet s.org/sol.html http://nineplanet s.org/sol.html n http://www.window s2universe.org/sun/ solar_atmosphere.h tml http://www.window s2universe.org/sun/ solar_atmosphere.h tml n http://www.intellica st.com/Local/WxM ap.aspx?weather=h dVisSatIRBlend http://www.intellica st.com/Local/WxM ap.aspx?weather=h dVisSatIRBlend