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WEATHER AND CLIMATE
CHAPTER 2 SECTION 1
WHAT IS WEATHER?
• Weather- Conditions in one place over a short period of time.
• Climate- Conditions in one place over a long period of time.
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
• The Earth’s atmosphere traps some of the heat from the sun and reflects it back to Earth much like the glass ceiling of a green house.
ROTATION VS. REVOLUTION
• Rotation – The spinning of the earth around it’s Axis.
• Revolution – The movement of the earth around the sun.
SOLSTICES VS. EQUINOX
• Solstice – June 21 and December 21. The days when the sun appears directly above the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Summer and winter.
• Equinox – March 21 and September 23. When the sun is directly over the equator. Vernal (spring) and Autumnal (fall).
DISTRIBUTING THE SUN’S HEAT
• The heat of the sun is distributed through convection.
• Warm gases rise and cooler gases fall.
• In the air, this process is called wind.
• In the water, this process is called currents.
• Due to the rotation of the earth, circular patterns are created called the Coriolis Effect.
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
• Precipitation – Water that falls from earth’s atmosphere (Rain)
• Convectional Precipitation
• Occurs in warm climates
• Produces lots of rain which helps to feed lush, tropical rainforests.
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
• Orographic Precipitation
• Warm, moist air is forced upwards over high landforms.
• As warm ocean air meets mountains, it is forced into cooler air where it condenses and rain or snow falls.
• The Air is usually dry and cool by the time it reaches the other side of the mountains creating deserts.
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
• Frontal Precipitation
• Occurs when two fronts meet.
• The warm air is forced upward by the dense cool air.
• The rising warm air cools and frontal precipitation forms.
OTHER INFLUENCES ON CLIMATE
• Nearby bodies of water
• Have milder climates since water doesn’t change temperature as much as land does
• Continental Climates – Inland areas that have more extreme temperature changes between hot and cold.
• U.S., China, Central Europe and Northern Eurasia.
• Minnesota can reach -20⁰ F in the Winter and over 100⁰ F in the summer
OTHER INFLUENCES ON CLIMATE
• Elevation
• Higher elevation has colder temperatures. That is why there is often snow on the top of mountains.
OTHER INFLUENCES ON CLIMATE
• Nearby Landforms
• Mountains, forests, and even cities can affect the temperature and climate of nearby areas.
WORLD CLIMATE REGIONS
• The Earth can be broken up into 5 types of climate regions.
• Tropical
• Dry
• Moderate
• Continental
• Polar
CHANGING CLIMATES
• Through changes in nature and human action, the worlds climates are changing.
• Many scientists call this change “Global Warming”
• The earth has cycles of climate change
• Ice Age
• Warming
• Earth’s temperature is rising
• This creates more extreme weather as the earth tries to balance this out.
• We are overdue for another ice age.