Chapter 4: Weather & Climate
• Defining weather & climate• Controls of weather & climate
– Solar energy/latitude– Land and water distribution– Landform barriers– Atmospheric pressure– Wind systems– Elevation
• California’s Seasonal Changes• California’s Climate Zones• Climographs
Distribution of solar energy annually
The differential heating of land and water
• Landform barriers and weather; orographic precipitation
• Pressure and stability/instability
• Global pressure and wind system
• Upper Level Inversion
What is Smog?
• Ozone (O3) - invisible, irritates, impairs breathing
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) - brown, impairs breathing
• Carbon Monoxide (CO) - invisible, reduces bloods oxygen
• Particulate Matter under 10 microns (PM10) - invades deep into lungs, reduces visibility
Ozone Formation
• product of solar energy and photochemical reactions.
• highest concentrations occur when sunlight is most intense.
• reaches peak levels during the middle of the day in the summer months.
• these types of air pollution patterns are called diurnal and seasonal variations
Ozone• one of the most important air
pollutants affecting human health.• Ozone (O3) is a molecule built of three
atoms of oxygen linked together in a very energetic combination.
• comes into contact with a surface it rapidly releases this extra force in the form of chemical energy.
• When this happens in biological systems, respiratory tract, can cause damage to sensitive tissues.
AQI 0-50 Good51-100 Moderate 101-150 Unhealthy for sensitive
groups151-200 Unhealthy200+ Very Unhealthy
• California Summer– East Pacific (Hawaiian) High– California Current, Advection Fog– Catalina Eddy– Summer Storms
• California Autumn– Weakening of Pacific High– Interior Cooling– Winds
• California Winter– Aleutian Low, Mid-Latitude Cyclones– Variability– Radiation Fog
• California Spring– Interior heating– Pacific High strengthening
• BSh—semi-arid, hot summer Csa—Mediterranean, hot summer
• BWh—arid, hot summer Csb—Mediterranean, mild summer
• Csbn—Mediterranean, cool summer w/fog
• World’s Mediterranean Climates
• World’s Deserts