Download Climate Controls PowerPoint Word Notes document

Geography 12
Weather and Climate Climate Controls
Big Idea: What creates the climate of an area?
We will do some work on climate controls, discuss weather, and
then return to climate zones of the world
Here is what you will learn today:
•Climate is what you can expect the weather to be like over a
lo
•There are several things that determine what the climate will
be:
–How far is the place
?
–What
is it – is the area
away from the sun?
–Are there
ocean currents nearby?
–What is the
(metres above sea level)?
–Is it on or near
, like
the ocean?
–Connected to this is – is it inland (
)
–What are the
winds in the area?
WALPOC
•Water
•Altitude
•Latitude
•Prevailing winds
•Ocean Currents
•Contintentality
•Another way to remember this is to use the mnemonic,
Idea to understand:
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather
•Weather is
•What is happening at any moment
–Sun
–Rain
–Wind
–Snow
–Fog
–cloud
Climate
•Climate is what is normally
after year
•What weather would you expect day after day in these two
places and why?
Climate and Seasons
•In the pictures on the previous slide, we looked at two places
where the weather is the same all year long – the desert, and
the rainforest. Very little changes, month to month
•In other places, like Fort St. James, we have a climate that
changes with every season
•Think about why we have seasons, while other places do
not… more on this in a moment
•What is interesting about all this is that there are many
different
in a place
Idea: The difference between
climate and weather
What kinds of questions would we ask?
•Climate!
–How much precipitation do we usually get in a year – can we
farm here?
–How should we build this house – does it need a strong roof to
carry a lot of snow?
–Are there four seasons (spring, summer, winter and fall?) in this
area?
–Can our town have a ski hill?
•Weather!
–What
should I wear today?
–What will the roads be like today or tomorrow?
–Is it going to rain when we go camping this weekend?
–Do I need to wear my coat?
The world has several climate zones or areas. This PowerPoint is
about WHY that is.
Why are there different climates in different parts of the world?
•Water
•Altitude
•Latitude
•Prevailing winds
•Ocean Currents
•Contintentality
•
1. Climate Control: Latitude
Look at this globe
•You can see that the earth is titled
(on its
– which is an imaginary line through
the middle of the planet)
The Earth’s tilt on its axis
•You can see that the northern part of the world - where we
live - spends
at the
beginning of the clip (summer), but only gets a
hours once it is tipped away from the sun
(winter)
•Notice that the equator gets about
ROUND, so they don’t have seasons
like ours
Where on Earth are we?
Length of time a place is exposed to the sun
•The north and south of the planet are exposed the sun for
fewer months of the year
•The less sun,
Climate Control: Latitude
Less time in the sun, but also,
in the sun
Here’s another picture to show how important the idea of
latitude is to climate
•See that the
of sun is coming in, but
the sun is much more
in the first example
•MUCH WARMER!!
Key term:
at the earth’s surface
2. Climate Control: Altitude
•Altitude –
•This mountain is located in the Alps
•Why is there snow here…
•But not here?
: amount of sun received
the land is
Answer: Usually, air cools as it rises
•The higher the mountain, the cooler the temperature at the
top
•In general, for every
, the temperature drops 1 degree Celsius – the air
becomes
heat
•Sometimes, an inversion occurs and it is warmer on the
mountain than in the valley – like happens at our ski hill once in
a while
http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/elements_of_ecology/chap
ter_3.htm
Glaciers at the equator?
•This is a picture of a glacier located on Mount Kenya, in Kenya
Africa
•It is located just south of the equator
•Why is it a surprise to find a glacier at the equator?
•
•What
does it tell you about how altitude can change the
climate of an area?
•The glaciers on this mountain are disappearing. What would
cause this?
•
3. Climate Control: Ocean Currents
•Think about the idea that some ocean currents are warm and
some are cold. What climate would you expect on a coast
with warm water? What climate would you expect with cold
water currents?
•Go to this link and look at ocean currents in the world.
–Find Chapter 24: Examine Global Surface Currents and click
on it to watch
•http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigat
ion/visualization.cfm
–When you put your cursor over the map, it shows how the wind
blows. Does the wind have anything to do with the direction of
the ocean currents?
Here’s another look
Animation
•On the previous map, locate the Gulf Stream Current and the
Labrador Current
•Follow this link to see them in action – When you get there,
look for The Gulf Stream animation
•http://homepages.ge.ucl.ac.uk/~awayne/polar/climate.html
•Based on the information on this map and on the animation
you watched, why is London, England a warmer place to live
than St. John’s Newfoundland, Canada?
•
4. Climate Control: Distance from the Sea
•The climate of an area will be d
, away from
any large body of water
•Think about what you know about the climate in Vancouver.
What is it like there?
•Think about what you know about the weather here in Fort St.
James, which is pretty far from the ocean. How are they
different?
•Key Terms:
climate and
climate
Climate Control: How close to the ocean?
•Places that are near water usually have a lot more rain or
snow than places inland – especially
is warm
•The warm moist air blows in off the ocean and drops its
moisture on the land in the form of rain and snow
The climate of places on the ocean
than inland
•Mild means
cold!
•Places like Vancouver or Victoria that are on or near water,
will be WARMER in winter (NOT AS COLD), and COLDER(NOT AS
HOT) in summer.
•Hmmmmm????
•Why is that? Take a look at the next slide
There are two ideas here that are important!
•Water takes
, but
water cools down very slowly
•Land
, and also land cools
quickly
Use what you know:
•Why would it be very hot in the Prairies (Alberta,
Saskatchewan) in the summer?
Prevailing Winds
•Air pressure and winds (caused by air pressure)
•We will take a longer look at this, and why it happens, but for
now:
•Winds off a warm ocean will bring rain
•Winds coming from the Arctic will be dry and cold
•Prevailing means the winds
term, so they can impact the kind of climate you
expect in a certain place
•Prevailing winds of the earth – more on this to come
To sum up, or review:
•Climate is what you can expect the weather to be like over a
long period of time
•There are several things that determine what the climate will
be:
–How
the equator?
–What
is it – is the area tilted away from the
sun?
–Are there
currents
nearby?
–What is the
(metres above sea
level)?
–Is it on or near a
, like the
ocean?
–What are the
winds?