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Climate
Notes Part 7
What is the difference
between weather and climate?
• Weather is the condition of the
atmosphere at a specific place and time
• Climate is the average weather
conditions of a geographic region
(determined by weather over years)
• Climate is what we expect to happen,
weather is what we get.
What two components of weather
are used to describe climates?
•
Temperature and
Precipitation
•
And how they vary over time
How is heat transferred
by conduction, convection
and radiation on Earth?
3. Through convection the
warm air rises and is
replaced by cool air, the
warm air cools and sinks
back to the surface
1. Radiant energy from
the sun heats the
surface of Earth
2. Through conduction Earth
heats the air in contact with it
Which earthly materials heat
up fastest?
• Land heats up and cools faster than water
What does differential heating
and cooling of Earth cause?
• Wind; Because land heats up faster the
air will warm up and rise, the cooler air
moves in to replace it.
Climate
Notes Part 8
Describe the factors that
affect the climate of a region?
1. LATITUDE - Latitude determines the amount of solar
radiation a region receives; the higher the latitude
the smaller the angle at which the sun’s rays hit
Earth and the smaller the amount of solar radiation
2. WATER - Because land heats up and cools down
faster than water, being close to large bodies of
water will cause less drastic changes in yearly
temperatures.
3. ELEVATION – The temperature drops as elevation
increases. Also, mountains cause air to rise rapidly
and lose its moisture through precipitation. As a
result, the air flowing down the other side is usually
warm and dry.
How do the global winds control the global
distribution of rainforests and deserts.
• Near the equator, air warms,
rises and cools, and water
vapor condenses.
• Most rainforests are located
in these areas because they
usually have large amounts of
precipitation.
• In other areas where cool air
is sinking, the air is cool and
dry.
• Most of the world’s deserts
are located here because of
the lack of precipitation.
Explain how interactions between the
oceans and the atmosphere
influence global and regional
climate.
• Winds cause ocean currents
• Ocean currents distribute energy
from the Equator toward the poles
• Warm ocean currents can give
northerly latitudes higher
temperatures
Explain the differences between
maritime and continental climates
with regard to oceanic currents.
• Warm ocean currents bring large amounts of
precipitation to the coastlines of continents, which
causes an abundance of plant life
• the water holds onto heat longer so the land near it
does not experience a wide range of temperatures
• Because the land cools faster and is
heated faster than water, continental
climates have larger day-night and
summer-winter temperature ranges.
Explain why city climates may
differ from rural climates.
• City climates have
surfaces, such as
pavement and
buildings, that
absorb and
reradiate large
amounts of heat, so
temperatures may
be several degrees
warmer than in
surrounding rural
areas.