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Atmosphere
 The layer of gasses surrounding the Earth
 Held close to the Earth’s surface by
 Gravity
 How does the atmosphere help sustain life on earth?
Lithosphere
 The outer solid part of the earth, consisting of the
crust and upper mantle.
Hydrosphere
 The liquid water component of the Earth.
 It includes the oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, rivers and
streams.
Biosphere
 The living organisms and their environment.
Climate
 The usual weather conditions that occur in a particular
area.
What causes wind?
 The uneven heating and cooling of the Earth’s surface.
 What is the major source of energy for wind?
 The sun
What heats up faster land or
water?
 Land
 Why?
 The lithosphere is more dense, it is a better conductor of
energy.
What cools down faster land or
water?
 Land
 Why?
 The lithosphere is more dense, it is a better conductor of
energy.
Uneven heating causes pressure
differences
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Warmer air rises
Why?
Less dense
Would it cause a high or low pressure on the surface?
 Low
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Cooler air sinks
Why?
More dense
Would it cause a high or low pressure on the surface
 High
What type of heat energy transfer
is taking place in the atmosphere?
 Convection
 Atmospheric currents transfer heat energy around the
Earth.
Pressure differences will try to
equalize
 High pressure areas will always go to low pressure
areas.
 This movement causes air currents.
Where are great temperature
differences found on Earth?
 The poles and the equator.
Why doesn’t the wind blow from
the north all of the time?
The earth
rotates on its
axis.
The Coriolis Effect
 The apparent curvature of global winds, ocean
currents, and everything else that moves freely across
the Earth's surface.
 Video
 The curving of the global winds due to the rotation of
the Earth.
These global wind patterns
influence weather and climate
 What global wind has the greatest influence on the
weather in the U.S.?
 The Westerlies
Side note
 Winds are named from where the blow from.
These global wind patterns
influence weather and climate
 At locations 30⁰ above and below the equator where
the high pressure areas are located is where most of
the worlds deserts are found.
 High pressure (cooler air sinking) areas generally
indicate clear skies.
 At the equator where there is low pressure (warm air
rising), most of the rainforest are found.
The Jetstream
 A high narrow band of fast moving air.
The Jetstream
 Responsible for transporting weather systems that
effect us.
 Atmospheric currents transfer heat energy around the
earth.
Topography also influences climate
 Near a large body of water
 More water vapor in the air, greater chance for
precipitation.
 Near mountains
 More precipitation on the windward side of the
mountain.
 Weather is ultimately caused by temperature
differences due to variations in solar energy
input. These temperature differences cause pressure
variations in the atmosphere. The wind blows to try
and correct these imbalances in pressure. Regions of
low and high pressure moving through an area cause
changes in weather as different air masses pass by.