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Climate
Factors that influence the weather
Weather
and
Climate
Climate is the long-term trend of
temperature and precipitation (rain, snow).
Weather is the day-to-day variation in
temperature and precipitation.
TEKS Obj. 4a - Explain the distribution of different types of climate
in terms of patterns of temperature, wind, and precipitation.
The climate where you live is called regional climate.
It is the average weather in a place over more than
thirty years. The acronym LAMECOWS helps you to
remember the factors influencing climate including:
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Latitude
Air Pressure
Mountain Barriers/topography
Elevation
Continental Location
Ocean currents
prevailing Wind direction
Storms
solar
radiation
One unit of
solar energy
strikes the
Earth most
directly at the
equator and
is spread over
a given area.
The same unit of energy that strikes the pole is spread
over a larger area. Consequently, the equator heats up
more than the poles.
The chief factor that determines climate is the distance
a place is from the equator in terms of Latitude. The
closer a place is to the equator, the warmer it will be.
heat
transfer
Heat in the
atmosphere is
transferred via
greater
heating of the
atmosphere over
the equator
which causes air
to expand,
become less dense and rise; as it rises it releases its
water vapor -- this is a
permanent low pressure belt
the tropics
The Antarctic Circle (not shown)
is at 23 ½° from the South Pole
or 66 ½° South latitude.
Because of the earth’s
23 ½ ° tilt, four more
imaginary lines
delineate the polar
and tropical regions:
the Arctic and
Antarctic Circles, and
the Tropics of Cancer
and Capricorn, each
at 23 ½° from their
respective poles and
the Equator.
“Lows”
ascend
“Highs”
descend
In a cyclone (low-pressure cell) air converges and
rises. In an anticyclone cell, (high pressure cell) air
descends and diverges.
low, middle, high latitudes
This diagram shows one way the Earth's surface can
be divided into regions according to latitude. It is
helpful to refer to
a place as being
in the low, middle,
or high latitudes.
Heated air that
rises from the
tropics descends
at latitudes 30°,
60°, and at the
poles.
Coriolis Effect
Figure 1: In the inertial
frame of reference
(upper part of the
picture), the black
object moves in a
straight line. However,
the observer (red dot)
who is standing in the
rotating frame of
reference (lower part of
the picture) sees the
object as following a
curved path.
prevailing winds
The Coriolis
effect means
that winds
caused by
atmospheric
highs and lows
do not move
straight northsouth, but
appear to bend
relative to the
earth’s rotation.
Text pg. 54
Climactic Zones
Hadley cells
wind
belts
The currents
in the high,
middle, and
low latitudes
produce
predictable
wind
currents that
ancient
sailors knew
well.
topography – the shape of the earth’s surface
If not for landforms and topography, the Coriolis Effect
would appear as in the diagram at left. The actual
wind directions are shown on the right side globe.
surface ocean currents
This illustration shows the circulation of the ocean's
surface water. Names of the major ocean currents are
noted with warm currents are red and cold currents
blue.
North
Atlantic
Drift
The weather in this otherwise cold climate zone, is
moderated by the effects of The North Atlantic Drift
which originates from the Gulf Stream along North
America and from the northern Sargasso Sea.
Gulf
Stream
Its effect is
sufficient to cause
certain parts of the
west of Britain and
Ireland to be an
average of several
degrees warmer
than most other
parts of those
countries.
False-color
image of the
temperature
of the Gulf
Stream
push air from ocean
Prevailing winds
currents over land
What factors
contribute to
the patterns of
heavy and light
rainfall on this
map?
Consider Wind
and Ocean
currents,
Mountain
barriers and
Continental
Location
Climate
Zones
Compare this map with the previous one showing rainfall. What
physical feature most obviously affects rainfall patterns?
Comparing marine climates
The significant difference
between climate
characteristics of Vancouver
and London, both Marine
West Coast climates, arises
from location, local
topography, and ocean
current influence.
The dry summer in
Vancouver is due in part to
subsiding, subtropical high
pressure lying to the south.
Precipitation is nearly
double that of London due to
local orographic uplift of air.
Orographic Effect
text pg. 50
Mountain ranges force moisture-laden clouds to
release precipitation as they rise up the windward side.
mapping
precipitation
Average annual
precipitation for the
state of Washington
shows that within a
distance of 250
miles, annual
precipitation totals
change from more
than 180”/yr. (deep purple) to
less than 10”/yr. (bright red).
This distribution is a direct result
of the topography of the land.
The high precipitation
totals are located on the
western side of the
Cascade mountains, while
the extremely low
precipitation totals are on
the eastern, or lee side of
the mountain range.
ocean
currents
direct rainfall
Like directors on
a globular stage,
the ocean
currents
determine where
heavy rains will
fall spreading the
equator’s heat to
all corners of the
earth.
Winds
Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure
that's higher at one place than another sets up a force
pushing from the high toward the low pressure. The
greater the difference in pressures, the stronger the
force.
Links
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http://www-class.unl.edu/geol101i/15a_climate.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect
http://pariskillton.blogspot.com/2007/04/windy.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/5818/globalwinds.html
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