Chapter 05 - Atmospheric Temperature

8/8/2019 Chapter 05 - Atmospheric Temperature

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The Physical Environment: An Introduction to Physical Geography

CHAPTER 05: Air Temperature

(Credit NOAA)

South Pole Station, Antarctica, one of the coldest places on Earth

The temperature of our atmosphere is controlled by a complex set of interactions between thebiosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Energy is constantly exchanged

between the surface and the air above, as well as circulating around the globe. Here we'll look

at what controls the air temperature at a particular place by examining radiation and energy

exchanges between the earth and air above. Then we'll examine how the global circulation of

air and water affects air temperature.


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Air Temperature Outline

y Controls over air temperatureo Radiation, sensible heat, and temperatureo Air temperature, Water bodies, and continentalityo Air temperature and air mass movement

y Global Patterns of air temperatureo Latitudinal patternso Longitudinal patterns

y Future Geographies: Global Warming and Regional Temperature Patternsy Review


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Controls over air temperature

Temperature is a measure of the heat content of a body. It is a measure of the average speed

of the random motion of molecules that comprise a substance. The air temperature at any

place is determined by (1) radiation and heat transfers between the surface and the air above,

(2) the location relative to a large body of water, and (3) the movement of vast pools of air

called air masses.

Radiation, sensible heat and temperature

The air temperature at a place is determined by the exchange of radiant energy between the

Sun, Earth, and its atmosphere. Solar radiation is theprinciple source of energyto heat the

surface. Shortwave solar radiation easily penetrates to the surface without much absorption

by the gases that comprise the atmosphere. As the sun heats the surface during the day, the

earth warms and increases its output of infra red, or longwave radiation. The gases of theatmosphere, being relatively good absorbers of longwave radiation, are warmed and

experience a rise in temperature. Thus, the immediate source of energyto heat the airis the

surface of the earth. The daily cycle of radiation and air temperature is shown inFigure AT.1.

Figure AT.1Daily Cycle ofRadiationand

Temperature

Solar radiation increases after sunrise to a maximum at noon and then decreases to a

minimum at sunset. Outgoing radiation increases after sunrise but lags somewhat behind theinsolation curve. The graph for air temperature follows the same pattern as that of outgoing

radiation. This should seem reasonable as it is the absorption of outgoing energy from thesurface that determines air temperature. The amount of time between maximum incoming

energy and maximum temperature over the day is known as the daily temperature lag.


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A similar type of lag occurs on an annual basis. The seasonal lagoftemperature is theamount of time between the highest incoming insolation and highest temperature on an

annual basis. For instance, in the midlatitudes the highest angle that the sun makes with thesurface, and thus the most intense heating, occurs around June 22nd. It isn't until about a

month later that the highest temperatures occur. The lag is often longer near a large body ofwater like the Great Lakes or the ocean. A temperature lag of two months is not uncommon

for places located near large bodies of water.

Figure AT.2Cloud effects on

radiationCourtesy NASA Earth

Observatory (Source)

Clouds have an impact on the radiation balance and air temperature of a place. Clouds can

block incoming solar radiation by reflection of their tops. Clouds also act to diffuse light as it

penetrates towards the surface. Both of these would act to cool the atmosphere. Clouds and

water vapor are good absorbers of longwave radiation emitted by the earth's surface too.You've probably noticed that the warmest evenings tend to be when we have a heavy cover ofclouds. These clouds absorb the radiation emitted by the earth and radiate it back down

toward the earth's surface, warming the air. The coldest evenings occur during cloudlessconditions. The lack of clouds in the desert creates large daily temperature ranges. During the

day, sunlight streams to the earth's surface heating it to very high temperatures. Near surfaceair temperatures are very high as a result. At night, the absence of clouds allows emitted

longwave radiation to escape to space causing the surface to cool and the air above to do soas well.

The atmosphere is also heated by the exchange of sensible heat between the surface and the

air above. Sensible heat is transferred into the air by conduction and convection. Heat is most

efficiently moved by turbulent eddies, or swirls of vertically moving air. The initial transfer isdue to the presence of a temperature gradient between the surface and the air. If the surface of

the earth is warmer than the air above, heat will be transferred upwards raising the

temperature of the air. If the air is warmer than the surface, heat will be transferred towards

the surface, thus cooling the air. The lag of temperature behind incoming radiation is also a

result of the time it takes for sensible heat to transferred upwards.


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Air Temperature, Water Bodies and Continentality

Air temperature is greatly affected by the location of a place relative to a large body of water.

The impact of continental location on weather and climate characteristics of a place is called

"continentality". Air temperature near or over bodies of water is much different from that

over land due to differences in the way water and land heat and cool. Properties that affectwater temperature are:

y Transparencyy Allocation of Q*y Ability to circulatey Specific heat

Figure AT.3 Land - Sea Contrasts

Water is a transparent medium and land is opaque. Water allows light to penetrate to depth,

leaving the surface layers cooler than they would be if the surface was opaque. A cooler

water surface results in cooler air temperatures above. When solar radiation strikes land, the

energy is absorbed in a thin layer that heats relatively rapidly. Likewise, it readily gives up its

heat to the atmosphere.

When radiant energy is absorbed by land, most of the net radiation is used for sensible heattransfer or ground heat transfer, only small amounts are used for latent heat transfer. As

sensible heat transfer into the air is the dominant heat transfer, air temperatures increase over

the land. Over water, much of the net radiation is used for evaporation. With little energyused for sensible heat transfer, air over water remains cooler than that over land.

Being a fluid, water is able to freely circulate. Surface water that has been warmed by the sun

can mix with cooler water at depth, thus keeping the body of water cool. Land can not

circulate warmer surface layers with cooler ones below, resulting in high surface

temperatures and higher air temperatures than these over water.


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Finally, the specific heat of water is higher than that of land. Specific heatis the amount ofenergy required to raise the temperature of one gram of substance through one degree

Celsius. Water has a specific heat that is five times greater than land. This means that it takesfive times more energy to heat one gram of water than one gram of land. So if adjacent land

and water receive the same amount of insolation, the water will warm much slower than land,and give up its heat much more slowly than land.

Figure AT.4Comparison of seasonal temperatures for three midlatitude sites

Combining the above differences between the heating of land and water, a few observations

can be made. First, air temperatures are usually lower over a water surface than over adjacent

land. As this cooler maritime air comes ashore, air temperatures over land will be reduced.

Because the water's temperature doesn't fluctuate as much as that of land, temperature rangesare smaller over water and coastal locations than those in the interior. Finally, seasonal

temperature lags are longer, by about a month, for coastal locations than their interior

counterparts. These temperature characteristics are shown inFigure AT.4 above. SanFrancisco, being located on the west coast of the United States, is influenced by the

moderating effect of the Pacific Ocean. Wichita is in the center of the country is controlled bythe thermal characteristics of land. Norfolk on the east coast is influenced by both the

westerly winds from the continent and the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Thusthe west coast location has the smallest temperature range (and longest seasonal lag), the

interior location has the largest temperature range and the east coast location a moderaterange.

Air Temperature and Air Mass Movement

If radiation was the only cause of temperature at a place, the daily and seasonal cycle of

temperature would be very regular and exhibit the temporal pattern discussed earlier. Themovement of large air masses across the surface can drastically change all this. The

movement of a very cold air mass into a region can drop temperatures during the day whenwe expect the highest temperatures. Or if a warm air mass streamed over us at night, we


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might experience the highest temperature of the past 24 hours during the evening hours ratherthan during the daytime.

An air mass is vast pool of air, covering thousands of square kilometers, having about the

same humidity and temperature characteristics over its horizontal extent. Air masses are

classified based on the temperature and humidity at theirsource region. Sources for air

masses may be either oceanic or continental. Those that are oceanic tend to be moist while

continental air masses are typically dry. Latitudinally, air masses form near the equator, in the

subtropical zones, "polar" regions, and the Arctic and Antarctic. Most people think of the

polar regions as those being located at the pole. For air masses, the polar source region is

approximately 60 degrees north or south latitude. Combining the type of surface and latitude

we derive a classification for the different kinds of air masses. A few are listed below andtheir geographic origin is shown in Figure AT.5. We'll deal with air masses in more detail

when we investigate weather systems.

y Maritime Tropical(mT)o Originates over the tropical oceanso

Warm and Moisty Continental Polar(cP)

o Originates over high latitude continents (about 60 degrees north)o Cold and dry

y Maritime Polar(mP)o Originates over mid to high latitude oceans.o Cool and moist

Figure AT.5 Global air mass source regions


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Influence of air masses on temperature at a place.

Figure AT.6 Air

masses affectingNorth America.

The influence that air masses have on the temperature of a place depends the location with

respect to the source of the air mass and thetrajectory of the air mass as it moves from its

source region. For instance, if one is located in the heart of an air mass source region, your

climate will be fairly uniform throughout the year. If you lived in north central Canada you

are located in the heart of the continental polar air mass (cP). You should expect temperature

to be cool to cold, and the humidity relatively low throughout much of the year. However, ifyou live in central Illinois, you will experience a much greater variation in temperature

because you are in the boundary zone between several different air masses. Two air masses inparticular influence this region, cP and mT. The cP air brings cool, dry weather while mT air

is responsible for humid and warm conditions. When these air masses collide, storms aregenerated.

Global Patterns of Air Temperature

Global patterns of air temperature are a reflection of the relative importance of the factors

discussed in the preceding sections. Isotherms, or lines connecting points of equal air

temperature are used to map the spatial pattern of temperature.

Latitudinal Patterns (north to south patterns)

The first thing to note on January and July temperature maps is the spacing and linearity (or

lack thereof) of the isotherms. Overall, isotherms in the southern hemisphere tend to be morelinear or run straight across the map. In the Northern Hemisphere the isotherms tend to be

more wavy, dipping far to the south or north depending on season and location. This patternreflects the impact of land-sea contrasts on the heating of the air. The southern hemisphere is


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a more uniform surface, mostly water. Where there is land, isotherms take sudden swingsover the surface. The northern hemisphere has much more land surface and the configuration

of the isotherms reflect it. Isotherms dip far to the south in January as cold temperaturesoccupy the continental interiors and coastal locations stay more mild being influenced by the

ocean.

The values of the isotherms validate our general conception of the distribution of world

temperatures. Low latitudes that experience the highest sun angles throughout the year have

the highest air temperatures. The highest temperatures occur in the tropical and subtropical

deserts of North Africa, Australia, and the southwestern portion of the United States. Because

the angle of the sun doesn't vary much during the year and day length is about the same,

annual temperature ranges tend to be small, on the order of only a few degrees. However,daily temperature ranges can be quite large as pointed out earlier in the chapter.

High latitude locations have much lower annual temperatures as the sun never gets directly

overhead and sun angles are quite a bit lower than those in low latitudes. However, theseasonal temperature range is large. Cold air masses penetrate south dropping air

temperatures during the winter months.D

uring the summer, warm tropical air masses streamtoward higher latitudes raising temperatures. The movement of air masses and more varied

sun angles results in larger temperature ranges than one experiences in the low latitudes.

Longitudinal Patterns (west to east patterns)

Longitudinal patterns of temperature reflect the influence of continentality and ocean

circulation. Let's examine the longitudinal temperature patterns one sees in the midlatitudes

of North America. In the mid-latitudes the prevailing wind direction is from west to east.Places located along the coast receive a constant influx of oceanic air throughout the year.

Because oceans don't change their temperature much during the year, the air above themdoesn't change much either. When the oceanic air streams on to land, temperatures tend to be

rather mild.

The changes in air temperature one experiences as you travel from west to east across amidlatitude continent largely reflect the influence of continentality. The temperature range

along the west coast of North America tends to be small due to the constant influx on oceanic

air. Temperature extremes increase as distance from the coast increases. In the interior of the

North American continent, warm air masses from the Gulf of Mexico work their way

northward, especially during the summer. During the winter, cold continental polar air

masses dominate. The great difference in the temperature of these two air masses results in a

large temperature range. Air masses moving to the east from the interior tend to be warm, but

the proximity to water keeps air temperatures mild giving east coast locations moderate

ranges of temperatures.

Table AT.1 West - East comparison of Annual Temperature Range

City January Temperature July Temperature Temperature Range

San Francisco, CA 9.6oC (49.3

oF) 16.2

oC (61.1

oF) 6.6

oC (11.8

oF)

Dodge City, KS -.4oC (31.3

oF) 26.1

oC (79

oF) 26.5

oC (47.7

oF)

Atlantic City, NJ 0oC (32

oF) 23.8

oC (74.84

oF) 23.8

oC (42.8

oF)


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Future Geographies:Global warming and Regional Temperature Patterns

An enhanced greenhouse effect caused by human activities will upset the radiation balance of

the earth system creating a variety of changes in the geography of planet Earth, the most

notable being air temperature. Temperature trends over the past 100-plus years clearly

indicate rising temperatures on all continents and over the oceans.

Figure AT.7Global and Continental Temperature Change, 1900 - 2000 . Data for the last

hundred years already show clear trends in warming for the globe and continents. (Source)

Predicting changes to the the global patterns of temperature is a challenging undertaking forscientists as they must rely on models for their forecasts. The models are numericalrepresentations based on how our earth system functions. They are limited by our

understanding of earth system processes and long-term data sets. Using a variety of models,geoscientists have forecast a range of possible scenarios. One thing is clear from their

predictions, that the amount of temperature change varies geographically.


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Figure AT.8 Projectedfuture regional patterns

of warming based onthree emissions

scenarios (low,medium, and high

growth). Source:NASA Earth

Observatory, based on

IPCC FourthAssessment Report

(2007)

Arctic regions

The arctic regions appear to be impacted the most. Observations of mean annual surface air

temperature over the past 50 years has increased 2oC to 3C in Alaska and Siberia and

decreased by 1C over southern Greenland. Mean annual surface air temperature over the

Arctic region (north of 60 latitude) is projected to increase 1.1F by 2050 and 4.4C by2100.

The Midlatitudes

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme events in midlatitude

regions like the midwest United States. A severe drought in 1988, heat waves in 1995 and1996, flooding on the Mississippi in 1993 (100 -year flood) and 2002, and numerous

tornadoes and severe thunderstorms can be expected in the future. Illinois will be becomewarmer, especially in the summer having temperatures more like present-day Oklahoma or

Arkansas Wisconsin temperatures could rise 2.7o-5.5

oC in the winter and by 4.4

o- 9.4

oC

during the summer by 2100. Extreme heat will be more common than today. SouthernOntario's winter temperatures are expected to increase by 3o

- 7oC and summer's to be 4

o-8

oC

warmer. More southerly states like Illinois will experience less warmer. Winter temperatures

are expected to increase by 2.7o-3.8

oC during the winter in Indiana while summer

temperatures are expected to increase by 4.4o

- 5.5oC. Growing seasons could be 4 to 7 weeks

longer in Wisconsin and 3 to 6 weeks longer to the south in Illinois. Under a medium -high

emissions scenario, the IPCC predicts a 3o- 4.9

oC change in statewide in California.


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Subtropical Regions

Though most geoscientists have felt that the Arctic will show the first true signs of a future

climate, dramatic changes have been recorded in subtropical regions. Recent analysis of

satellite data has found that each hemisphere's jet stream has moved poleward by about 1

degrees of latitude or 70 miles. Jet streams are found on the poleward limit of the tropicswhich means they are getting wider. Continued movement would mean the spread of

subtropical deserts like the Sahara. Regional climate predictions for southern Africa during

summer suggest a warm season increase of 2oC to 4oC over the subcontinent, with the

doubling of carbon dioxide. Current climate models project regional temperature increases

approximately 2 to 5.5oC by 2100, with an 4.5o to 8.3oC increase in the average summer heat

index for the southeastern United States.

Tropical Regions

Most model predictions indicate the smallest change to temperature will occur in tropical

latitudes. Depending on model assumptions and location, annual changes on the order of

.1o

C to 3o

C are predicted. Analysis indicates that there may be significant differences withinthe tropics, especially in Asia, depending on proximity to the sea. Warming is projected to be

least in the islands and coastal areas throughout Indonesia, the Philippines, and coastal southAsia and Indo-China and greatest inland. Even with relatively small temperatures, they can

be devastating. A 3o

Celsius rise in temperature would result in a 60 percent reduction in thearabica coffee area in Brazil, the world's largest producer.

Review

Use the links below to review and assess your learning. Start with the "Important Terms and

Concepts" to ensure you know the terminology related to the topic of the chapter andconcepts discussed. Move on to the "Review Questions" to answer critical thinking questions

about concepts and processes discussed in the chapter. Finally, test your overallunderstanding by taking the "Self-assessment quiz".

y Important Terms and Conceptsy Review Questionsy Self-assessment quiz

Chapter 05 - Atmospheric Temperature

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