What was the weather like this past weekend?

Was the weather this weekend typical of the weather we usually have at this time of year?

Is this scene typical for the mountains surrounding us?

How do climates vary across the U.S.?

What Causes Climate?

2 Major Factors Affect Climate

Temperature Precipitation

TemperatureTemperature

Factors Affecting Temperature

OThere are four of themOWhat do you think they are?

1st Factor - Latitude

Tropical Zone

O Near the equatorO Between about 23.5o north and 23.5o

southO Receives direct or nearly direct

sunlightO Warm climates

Temperate Zones

O Located between tropical & polar zonesO Summer – receives more direct sunlight - warm temperaturesO Winter – sun strikes at lower angle - cold temperatures

Polar Zones

O Sun’s rays always strike at a lower angle near the North & South polesO Poles have a cold climateO Between about 66.5o – 90o north and 66.5o – 90o

south

Latitudes Affect on Temperature

Polar

Temperate

Temperate

Tropical

Mount Kilimanjaro- Located near the Equator

What factor is responsible for the difference between the climate at the mountain top and the climate at the base?

2nd Factor - Altitude

3rd Factor – Distance from Large Bodies of Water

http://oceantoday.noaa.gov/adoptadrifter/

2 minute video clip

http://content.tutorvista.com/physics_9/content/media/052_advan_spec_heat_water.swf(click arrow to land/sea breezes)

Simulation ofLab

http://www.sciencescene.com/Environmental%20Science/Graphics/Flash%20Movies/climate_currents.swf

Click link above and then make pp small to see site

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_weather_climate/media/specific_heat.swfClick link above for simulation

4th Factor – Ocean Currents

http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp58/5803s.swf

http://www.sciencescene.com/Environmental%20Science/Graphics/Flash%20Movies/climate_currents.swf

1.To many of us, the ocean just looks like a fun way to take in some swimming or sailing, or to just take in some of the amazing views they provide from the beach, the deck of a house or the railing of a cruise ship. But to climate scientists, they mean so much more to our daily lives. The ocean, to use an expression from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, performs like a "global thermostat," taking in heat from the sun and keeping our planet's temperature in relative balance. It makes sense for oceans to be able to exert influence on such a massive scale. After all, they cover more than 70 percent of the Earth [source: NASA JPL].

2. Just like plants, oceans absorb carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby bringing down the temperature. On the other hand, the oceans also emit heat from the sunlight they absorb and increase the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. The cycle of cooling and heating is constant, helping maintain a stable temperature all around. Even cloud cover, and the cooling it provides, comes from oceans, as they emit cloud-forming water vapor.

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 affect water temperature are:

Factors Affecting Precipitation

OThere are three of them

PrecipitationPrevailing Wind

http://www.mpasd.net/cms/lib6/PA14000136/Centricity/Domain/111/Earth%20Science%20Study%20guides%20and%20worksheets/Videoclips/prevailing%20wind.swf

PrecipitationMountain Ranges

O http://bio1152.nicerweb.com/med/Vid/Discover2e/ch39a04_RainShadow.swf

PrecipitationSeasonal Winds

O Monsoons – Sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons.

The primary factors which lead to the climate of a given area include:1. Location on the earth's surface:Observation 1. The earth is round, thus regions at the equator closest to the sun obtain more direct sunlight all year round. At the poles, light hits at an angle, and energy is lost due to reflection out to space and the greater spread of energy. Thus equatorial regions have highest solar input and to an extent higher productivity (given it also has higher precipitation). Observation 2. The earth tilts. From the diagram you can see why the seasons occur. Work this out for yourself with a globe and flashlight. However the earth's tilt is not constant. Every thousands of years the earth straightens out a bit , thus the poles get less sunlight and an ice age occurs.

Seasons

The Seasons

O Result of tilted axisO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q

4_-R1vnJyw

ResourcesO http://

www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/educators/teaching_resources/activities/have_i_got_climate_science.aspx

O http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ClimateChanging/ClimateScienceInfoZone/ExploringEarthsclimate/1point1/1point1point1.aspx

O http://www.bioygeo.info/Animaciones/OceanCirc.swf

O http://www.suu.edu/faculty/colberg/hazards/weather/04_GlobalWind.html

O http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_lutgens_atmosphere_10/0,6615,3175763-,00.html