Climate. Activity On your “Do Now” sheet: –Explain the difference between climate and weather.
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Transcript of Climate. Activity On your “Do Now” sheet: –Explain the difference between climate and weather.
What is climate?• Climate is the pattern
of weather that occurs in an area over many years.
• Climate determines the types of plants or animals that can survive, and it influences how people live.
Climate• Climate is
determined by averaging the weather of a region over a long period of time, such as 30 years.
Climate
1. Temperature
2. Air pressure
3. Humidity
4. Number of days of sunshine
• Scientists average these factors to determine an area’s climate
Activity
• On your “Do Now” paper:1. List the temperature and precipitation
characteristics where we live.
2. List the temperature and precipitation characteristics in Kenya.
3. List the temperature and precipitation characteristics in northern Norway.
4. List the temperature and precipitation characteristics in southern Chile.
Other factors that determine climate
• Latitude
• Landforms
• Location of lakes and oceans
• Ocean currents
Activity• On your “Do Now” sheet:–Explain how latitude affects climate in a minimum of two paragraphs.
Latitude and Climate• Regions close to the
equator receive the most solar radiation.
• Note the angle of solar radiation as the latitude increases.
• The same amount of sunlight is spread over a greater area the farther from the equator.
Latitude and Climate
• The tropics have temperatures that are always hot, except at high elevations.
Polar Zones
• Solar radiation hits these areas at a low angle, spreading energy over a large area.
• During winter these areas receive little to no solar radiation.
Temperate Zones
• Between the tropics and the polar regions are the temperate zones.
• Temperatures are moderate.
• Most of the United States is in a temperate zone.
Activity
• On your “Do Now” paper:1. Write the zone which would have the most
diverse number of animals species.
2. Write the zone which would have the most productive agriculture.
3. Write the zone which would have the least productive agriculture.
4. Write the zone which would have the least number of animals species.
Large Bodies of Water
• Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land does.
– It takes more heat to increase water temperature than it does to increase land temperature.
Large Bodies of Water
• Large bodies of water can affect the climate of coastal areas by absorbing or giving off heat.
Large Bodies of Water
• These can cause coastal regions to be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than inland areas at similar latitudes.
Lake Effect Snow
• Large bodies of water not only have an effect upon temperature but also upon rain and snowfall.
Ocean Currents• Ocean currents affect coastal
climates. Warm currents begin near the equator and flow toward higher latitudes, warming the land regions they pass.
• When the currents cool off and flow back toward the equator, they cool the air and climate of nearby land.
Ocean Currents• Question: Based upon the previous slide; where you rather swim?–California or North Carolina
Coastal Effects• Winds blowing
from the sea often are moister than blowing from land.
• Some coastal areas have wetter climates than inland areas.
Coastal Effects• Question: Why
is the amount of precipitation high on the coast, then drops inland and then rise again as shown on this map?
Amount of Sunshine
• Question: If you enjoy sunshine, where would you rather live?– The city on the
top or Seattle, Washington.
Mountains• At the same
latitude, the climate is colder in the mountains than at sea level.
• Question: Who can tell me the reason for this difference in temperature?
Mountains• When radiation from the sun is absorbed
by the Earth’s surface, its heats the land.
• Heat from the Earth then warms the atmosphere.
• Earth’s atmosphere gets thinner at higher altitudes.
• The air in the mountains has fewer molecules to absorb heat.
Rain Shadows• On the windward side
of a mountain range, air rises, cools, and drops its moisture.
• On the leeward side of a mountain range air descends, heats up, and dries the land.