weather.climate

• Weather


  Temporary behavior of atmosphere (what's going on at any certain time) in a small geographic area that can change rapidly
• Meteorology


  The study of weather
• Meteorologist


  Someone who studies weather
• Climate


  Long-term behavior of atmosphere (100+ years) in a large geographic area that changes very slowly
• Factors that affect weather & climate

  • The Sun: latitude
  • The Water Cycle
  • The Atmosphere
  • The Ocean current
• How the Sun affects weather

  1. It warms the atmosphere & oceans

  2. It creates climate zones

  3. It keeps the water cycle going

  4. It affects weather patterns
• Latitude


  Measures the distance north or south of the equator
• The Water Cycle


  1. Evaporation - water going from liquid to gas (gains energy from sun)

  2. Transpiration - evaporation of water from/out of plants

  3. Condensation - water going from gas to liquid (cools or loses energy, forms clouds)

  4. Precipitation - water falls out of atmosphere when droplets become too heavy
• What happens when precipitation reaches the ground

  1. Runoff - flows into rivers, streams, lakes, oceans

  2. Percolation - water goes underground to form groundwater
• Precipitation


  Liquid water = rain, Frozen water = snow, sleet or hail
• Air masses


  Bodies of air with certain temperature and moisture levels, can be warm or cold, can contain a lot or little moisture
• How global winds are caused

  1. Hot tropical regions - air rises

  2. Cold polar regions - air sinks
• Humidity


  Measure of amount of moisture in air, high humidity makes climate wetter, low humidity makes it drier
• How the ocean affects weather

  Cold ocean currents have a cooling effect, warm ocean currents have a warming effect, winds blowing over cold currents are dry, winds blowing over warm currents are wetter
• Thunderstorms


  1. Lightning stroke - flow of current through air (poor conductor) from negative to positive

  2. Lightning can flow cloud to ground, cloud to cloud, ground to cloud

  3. Bright light caused by glowing air molecules heated by current

  4. Lightning follows path of least resistance (easiest way to positive)

  5. Lightning rod offers lightning easy, safe path to ground
• Tornado


  Counterclockwise column of rotating air extending from cumulonimbus cloud
• Tornado


  Effect of atmosphere on the geosphere