climate

• Weather


  Refers to the day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity in the atmosphere
• Climate


  The average of all weather conditions of an area over a long period of time
• Meteorology


  The scientific study of weather
• Climatology


  The scientific study of climate
• Factors that affect climate

  • Latitude
  • Ocean Current
  • Wind
  • Elevation
  • Relief
  • Proximity to water
• Latitude


  The geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of Earth
• Latitude


  It dictates the intensity and duration of sun exposure to Earth
• General climatic zones with respect to latitude

  • Arctic Zone
  • Tropical Zone
  • Temperate Zone
• Arctic Zone


  • Regions found at 66.5 degrees N to the North Pole, covered with permafrost
  • Examples: Antarctica, Greenland, the north of Alaska, Canada, and Russia
• Tropical Zone


  • Zones within latitudes between 5 degrees to 35 degrees, experiences a non-arid climate with an average temperature above 18 degrees Celsius, humid weather with active vertical uplift and precipitation accompanied by thunderstorms
• Temperate Zone


  • Does not experience extremes of temperature and precipitation
• Tropic of Cancer


  About 23.5 degrees north and this is where the north temperate zone located up to the Arctic Circle
• Tropic of Capricorn


  Approximately 23.5 degrees south latitude and it consists of the south temperate zone up to the Antarctic Circle
• Maritime climate


  • Strongly affected by the oceans and has fairly steady temperatures across the seasons
• Continental climate


  • Increases inland characterized by warmer summers and colder winter due to thermal inertia possessed by the land
• Maritime climate


  Less extreme than a continental climate, because the ocean moderates temperatures
• Oceans cover 71% of Earth with a capacity to absorb twice as much of the sun's radiation
• Ocean currents


  Movements of ocean water in a continuous flow, created largely by three main processes: tidal forces, wind stress, and density differences
• Main processes that make the ocean circulate

  • Tidal forces
  • Wind stress
  • Density differences
• Types of ocean circulation

  • Wind-driven
  • Thermohaline
• Wind-driven circulation


  Dominates in the upper hundred meters from the sea surface and it is forced by wind stress on the sea surface
• Thermohaline circulation


  An overturning circulation in which warm water flows poleward near the surface and is subsequently converted to cold water that sinks and flows equatorward in the interior
• Thermohaline


  Derived from "thermo" which means temperature and "haline" which refers to "salt content"
• Ocean currents


  Act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics
• Wind


  The horizontal motion of air due to pressure difference between two places
• Air


  The gaseous mixture in our atmosphere
• Wind


  It is also affected by the Coriolis effect
• Wind


  Carries heat, moisture, pollutants, and pollens in new areas
• Elevation


  Higher-altitude areas typically experience cooler temperatures, more precipitation and has strong winds compared to the areas at lower-altitude that experience warmer temperatures
• Relief


  Refers to the shape of the land's surface and it includes aspects which mean the direction in which slope faces
• Relief


  Climate can be affected by mountains because it forms a natural barrier that causes air masses to rise
• Proximity to water


  Bodies of water such as oceans, rivers, lakes, have damping effect on the swing in temperatures of coastal areas
• Land breeze


  Happens at night where land cools faster than water as does the corresponding air, in this case, the warm air over the water rises and is replaced by the cooler denser air from the land creating an offshore wind
• Sea breeze


  During daytime, land heats faster than water so the air over the land becomes warmer and less dense. It rises and is replaced by a cooler, denser air flowing from over the water
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation 


  (ENSO)
• El Niño


  warm surface current in equatorial eastern Pacific that occurs periodically around December
• Southern Oscillation


  change in atmospheric pressure over Pacific Ocean accompanying El Niño
• El Niño conditions


  ENSO warm phase
• La Niña conditions


  cool phase; opposite of El Niño