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Objectives

Compare and contrast weather and climate. Analyze how imbalances in the heating of Earth’s surface create weather. Describe how air masses form. Identify five types of air masses. Section 12.1. Objectives. The Causes of Weather.

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Objectives

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  1. Compare and contrast weather and climate. Analyze how imbalances in the heating of Earth’s surface create weather. Describe how air masses form. Identify five types of air masses. Section 12.1 Objectives The Causes of Weather

  2. Air masses have different temperatures and amounts of moisture because of the uneven heating of Earth’s surface. Section 12.1 The Causes of Weather Review Vocabulary heat: transfer of thermal energy from a warmer material to a cooler material

  3. Section 12.1 The Causes of Weather New Vocabulary air mass source region weather climate

  4. Section 12.1 What is meteorology? The Causes of Weather Meteorology is the study of atmospheric phenomena. The root word of meteorologyis the Greek word meteoros, which means high in the air.

  5. Section 12.1 What is meteorology? The Causes of Weather Weather versus climate Short-term variations in atmospheric phenomena that interact and affect the environment and life on Earth are called weather. Climate is the long-term average of variations in weather for a particular area.

  6. Section 12.1 Heating Earth’s Surface The Causes of Weather Imbalanced heating One reason that temperatures may vary from location to location at a certain time of year is that Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted relative to the plane of Earth’s orbit.

  7. Section 12.1 Heating Earth’s Surface The Causes of Weather Imbalanced heating-due to Earth’s tilt. Solar radiation is unequal partly due to the changing angle of incidence of the sunlight. The greater the area covered by solar radiation, the smaller the amount of heat per unit of area.

  8. Section 12.1 Heating Earth’s Surface The Causes of Weather Thermal energy redistribution The constant movement of air and water redistributes thermal energy around the world. Weather—from thunderstorms to large-scale weather systems—is part of the constant redistribution of Earth’s thermal energy.

  9. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather An air massis a large volume of air that has the same characteristics, such as humidity and temperature, as its source region. A source regionis the area over which an air mass forms.

  10. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather Types of air masses 1.The origins of maritime tropical air are tropical bodies of water. 2.The southwestern United States and Mexico are the source regions of continental tropical air, which is hot and dry, especially in summer.

  11. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather Types of air masses 3.Maritime polarair masses form over the cold waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. 4.Continental polar air masses form over the interior of Canada and Alaska, and carry frigid air southward in the winter.

  12. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather Types of air masses 5.Earth’s ice- and snow-covered surfaces above 60 N latitude in Siberia and the Arctic Basin are the source regions of arctic air masses.

  13. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather Air mass modification When an air mass travels over land or water that has characteristics different from those of its source region, the air mass can acquire some of the characteristics of that land or water and undergo modification.

  14. Section 12.1 Air Masses The Causes of Weather Air mass modification As the cold, continental polar air moves over the warmer Great Lakes, the air gains thermal energy and moisture. This modified air cools as it is uplifted and produces lake-effect snows.

  15. 12 12.1 Section Questions Meteorology Climate is the long-term average of weather. a.true b. false

  16. 12 12.1 Section Questions Meteorology Which type of air mass forms over the North Pacific Ocean? a. arctic b.continental polar c.maritime polar d.maritime tropical

  17. 12 12.1 Section Questions Meteorology Why does Earth’s equator receive more solar energy than Earth’s poles?

  18. 12 12.1 Section Questions Meteorology Answer: Sunlight strikes Earth’s equator at a high angle throughout the entire year. Sunlight strikes Earth’s poles at a low angle throughout the entire year. The high-angle rays that strike the equator provide more energy per unit of surface area than the low-angle rays that strike the poles.

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