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And you said you don’t care about the weather and climate?

And you said you don’t care about the weather and climate?. Weather = look out your window Climate = look out the same window for a loooong time. Climate comes down to two basic factors: TEMPERATURE & PRECIPITATION So let’s go… (don’t forget to bring the right gear).

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And you said you don’t care about the weather and climate?

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  1. And you said you don’t care about the weather and climate?

  2. Weather = look out your windowClimate = look out the same window for a loooong time • Climate comes down to two basic factors: • TEMPERATURE & • PRECIPITATION So let’s go… (don’t forget to bring the right gear)

  3. I do questions, you do answers • 1. What is the structure and composition of the atmosphere? • 2. How does solar energy influence the atmosphere? • 3. How does the atmosphere interact with land and oceans? • 4. How is heat transferred throughout the earth system?

  4. The Water Cycle

  5. Atmosphere Outer Space Exosphere Atmospheric Pressure Auroras & Space Shuttle Meteors Jet Planes & Ozone Weather Average sea-level pressure is 101.325 kPa (1013.25 mbar)

  6. Factmost of the atmosphere (99.9997%) is below 100 km Composition of dry atmosphere, by volume Gas Volume Nitrogen (N2) (78.084%) Oxygen (O2) (20.946%) Argon (Ar) (0.9340%) Carbon dioxide (CO2) (0.0383%) Neon (Ne) (0.001818%) Helium (He) (0.000524%) Methane (CH4) (0.0001745%) Krypton (Kr) (0.000114%) Hydrogen (H2) (0.000055%) Not included in above dry atmosphere: Water vapor (H2O) ~0.25% over full atmosphere, typically 1% to 4% near surface

  7. How to heat an atmosphere… Insolation Conduction Convection Absorption Albedo

  8. Meanwhile, the slow rotation of the earth toward the east causes the air to be deflected toward the right in the northern hemisphere and toward the left in the southern hemisphere. This deflection of the wind by the earth's rotation is known as the Coriolis effect.

  9. Atmospheric PressureWe’ll come back to this later… The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure and is defined as being precisely equal to 101.325 kPa Don’t get fancy, just watch the video. Think: tire pressure = psi atmospheric pressure = kPa fraction of 1 atm average altitude (m) (ft) 1 0 0 1/2 5,486 18,000 1/3 8,376 27,480 1/10 16,132 52,926 1/100 30,901 101,381 1/1000 48,467 159,013 1/10000 69,464 227,899 1/100000 96,282 283,076 This plastic bottle was closed at approximately 2000 m altitude, then brought back to sea level. It was crushed by air pressure.

  10. Climate RegionsVideo of Climate Regions – click here • Equatorial • Very little seasonal temperature range, no dry season, usually found at latitudes within five degrees of the equator, think rainforest • On the Equator • Desert • large diurnal and seasonal temperature range, little humidity • Anywhere in world, often in rain shadow • Continental interior • large seasonal temperature range, moderate precipitation occurs mostly in summer • The Canadian Prairies

  11. Climate Regions • Humid continental (also humid subtropical) • zone of conflict between polar and tropical air masses, variable weather patterns and a large seasonal temperature range. The seasonal temperature variance can be as great as 33° Celsius, but is typically about 15 - 22°C (60-70° Fahrenheit). • Southern Ontario, Eastern States Note: For continental climates the temperature difference between the warmest and coldest months increases as one moves further inland and away from the moderating influence of the ocean. No continental climates in Southern Hemisphere.

  12. Climate Regions • West Coast Marine • typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, narrow seasonal temperature compared to other places at a comparable latitude. Do not have the extremely dry summers of Mediterranean climates. • Vancouver, most of Europe • Mediterranean • all regions with a Mediterranean climate are near large bodies of water • Wet, cool winter, dry hot summer (due to high pressure zone) • small seasonal temperature range between the winter low and summer high • Around Mediterranean Sea, California

  13. Climate Regions • Tropical Wet/Dry • non-arid climate (but some areas in Tropics are wetter than others), all twelve months have mean temperatures above 18°C • typical in the tropics. For example, Thailand • Sub-arctic • some of the most extreme seasonal temperature variations found on the planet • (also called boreal climate) long, very cold winters, and brief, warm summers. Found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N. Not found in the Southern Hemisphere. • Yukon, Northern Canada

  14. Climate Regions • Tundra • Essentially no summer and very cold winters, little precipitation • North/South of 70 degrees

  15. Climate Controls include: • Latitude • Mountain barriers • Altitude • Continentality • Pressure systems • Ocean currents • Prevailing winds

  16. Let’s talk about the weather… • 1. Clouds • 2. Aspect • 3. Precipitation • 4. Air • 4. 1 Air Masses • 4. 2 Fronts • 4. 3 Isobars • 4. 4 ‘Breezes’

  17. 4.1 Air Masses The idea that northerly winds are cold, and southerly winds are warm (at least in the northern hemisphere) is quite common. Similarly, air that has traveled over the sea picks up moisture, while air traveling over the land is relatively dry. These simple concepts help in the understanding of air masses. Four Types of Typical Air Masses # Tropical maritime - warm and moist # Tropical continental - warm and dry # Polar maritime - cold and (fairly) moist # Polar continental - cold and dry

  18. Air masses move with: A. the prevailing winds or B. the Jet Stream The jet stream is a narrow band of air that moves around the earth at relatively high speeds. Speeds in a jet can reach close to 200 miles per hour with wind directions generally flowing from west to east. A Jet Stream generally has an altitude of 10 000m. (Think: like a river) Where air masses meet you have a front.

  19. When things travel across a spinning globe, they don't always end up where you expect. Say Cowboys QB throws a long pass, even if the ball speeds southward at 1,000 miles per hour, by the time it reaches the ground an hour later, Earth will have rotated 1/24 turn toward the East. That apparent deviation (the ball actually travels in a straight line, when seen from above) reflects the Coriolis force. Also called the Coriolis effect.

  20. Westerly Westerly Easterly * Subtropical Jet Stream is located 30° north and south of the equator. * Equatorial Jet Stream is located 7° north of the equator. * Polar-Night Jet Stream forms 60° north during the winter.

  21. 4. 2 FRONTS

  22. COLD FRONT Some of the characteristics of cold fronts include the following: * The slope of a typical cold front is 1:100 (vertical to horizontal). * Cold fronts tend to move faster than all other types of fronts. * Cold fronts tend to be associated with the most violent weather among all types of fronts. * Cold fronts tend to move the farthest while maintaining their intensity. * Cold fronts tend to be associated with cirrus well ahead of the front, strong thunderstorms along and ahead of the front, and a broad area of clouds immediately behind the front (although fast moving fronts may be mostly clear behind the front). * Cold fronts can be associated with squall lines (a line of strong thunderstorms parallel to and ahead of the front).

  23. WARM FRONT Some of the characteristics of warm fronts include the following: * The slope of a typical warm front is 1:200 (more gentle than cold fronts). * Warm fronts tend to move slowly. * Warm fronts are typically less violent than cold fronts. * Although they can trigger thunderstorms, warm fronts are more likely to be associated with large regions of gentle ascent (stratiform clouds and light to moderate continuous rain). * Warm fronts are usually preceded by cirrus first (1000 km ahead), then altostratus or altocumulus (500 km ahead), then stratus and possibly fog. * Behind the warm front, skies are relatively clear (but change gradually).

  24. DEVELOPMENT OF AN OCCLDED FRONT *Because cold fronts move faster than warm fronts, they can catch up to and overtake their related warm front. When they do, an occluded front is formed. (In North America the cold front usually forces itself under the warm front. * The weather ahead of the cold occlusion is similar to that of a warm front while that along and behind the cold occlusion is similar to that of a cold front.

  25. Let’s go see some: Fronts,fronts and more fronts and yet more fronts

  26. When I’m old enough, I’m going to the … 4.3 ISOBAR Isobars on a weather chart are lines along which the atmospheric pressure is the same. (Think contour maps) Standard patterns -isobars surrounding an area of low pressure reveals a depression, (wind in the Northern Hemisphere blows anticlockwise around its centre). -isobars surrounding a high pressure reveals an anticyclone, (winds in the Northern Hemisphere blows clockwise around its centre). Hurricane: wind direction?

  27. Anticyclone vs. Cyclone Anticyclones are formed when areas of descending air result in high pressure. They bring more stable conditions and can stay in place for days or even months. Summer anticyclones bring hot sunny days. Winter anticyclones bring cooler weather with a possibility of fog and freezing conditions. So what’s a cyclone?

  28. 4.4 BREEZES 1 Warm air over land rises 2 Sea Breeze moves inland 3 Cumuli develop aloft and move seaward 4 Upper level return land breeze 5 Cool air aloft sinks over water 6 Sea Breeze (meso-cold) Front greatest at day 1 Cool air over land sinks 2 Land Breeze moves out over water 3 Relatively warmer water heats air which then rises 4 Upper level return sea breeze 5 Cool air over land sinks

  29. Monsoon: Any wind that reverses its direction seasonally. When does India get its rain?

  30. Doldrums: a belt of very still air near the equator that stalled sailing ships. The doldrums are located between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south of the equator, bounded to the north and south by the trade winds.

  31. Precipitation Frontal (care to take a guess at the initials of the two air masses meeting here? (CMPT - rearrange these letters) Orographic (think Vancouver) C. Convectional (think Winnipeg)

  32. Aspectaspect generally refers to the direction to which a mountain slope faces, however angle of the slope must also be considered. North South

  33. 1. Clouds I have two questions: How high are they and what do they look like? GREY MOUNTAIN’S ELEVATION> 1km Latin RootTranslation cumulus heap stratus layer cirrus curl of hair nimbus rain Draw these diagrams!

  34. Microclimates:a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. For example, an urban heat islandwhere brick, concrete, and asphalt absorb the sun's energy, heat up, and reradiate that heat to the air. Remember Aspect? Why are Yukon trees always bigger in the valleys?

  35. Extreme Weather • Hurricanes • Tornadoes • Severe Storms • Blizzards, Hailstorms, Thunderstorms

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