Climate.

Presentation on theme: "Climate."— Presentation transcript:

1 Climate

2 Climate Climate is the weather of a region over a long period of time.
A region’s climate remains fairly stable (does not change).

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5 Climate We determine a regions climate by assessing it temperature ranges in a year and the precipitation amounts.

6 Climate For temperature we look at the average annual temperature And
The range of monthly temperatures from lowest to highest during the year.

7 Climate A climate is considered Arid if the total precipitation is less then the total evapotranspiration. A climate is considered Humid if the total precipitation is greater then the total evapotranspiration.

8 Climate Climate Type P/Ep P-Ep in cm Humid 1.2 or > 26.7 or >
Sub-Humid 1.2 to 0.8 26.7 to 0.0 Semi-Arid 0.8 to 0.4 0.0 to -26.7 Arid 0.4 or < -26.7 or <

9 Climographs We can present this information in a climograph.

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11 Latitude At low latitudes the angles of insolation is high and the duration of insolation remains close to 12 hours of daylight throughout the year. This results in constant high temperatures.

12 Latitude At high latitudes the angles of insolation is very low with duration of insolation varying from 0 to 24 hours. This results in cold summers and very cold winters.

13 Latitude Latitude can also effect precipitation.
Areas of low pressure (warm temps) have large amounts of precipitation. Areas of high pressure (cold temps) have low amounts of precipitation.

14 Elevation Higher elevations have cooler and moist climates due to adiabatic cooling (rising air) and cloud formation. Lower elevations have warmer and dry climates due to air sinking.

15 Ocean Currents Currents moving away from the equator carry warm water to places. These warm currents will cause coastal areas to be generally warmer and wetter.

16 Ocean Currents Cold water currents move from the poles toward the equator. These currents cause coastal areas to be generally cooler and dryer.

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18 Changing Ocean Currents…
If an ocean current changes direction it can change a regions climate from hot and moist to cold and dry, or vice versa. This happens in the southern Pacific Ocean if the equatorial current changes direction.

19 http://www. bing. com/videos/search

20 El Nino

21 La Nina

22 Landform Structures Leeward Side of Mtns: This is the side of a mountain range that is “inland”. The climate will be dry and hot. Windward Side of Mtns: This is the side of the mountain range that is facing the ocean. The climate will be cool and moist.

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24 Winds The prevailing wind belts can effect the climate of a region depending on where they flow from. If blowing from water to land it will make that area wet. If originating over land you will get dry climates.

25 Closeness to Water Because water has a high specific heat it heats more slowly in the summer and cools more slowly in the winter. This has a moderating effect on areas close to water (small temp. range)

26 Continental Climates The continental climate type is marked by dry, sunny weather with low humidity. Except in the equatorial region, continental climates have large annual temperature range (hot summer and cold winter).

27 Marine Climates Marine (maritime or oceanic) climates have larger amounts of moisture and smaller temperature changes from summer to winter compared to continental climates.

28 Local Climatic Effects
Location on the windward side of large lakes can cause “lake effect snows” in winter. Lake effect snow occurs when cold dry air moves over warmer bodies of water.

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30 Large cities act a “heat islands”:
Waste heat from buildings, factories and vehicles Heating of brick and roadways Pollutants trapping heat

31 Climatic Change While climates of areas stay the same they have varied over very long periods of time. We are currently in an non-glacial period that started about 15,000 years ago. This was briefly interrupted by a general cooling from 1150 to 1460 and the Little Ice Age from about 1560 to 1860. Our climate is currently warming due to atmospheric trapping of heat.

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