Warm-up: 9/2/ What is the difference between weather and climate? 2.What is the climate of the United States? 3.What is the climate of Texas? Factors That Affect Climate Weather vs. Climate Creating Seasons LAME COWS Weather vs. Climate Weather condition of the atmosphere in one place during a short period of time. Climate weather patterns typical for an area over a long period of time. Creating Seasons Revolution Orbit around the sun Rotation Earth rotates on its axis - 24 hours from west to east. Axial Tilt Earth is tilted at 23 differing the amount of sunlight throughout the year. Creating Seasons Equinox March 21 and September 23, suns rays on the equator. Spring and Fall Solstice June 21, north hemisphere receives the most sun, Dec 22 Southern hemisphere receives most sun. Summer and Winter. Creating Seasons Eight Factors That Affect Climate L atitude A ir Pressure M ountain Barriers E levation C ontinental Location O cean Currents W ind Currents S torms L atitude Major change to climate Change as you move North to South Equator = direct rays = hot Poles = indirect rays = cold A ir Pressure the force on a surface by the weight of the air above it Caused by unequal distribution of earths heat. LP = warm, moist air rises forms clouds storms. HP = cold dry air sinks stable and clear. M ountain Barriers a.k.a. - Orographic Precipitation a.k.a. Rain Shadow Effect Windward side Warm, moist air up windward side cool moist air drops precipitation Leeward side Warm dry air down leeward side little to no rain. E levation How far above sea level you are. Every 1,000 feet temperature changes 3.5F. C ontinental Location Water heats and cools more slowly than land. Coastline areas have stable temperature. Interiors of continent have extreme temperature changes. O cean Currents Warm-water currents - equator to the poles. Cold water currents - poles to the equator. Coriolis effect The currents circular patterns are opposite of one another due to the Earths rotation. Northern Hemisphere clockwise Southern Hemisphere counter clockwise. W ind Currents Air in high pressure rushes into areas of low pressure this causes wind. Helps to distribute earths heat. Coriolis effect S torms Clashes between warm and cold air masses Hurricanes tropical storms moving heat from tropics. Tornadoes powerful funnel shaped spiraling air. Assignment Read page 58 in your textbook, section titled The Greenhouse Effect. (total of 6 paragraphs) Answer the following questions, Why is the earths atmosphere referred to as being like a greenhouse? What human activities have caused there to be high levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere?