Geography 12 Weather and Climate Big Idea: What creates the climate of an area? We will do some work on climate controls, discuss weather, and then return to climate zones of the world

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Geography 12Weather and Climate Big Idea
What creates the climate of an area?We will do
some work on climate controls, discuss weather,
and then return to climate zones of the world

• Created by Ms. Inden

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Here is what you will learn today

• Climate is what you can expect the weather to be
  like over a long period of time
• There are several things that determine what the
  climate will be
• How far is the place from the equator?
• What season is it is the area tilted away from
  the sun?
• Are there warm or cold ocean currents nearby?
• What is the altitude (metres above sea level)?
• Is it on or near a large body of water, like the
  ocean?
• Connected to this is is it inland (continental
  or maritime)
• What are the prevailing winds in the area?

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WALPOC

• Water
• Altitude
• Latitude
• Prevailing winds
• Ocean Currents
• Contintentality

• Another way to remember this is to use the
  mnemonic, WALPOC

Lets go over them one by one
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Idea to understand

• What is the difference between weather and
  climate?

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Weather

• Weather is day-to-day
• What is happening at any moment
• Sun
• Rain
• Wind
• Snow
• Fog
• cloud

Weather tells you what to wear on a daily basis
Will I need my toque today?
http//www.bluenose2.ns.ca/Catalogue/Clothing/OhCa
nadaLongToque.html
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Climate

• Climate is what is normally expected in a place
  year after year
• What weather would you expect day after day in
  these two places and why?

http//www.circlearanchhostel.com/recgal.html
http//www.brazadv.com/brazil_tours/montane_rainfo
rest.htm
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Climate and Seasons

• In the pictures on the previous slide, we looked
  at two places where the weather is the same all
  year long the desert, and the rainforest. Very
  little changes, month to month
• In other places, like Fort St. James, we have a
  climate that changes with every season
• Think about why we have seasons, while other
  places do not more on this in a moment
• What is interesting about all this is that there
  are many different things that impact what the
  climate is in a place

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Idea The difference betweenclimate and
weatherWhat kinds of questions would we ask?

• Climate!
• How much precipitation do we usually get in a
  year can we farm here?
• How should we build this house does it need a
  strong roof to carry a lot of snow?
• Are there four seasons (spring, summer, winter
  and fall?) in this area?
• Can our town have a ski hill?

• Weather!
• What should I wear today?
• What will the roads be like today or tomorrow?
• Is it going to rain when we go camping this
  weekend?
• Do I need to wear my coat?

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The world has several climate zones or areas.
This PowerPoint is about WHY that is.
http//en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Basic_Geography/Clima
te/Global_Climate
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Why are there different climates in different
parts of the world?

• Water
• Altitude
• Latitude
• Prevailing winds
• Ocean Currents
• Contintentality

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1. Climate Control LatitudeLook at this globe

• You can see that the earth is titled a bit on its
  side (on its axis which is an imaginary line
  through the middle of the planet)

• Axis
• Go to
• http//highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072482621/s
  tudent_view0/animations.html
• Click on Chapter 8 Animations, Earths Rotation
  Axis
• If you have earphones you can listen to the audio
  of the link mentioned above
• Go To
• http//esminfo.prenhall.com/science/geoanimations/
  animations/01_EarthSun_E2.html

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The Earths tilt on its axis

• You can see that the northern part of the world -
  where we live - spends LONG HOURS in the sun at
  the beginning of the clip (summer), but only gets
  a VERY FEW hours once it is tipped away from the
  sun (winter)
• Notice that the equator gets about 12 hours of
  sun ALL YEAR ROUND, so they dont have seasons
  like ours

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Where on Earth are we?
This is the equator no real seasons in most
areas 12 hours of daylight all year.
We live way up here, far north of the equator.
We have long days in the summer and short days in
the winter. We have four very distinct seasons
because of our latitude.
http//www.jupiterimages.com/itemDetail.aspx?itemI
D23501499
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Length of time a place is exposed to the sun

• The north and south of the planet are exposed the
  sun for fewer months of the year
• The less sun, the colder it is

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Climate Control LatitudeLess time in the sun,
but also, less strength in the sun

• There is another important idea about latitude as
  a control
• Because the earth is round, and titled, the suns
  rays hit the earth at different angles
• So, you can see that at the equator, the sun
  comes straight in and heats the area more
  strongly
• North and south of the equator, the rays are
  spread out and less strong

Equator
Key term Insolation amount of sun received at
the earths surface
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Heres another picture to show how important the
idea of latitude is to climate

• See that the same amount of sun is coming in, but
  the sun is much more concentrated or strong in
  the first example
• MUCH WARMER!!

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2. Climate Control Altitude

• Altitude how high above sea level the land is
• This mountain is located in the Alps
• Why is there snow here
• But not here?

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Answer Usually, air cools as it rises

• The higher the mountain, the cooler the
  temperature at the top
• In general, for every 150 metres of rise in
  altitude, the temperature drops 1 degree Celsius
  the air becomes thinner and less able to hold
  onto heat
• Sometimes, an inversion occurs and it is warmer
  on the mountain than in the valley like happens
  at our ski hill once in a while
• http//staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/elements_of_e
  cology/chapter_3.htm

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Glaciers at the equator?

• This is a picture of a glacier located on Mount
  Kenya, in Kenya Africa
• It is located just south of the equator
• Why is it a surprise to find a glacier at the
  equator?
• What does it tell you about how altitude can
  change the climate of an area?
• The glaciers on this mountain are disappearing.
  What would cause this?

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3. Climate Control Ocean Currents

• Think about the idea that some ocean currents are
  warm and some are cold. What climate would you
  expect on a coast with warm water? What climate
  would you expect with cold water currents?
• Go to this link and look at ocean currents in the
  world.
• Find Chapter 24 Examine Global Surface Currents
  and click on it to watch
• http//www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/
  navigation/visualization.cfm
• When you put your cursor over the map, it shows
  how the wind blows. Does the wind have anything
  to do with the direction of the ocean currents?

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Heres another look
http//scripts.mit.edu/gmaze/blog/
Where are most of the cold currents? Where are
most of the warm currents? Why do you think it
is this way?
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Animation

• On the previous map, locate the Gulf Stream
  Current and the Labrador Current
• Follow this link to see them in action When you
  get there, look for The Gulf Stream animation
• http//homepages.ge.ucl.ac.uk/awayne/polar/climat
  e.html

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This is a cool way to look at ocean currents
http//blue.utb.edu/paullgj/geog3333/lectures/phys
geog.html
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Use what you know
http//scripts.mit.edu/gmaze/blog/

• Based on the information on this map and on the
  animation you watched, why is London, England a
  warmer place to live than St. Johns
  Newfoundland, Canada?

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4. Climate Control Distance from the Sea

• The climate of an area will be different if it is
  located beside the ocean, or inland, away from
  any large body of water
• Think about what you know about the climate in
  Vancouver. What is it like there?
• Think about what you know about the weather here
  in Fort St. James, which is pretty far from the
  ocean. How are they different?
• Key Terms maritime climate and continental
  climate

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Climate Control How close to the ocean?

• Places that are near water usually have a lot
  more rain or snow than places inland especially
  if the ocean current is warm
• The warm moist air blows in off the ocean and
  drops its moisture on the land in the form of
  rain and snow

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The climate of places on the ocean are usually
milder than inland

• Mild means not that hot, and not that cold!
• Places like Vancouver or Victoria that are on or
  near water, will be WARMER in winter (NOT AS
  COLD), and COLDER(NOT AS HOT) in summer.
• Hmmmmm????
• Why is that? Take a look at the next slide

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There are two ideas here that are important!

• Water takes a long time to warm up, but water
  cools down very slowly
• Land warms up quickly, and also land cools
  quickly

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Summer
The ocean heats up slowly, so summer temperatures
on the ocean are much cooler during the summer,
as cool ocean wind blows in.
The land heats up fast, so summer temperatures
away from the ocean are hot, HOT!
North America
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Winter
The ocean cools down very slowly, so the air over
it is warm, and this warm air blows into the
colder land, keeping coastal areas warmer in
winter.
The land cools down quickly, so winter
temperatures inland are COLD!
North America
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Use what you know

• Why would it be very hot in the Prairies
  (Alberta, Saskatchewan) in the summer?

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Prevailing Winds

• Air pressure and winds (caused by air pressure)
• We will take a longer look at this, and why it
  happens, but for now
• Winds off a warm ocean will bring rain
• Winds coming from the Arctic will be dry and cold
• Prevailing means the winds you can expect over
  the long term, so they can impact the kind of
  climate you expect in a certain place

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• Prevailing winds of the earth more on this to
  come

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To sum up, or review

• Climate is what you can expect the weather to be
  like over a long period of time
• There are several things that determine what the
  climate will be
• How far is the place from the equator?
• What season is it is the area tilted away from
  the sun?
• Are there warm or cold ocean currents nearby?
• What is the altitude (metres above sea level)?
• Is it on or near a large body of water, like the
  ocean?
• What are the prevailing winds?