Lesson 9A The Climate

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

LESSON A: THE CLIMATE

LEARNING TARGETS

• I CAN EXPLAIN THREE MECHANISMS OF HEAT TRANSFER IN EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE.

• I CAN EXPLAIN THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

• I CAN EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEATHER AND CLIMATE.

• I CAN IDENTIFY FOUR FACTORS THAT DETERMINE CLIMATE.

• I CAN EXPLAIN WHY DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE EARTH HAVE DIFFERENT CLIMATES.

• I CAN EXPLAIN WHAT CAUSES THE SEASONS.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• ENERGY FROM THE SUN IS TRANSFERRED IN EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE BY THREE MECHANISMS;

RADIATION, CONVECTION, AND CONDUCTION.

• RADIATION IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY AS ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES. WHEN STANDING IN

FRONT OF A FIRE, THE WARMTH YOU FEEL HAS REACHED YOU BY RADIATION.

• CONDUCTION IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY IN THE FORM OF HEAT FROM A WARMER OBJECT TO

A COLDER OBJECT WHEN THE OBJECTS ARE PLACED IN DIRECT PHYSICAL CONTACT.

• CONVECTION IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY THAT TAKES PLACE WHEN VARIATIONS IN

TEMPERATURE MOVE THE MATTER MAKING UP AIR. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LIVE IN A COLDER
CLIMATE, THE HEATING VENTS OF YOUR HOUSE ARE PROBABLY NEAR THE FLOOR, SO THAT THE
HOUSE WILL WARM AS THE AIR RISES UPWARDS.

• SOLAR ENERGY REACHES THE EARTH AS ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION, WHICH INCLUDES

VISIBLE LIGHT, INFRARED LIGHT, AND ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. OCEANS AND LAND RADIATE SOME
OF THE ENERGY THEY HAVE ABSORBED BACK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. BECAUSE OF THE DARK
COLOR OF STREETS AND PARKING LOT SURFACES, THE TEMPERATURE IN CITIES IS HIGHER
THAN THE TEMPERATURE IN THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE.

• AIR IS CONSTANTLY MOVING UPWARD, DOWNWARD, OR SIDEWAYS CAUSING EARTH’S

WEATHER. IN EARTH’S TROPOSPHERE, CURRENTS OF LESS DENSE AIR, WARMED BY THE
EARTH’S SURFACE, RISE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, AND CURRENTS OF DENSER COLD AIR SINK
TOWARD THE GROUND. AS A CURRENT OF AIR RISES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, IT BEGINS TO
COOL AND CONDENSE. THE AIR CURRENT MOVES BACK TOWARD THE EARTH’S SURFACE
UNTIL IT BECOMES WARMED, BECOMES LESS DENSE, AND BEGINS TO RISE AGAIN. THIS
CREATES ACONVECTION CURRENTTHAT MOVES AIR IN A CIRCULAR PATTERN.

• SUNLIGHT THAT PENETRATES EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE WARMS THE SURFACE AND LOWER

ATMOSPHERE OF THE EARTH. THE PROCESS IN WHICH GREENHOUSE GASSES ABSORB AND
RERADIATE INFRARED RADIATION NEAR THE EARTH IS KNOWN AS THEGREENHOUSE EFFECT.
WITHOUT THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT, THE EARTH WOULD BE TOO COLD FOR LIFE TO EXIST.

• THE GASSES IN OUR ATMOSPHERE THAT TRAP HEAT ARE CALLED GREENHOUSE GASSES. THE

MOST ABUNDANT GREENHOUSE GASSESARE WATER VAPOR, CARBON DIOXIDE, METHANE, AND
NITROUS OXIDE.

• WEATHER IS THE STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT.

• CLIMATE IS THE LONG-TERM PREVAILING WEATHER CONDITION.

• CLIMATE IS DETERMINED BY A VARIETY OF FACTORS THAT INCLUDE; LATITUDE, GLOBAL AIR

CIRCULATION PATTERNS, OCEANIC CIRCULATION PATTERNS, TOPOGRAPHY, SOLAR ACTIVITY, AND
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.

• ICECORES: AS SNOW FALLS TO EARTH, THE SNOW CARRIES SUBSTANCES THAT

ARE IN THE AIR AT THE TIME. IF SNOW FALLS IN A COLD CLIMATE WHERE IT DOES
NOT MELT, THE SNOW TURNS TO ICE BECAUSE OF THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW
ABOVE IT. THE SUBSTANCES CONTAINED IN THE SNOW SUCH AS SOOT, DUST,
VOLCANIC ASH, AND CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, ARE BURIED YEAR AFTER YEAR,
ONE LAYER ON TOP OF ANOTHER. AIR BETWEEN SNOWFLAKES AND GRAINS
BECOMES TRAPPED IN BUBBLES WHEN THE SNOW IS COMPACTED. THESE BUBBLES
OF AIR CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF THE
ATMOSPHERE OVER TIME.

Multiple Choice

________ IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY IN THE FORM OF HEAT FROM A WARMER OBJECT TO A COLDER OBJECT WHEN THE OBJECTS ARE PLACED IN DIRECT PHYSICAL CONTACT.

• Conduction
• Insulation
• Reflection
• Radiation

Multiple Choice

• _______IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY AS ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES. WHEN STANDING IN FRONT OF A FIRE, THE WARMTH YOU FEEL HAS REACHED YOU BY RADIATION.

• Radiation
• Conduction
• Convection
• Reflection

Multiple Choice

______IS THE TRANSFER OF ENERGY THAT TAKES PLACE WHEN VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE MOVE THE MATTER MAKING UP AIR. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LIVE IN A COLDER CLIMATE, THE HEATING VENTS OF YOUR HOUSE ARE PROBABLY NEAR THE FLOOR, SO THAT THE HOUSE WILL WARM AS THE AIR RISES UPWARDS.

• Convection
• Insulation
• Radiation
• Evaporation

Multiple Choice

AS A CURRENT OF AIR RISES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, IT BEGINS TO COOL AND CONDENSE. THE AIR CURRENT MOVES BACK TOWARD THE EARTH’S SURFACE UNTIL IT BECOMES WARMED, BECOMES LESS DENSE, AND BEGINS TO RISE AGAIN. THIS CREATES A ________.

• CONVECTION CURRENT
• EVAPORATION CURRENT
• CONDUCTION CURRENT
• RADIATION CURRENT

Multiple Choice

__________ INCLUDES VISIBLE LIGHT, INFRARED LIGHT, AND ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT.

• X-RAY RADIATION
• SOUND WAVES
• MICROWAVE RADIATION
• ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

Multiple Choice

AS A CURRENT OF AIR RISES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, IT BEGINS TO COOL AND CONDENSE. THE AIR CURRENT MOVES BACK TOWARD THE EARTH’S SURFACE UNTIL IT BECOMES WARMED, BECOMES LESS DENSE, AND BEGINS TO RISE AGAIN. THIS CREATES A ___________. THAT MOVES AIR IN A CIRCULAR PATTERN.

• Convection Current

• Hurricane
• Tornado
• Cyclone

Multiple Choice

THE PROCESS IN WHICH GREENHOUSE GASSES ABSORB AND RERADIATE INFRARED RADIATION NEAR THE EARTH IS KNOWN AS THE _________.

• Greenhouse Effect
• Atmospheric Heating Effect
• Climate Change Effect
• Global Warming Effect

Multiple Choice

What are the most abundant greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere ?

• Sulfur dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Nitrogen dioxide, Hydrogen sulfide, Ammonia
• Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon
• Oxygen, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon monoxide
• Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone

Multiple Choice

_____IS THE STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT.

• climate
• temperature
• precipitation
• weather

Multiple Choice

What is an Ice Core ?

• An ice core is a core sample removed from an ice sheet or glacier used to study past climate conditions.
• An ice core is a type of ice cream dessert
• An ice core is a type of rock formation
• An ice core is a type of dance move

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL CLIMATE

LATITUDE

• THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS THE DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR. THE DISTANCE FROM THE EQUATOR IS

MEASURED IN DEGREES NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR IS CALLED LATITUDE. THE EQUATOR IS AT 0
DEGREES LATITUDE. THE NORTH POLE IS 90 DEGREES NORTH. THE SOUTH POLE IS 90 DEGREES SOUTH.

• LOW LATITUDES: MORE SOLAR ENERGY FALLS ON AREAS THAT ARE NEAR THE EQUATOR THAN ON AREAS THAT

ARE CLOSER TO THE POLES. THE INCOMING SOLAR ENERGY IS CONCENTRATED ON A RELATIVELY SMALL
SURFACE AREA AT THE EQUATOR. TEMPERATURES ARE HIGH YEAR ROUND.

• HIGH LATITUDES: THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY ARRIVING AT THE SURFACE IS LOWER IN REGIONS CLOSER TO THE

POLES THAN IT IS NEAR THE EQUATOR. IN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN LATITUDES, SUNLIGHT HITS EARTH AT AN
OBLIQUE ANGLE AND SPREADS OVER A LARGER SURFACE AREA THAN IT DOES THE EQUATOR. YEARLY
AVERAGE TEMPERATURES NEAR THE POLES ARE THEREFORE LOWER THAN THEY ARE AT THE EQUATOR.

Multiple Choice

What is latitude ?

• Latitude is the distance from the North Pole to the Equator
• Latitude is the measurement of distance between two cities
• Latitude is the angle of elevation from the Equator to the North Pole
• Latitude is the distance of a location north or south of the Earth's equator, measured in degrees.

GLOBAL AIR AND WATER CIRCULATION

• THREE IMPORTANT PROPERTIES OF AIR ILLUSTRATE HOW AIR CIRCULATION AFFECTS CLIMATE. FIRST,

COLD AIR SINKS BECAUSE IT IS DENSER THAN WARM AIR. AS COLD AIR SINKS, IT COMPRESSES AND
WARMS. SECOND, WARM AIR RISES. IT EXPANDS AND COOLS AS IT RISES. THIRD, WARM AIR CAN HOLD
MORE WATER VAPOR THAN COLD AIR CAN. THEREFORE, WHEN WARM AIR COOLS, THE WATER VAPOR IT
CONTAINS MAY CONDENSE INTO LIQUID WATER TO FORM RAIN, SNOW, OR FOG. AIR MOVES FROM
AREAS OF HIGH PRESSURE TO LOW PRESSURE. THIS MOVEMENT OF AIR IS CALLED WIND.

• OCEAN CURRENTS HAVE A GREAT EFFECT ON CLIMATE BECAUSE WATER HOLDS LARGE AMOUNTS OF

ENERGY AS HEAT. THE MOVEMENT OF SURFACE OCEAN CURRENTS IS CAUSED MOSTLY BY WINDS AND
THE ROTATION OF EARTH. THESE SURFACE CURRENTS REDISTRIBUTE WARM AND COOL MASSES OF
WATER AROUND THE PLANET. SOME SURFACE CURRENTS WARM AND COOL COASTAL AREAS
YEAR-ROUND.

Multiple Choice

What is the movement of air called ?

• wind
• draft
• gust
• breeze

TOPOGRAPHY

•

Multiple Choice

What is Altitide ?

• Altitude is the measure of temperature in a specific location
• Altitude is the distance between two points on a map
• Altitude is the distance of a point above a reference point, usually the Earth's surface.
• Altitude is the depth of a point below a reference point

Multiple Choice

What is the rain shadow effect ?

• The rain shadow effect is caused by excessive rainfall on both sides of a mountain range.
• The rain shadow effect is a result of volcanic eruptions.
• The rain shadow effect occurs due to the reflection of sunlight off the mountains.
• The rain shadow effect is the phenomenon where one side of a mountain range receives heavy rainfall, while the other side, known as the rain shadow area, experiences dry conditions due to the blocking of moisture by the mountains.