- Climate & Weather -
Weather influences our lives every day. It helps determine whether we carry an umbrella or put on sun block or whether our airplane is delayed. Because of weather's influence, we depend on knowing ahead of time what weather conditions to expect.
Weather is the day-to-day conditions of a particular place. It is the result of temperature differences from one place to another. The root of all weather is the Sun, which heats the Earth. On a large scale, temperature differences occur because areas closer to the equator receive more energy from the Sun than do regions closer to the poles.
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On a local scale, temperature differences can occur due to the proximity to oceans or because of the type of surface present at a location. Surfaces such as forests and ice have differing physical characteristics such as roughness, moisture content or how reflective a surface is.
The difference in surface temperature in turn causes pressure differences. A hot surface heats the air above it and the air expands and rises, lowering the air pressure. The resulting pressure change accelerates the surrounding air to move
from high to low pressure, creating wind.
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Meteorology (from the Greek words: meteoron, "high in the sky"; and logos, "knowledge")
is the study of processes that govern the Earth's atmosphere and help make weather predictions possible. Meteorologists, the scientists who specialize in this study, perform tasks ranging from making weather forecasts to studying how tornadoes and hurricanes develop.
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Each day meteorologists worldwide look at radar, various types of maps, satellite images and gather other information such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction to see what's happening across the United Sates. Meteorologists also receive information from the NWS, the National Weather Service. The NWS collects data from radar, weather balloons, and satellites from around the world to create a picture of what the weather is.
On a global scale, meteorology is study of weather patterns related to the transport of heat from the tropics to the poles. Global scale meteorology closely connects the studies of meteorology into climatology.
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Have you ever wondered why one area of the world is a desert, another a grassland, and another a rainforest?
Why are there different forests and deserts, and why are there different types of life in each area?
Climate is the condition of the atmosphere near the surface at a certain place on earth. It is the long-term weather of that area (at least 30 years). This includes the region's general pattern of weather conditions as well as the seasons, including how hot the summers are and how cold the winters are. Other areas that have to be considered are the weather extremes like hurricanes, droughts, or rainy periods. Two of the most important factors determining an area's climate are air temperature and precipitation.
Because the Earth's axis is tilted, the earth receives different amounts of direct sunlight at different times of the year. In June the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, so at any given latitude in the Northern Hemisphere sunlight falls more directly on that spot than in December. This effect causes the seasons.
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Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a long period of time. In contrast to meteorology, which studies short term weather systems lasting up to a few weeks, climatology studies the frequency and trends of those systems over much longer periods of time.
Climatologists, those who practice climatology, study both the nature of climates, local, regional or global, and the natural or human-induced factors that cause climates to change. Climatologists consider the past and can help predict future climate change. To aid in understanding different climates around the world, climate models and climate zones are used to classify climates based on their similarities.
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Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. They are used to study of the dynamics of the weather and climate system as well as to create projections of future climate.
All climate models balance, or very nearly balance, incoming energy received from the sun (day) with outgoing energy released from the earth (night). Any unbalance results in a change in the average temperature of the earth.
The most talked-about models of recent years have been those relating temperature to emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These models predict an upward trend in the surface temperature record commonly known as global warming.
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The climate of a region will determine what plants will grow there as well as what animals will inhabit it. Every place on Earth has a distinctive climate that depends on local factors such as elevation, nearby bodies of water and latitude.
To aid in the studying of different climates around the world, Climatologists classify climates based on their similarities. Climates are grouped based on the monthly and annual averages of temperature and precipitation and divides the Earth's surface into regions that generally coincided with world patterns of vegetation and soils.
Low-latitude Climates: Tropical Climates & Dry Climates; These climates are controlled by equatorial a tropical air masses.
Tropical climates are hot year-round because they are near the equator. These climates are generally in or near the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), where winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge and hot, humid air rises, causing large amounts of precipitation to fall.
Tropical Rainforest: Found near the equator, hot and wet throughout the year. Warm humid air produces rain almost daily. Covering close to 10% of Earth's land surface, tropical rain forests contain a great diversity of plant and animal life.
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Rainforest Climate - Brazil |
Tropical Savanna Climate - Tanzania |
Tropical Savanna Climate: Areas that have a dry season in winter and a wet season in the summer. Not as much humidity so you find fewer trees.
Dry climates cover about 30 percent of Earth's land surface. Dry climates occur in regions that lose more water to evaporation than they receive from precipitation.
Although many people think of deserts as hot, dry, lifeless regions of endless sand dunes, this description fits very few deserts. Deserts can be cold, especially in the winter and at night. They are home to a variety of plants and animals that have adapted to life in a dry environment. For example, some plants are good at storing water, while others have very long roots that can reach water deep under the ground. Dry climates cover close to 30% of the land on Earth.
Desert Climate: Dry areas with sparse plant life. Yearly rainfall is seldom more that 10 inches. Extremely hot during the day and cold at night. 1/5 of earth's surface
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Desert Climate - Algeria |
Steppe Climate - Mongolia |
Steppe Climate: Dry areas that often border deserts, 10 to 20 inches of rainfall per year. Vegetation includes bushes and short grasses.
Mid-latitude Climates: Climates in this zone are affected by two different air-masses. The tropical air-masses are moving towards the poles and the polar air-masses are moving towards the equator. These two air masses are in constant conflict. Either air mass may dominate the area, but neither has exclusive control.
Marine West Coast Climate: Found along western coast lines, the ocean winds produce warm summers but mild and damp winters. The winters are milder than in other areas at similar
latitudes because of the moderating effects of the nearby ocean.
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Marine West Coast Climate - Oregon, USA |
Mediterranean Climate - Italy |
Mediterranean Climate: Areas near the coast that have mild rainy winters as well as hot sunny summers, subtropical highs cause these climates to be dry. In the winter,
the subtropical highs move south, so mid-latitude storms bring rain.
Although there may be occasional frost in winter, snow is rare.
Humid Subtropical Climate: Due to high pressure and winds from nearby oceans, there are heavy thunderstorms in the summer but generally short and mild winters. Subtropical highs carry hot, humid air masses into regions
with these climates.
There may be occasional frost or snow in winter, the temperature does not
remain below freezing for long.
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Humid Subtropical Climate - Georgia, USA |
Humid Continental Climate - Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
Humid Continental Climate: More influenced by landmass than by winds or oceans. The farther north you travel in this climate region the longer the winter and more snow you will get. Temperatures can become very cold because there are no nearby bodies of water to moderate wintertime cooling of the land. Although winters may be very cold, summers can be hot and humid. Humid continental climates are found in the interiors of continents and on eastern coasts, including in the northern United States east of the Great Plains.
High-latitude Climates: Covering close to 10% of the Earth's land area Polar and arctic air masses dominate these regions. Canada and Siberia are two air-mass sources which fall into this group. A southern hemisphere counterpart to these continental centers does not exist. Air masses of arctic origin meet polar continental air masses along the 60th and 70th parallels.
Polar climates are very cold. In the winter, there is little or no daylight, and in the summer, the sun hits Earth's surface at a low angle, providing little solar energy. Much of the sunlight is reflected back out to space by snow or ice, and the little energy that is absorbed may melt snow and ice rather than raise the temperature. The vegetation of the treeless tundra consists of grasses, sedges, and mosses.
Tundra Climate: Bitterly cold winters with reduced sunlight, during the summer constant sun light but little heat and little vegetation.
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Tundra Climate - Alaska, USA |
Ice Cap Climate - Greenland |
Ice Cap Climate: Temperature averages are below freezing, so there is no vegetation all land is covered by snow and ice.
Mountainous regions: often have several different climates within a small area. For example, in the Sierra Nevada in California, the bases of the mountains are in desert, while the tops of some of the mountains are covered with snow all year. Climate varies not only with elevation but with the direction of the slope. For example, temperatures may be consistently colder on a north-facing slope than on a nearby south-facing slope.
Because it is impractical to show all of the separate climates of mountainous regions on a global map, mountainous regions are labeled as highland climates. Highland climates indicate mountainous regions in which multiple climates exist within a small area.
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Mountain / Highland Climate - Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania |
Mountain Highland Climate: In mountain areas, similar to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the climate varies with elevation. The higher the altitude the cooler the air therefore vegetation is also influenced by elevation.
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