Factors That

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Factors That Affect Climate (page 5)
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Deep Space is very cold ? - 272oC
Earth is much warmer than that!
So where does the heat come from?
The Sun!
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Effect of Distance from the Sun
Mercury
1/3 as far from sun as Earth
Mean daytime temperature 350oC
Pluto
40 times as far from sun as Earth
Mean daytime temperature -230oC
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Does Earths distance from the sun vary?
yes, the orbit varies from circular to elliptical
an elliptical orbit means that the sun is closer
at some seasons than at others
this is referred to as eccentricity
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Is the earth tilted on its axis?
Yes!
Evidence?
the seasons
the Northern Hemisphere gets more solar energy in
the summer and hence it is warmer then
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Is this tilt constant?
No!
the tilt varies from 22.0o to 24.5o!
this change in tilt affect the energy arriving at
different parts of the Earth
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Does the location on a sphere affect how much
solar radiation arrives at that place?
Yes!
The closer to the Equator, the more days the sun
is directly overhead,
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But that energy is distributed over a larger area
as we move away from the Equator
The same amount of light energy comes from the sun
The result is that polar areas are cooler than
Equatorial areas
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Does the atmosphere affect climate? How can we
tell?
Well, the Earth and the Moon get the same amount
of energy from the Sun and yet
Moon temperatures
Day ? 110oC
Night ? -150oC
Earth temperatures
Day ? 24oC
Night ? 16oC
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So clearly the atmosphere has two effects
1. It keeps the earth cooler during the day
2. It keeps the earth warmer at night
How does it keep the earth cooler in the day?
The atmosphere acts as an umbrella to keep some
of the suns rays from reaching the Earth
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B
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D
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How does it keep the earth warmer at night?
The atmosphere acts like a blanket to keep heat
in.
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Does the atmosphere affect other aspects of
climate?
Winds!
What makes winds blow?
Air now cools away from warm ground
Warm, less dense air is pushed up
Cool, more dense air falls
Suns rays warm the ground
warm
Surface winds move energy around the planet
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How else do winds affect climate?
Winds push ocean currents that also move energy
around the Earth
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Volcanoes and climate
Volcanic ash rises high into the atmosphere as it
is hot
It blocks the sunlight from reaching the Earth
and so causes cooling of the climate
It may also act as a nucleus for cloud formation
and increase rainfall
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Places 1, 2 and 3 are all at the same latitude.
Yet they do not experience the same climate? Why?
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Hydrosphere and climate
The atmosphere affects climate, what about the
hydrosphere?
McGraw Hill pg 343 8- D Comparing heat
Absorption of Water and Soil