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Meteorology , Sun, and Stars. What is it? . Meteorology: the study of atmospheric phenomena. Weather Vs. Climate. Weather: current state of the atmosphere Rainy, cold, tornado, sunny, hurricane, etc . Think: Short term….”what’s the weather like outside?”. Climate: long term variations
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What is it? Meteorology: the study of atmospheric phenomena
Weather Vs. Climate • Weather: current state of the atmosphere • Rainy, cold, tornado, sunny, hurricane, etc. • Think: Short term….”what’s the weather like outside?” • Climate: long term variations • Tropical, desert, polar, temperate. • Think: tropical, desert, polar
What causes weather and climate? • LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! • Latitude, longitude, amount of sunlight, and Earth’s rotation. • Think about where various places and ecosystems are….do hurricanes occur in Norway?
Redistribution of Earth’s heat energy The tropics and other places maintain fairly constant average temperatures because heat energy is redistributed around the world. The continual motion of air and water reallocates heat energy among Earth’s surface. Virtually everything that we consider to be weather is part of this constant redistribution of Earth’s heat energy.
Air Masses • Large body of air that takes on the characteristics of the area over which it forms. • Region where they are formed is called the SOURCE REGION • mT • A • cP • cT • mP
Global Wind Systems • Particles deflect in northern and southern hemispheres • Coriolis effect plus heat imbalence creates distinct weather patterns
Global Wind Systems ITCZ: Intertropical Convergence Zone: found along the equator, it pushes air upward , low pressure area Follows the path of the sun’s rays There’s a reason why we have tropical rainforest!
