WEATHER

Which elements of weather can you pick out in the next slide? In 5 seconds or less….

Weather is simply the state of the atmosphere That means that the weather has everything to do with the atmosphere….and the atmosphere has everything to do with weather..

So to understand weather, we must understand the atmosphere

What is the atmosphere?

The atmosphere is the layer(s) of gases that surrounds the earth The atmosphere is the layer(s) of gases that surrounds the earth. It is like an invisible blanket that wraps around the planet

Another way to describe the atmosphere is like

AN OCEAN OF AIR

If the atmosphere is like an ocean of air. Where are we in that ocean? bottom…

Some gases in the atmosphere are: Nitrogen Oxygen Argon Carbon Dioxide

What do these gases make?… AIR

These gases are floating around in the atmosphere around us…

What keeps those molecules in the atmosphere What keeps those molecules in the atmosphere? Why don’t they fly off into space????

Gravity!

If gravity is holding all of this ‘sea of air’ in place, where will the atmosphere be the most dense?

Imagine that all of the atmosphere is pushing ‘down’ So, we will feel the most weight of the atmosphere closer to the earth’s……

SURFACE

Temperature is how hot or cold the atmosphere is

What determines the temperature?

The temperature of a place is affected by the amount of the sun’s rays (solar radiation) that reaches the earth’s surface

REACHES THE EARTH’S SURFACE

The earth is not warmed by the direct heating of the atmosphere by the sun’s rays

So we know that the atmosphere prevents some solar radiation (sun’s rays) from reaching the earth’s surface

So what would happen if the sun’s rays had to travel through more atmosphere?

What about if the sun’s rays were pointed at an angle?

Did you know the earth is tilted?

What happens to the sun’s rays? Look at the higher latitudes.

Look how much of the atmosphere the rays have to go through at the higher latitude