1. Weather and Climate Notes Part 6

2. Identify factors affecting seawater density and salinity. When water becomes colder and when it has a high salinity it becomes denser When ocean water evaporates or freezes only water molecules are removed dissolved solids remain so the salinity increases.

4. Surface Salinity of Oceans

5. Describe how density affects oceanic layering and currents Cold, saline, dense water at the poles sinks and flows beneath warmer water toward the equator as deep currents

7. What causes a thermocline to exist? Warm water near the surface is less dense than the colder water that is below. The warm water does not mix easily with the cold, dense water. The thermocline marks the separation between the less dense warm water and the dense cold water.

8. What causes ocean water to become denser? Ocean water becomes denser as it becomes colder and less dense as it becomes warmer. Also, the more salt is in the water, the denser the water.

9. What are surface currents and how are they controlled? Surface currents are horizontal movement of ocean water They are caused by wind that occurs at or near the ocean surface.

10. What causes ocean currents to be deflected and curved? Land masses such as continents. Due to the earths rotation, the ocean currents are deflected or curved to the right of their initial direction. This is called the Coriolis Effect.

11. What causes the deep ocean currents? When cold, dense water sinks and flows beneath warmer ocean water

12. Explain the process of upwelling. Upwelling is a process that brings deep, cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface. Winds that blow parallel to the coastline cause surface waters to move offshore. Deep water then moves upward to replace the coastal surface water.

13. Climate Notes Part 7

14. What is the difference between weather and climate? Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a specific place and time Climate is the average weather conditions of a geographic region (determined by weather over years) Climate is what we expect to happen, weather is what we get.

15. What two components of weather are used to describe climates? Temperature and Precipitation And how they vary over time

16. Convection The motion or movement of large groups of molecules based on their relative densities or temperatures. (Warm air rises-less dense- and cool air moves in to replace it.)

17. Conduction Conduction is the direct transfer of energy through direct contact between atoms.

18. Radiation The method by which the sun's energy reaches the earth in waves. All objects radiate: hotter ones radiate more. Two objects at the same temperature, and the same size do not radiate the same amount of heat.

19. How is heat transferred by conduction, convection and radiation on Earth? Radiant energy from the sun heats the surface of Earth Through conduction Earth heats the air in contact with it Through convection the warm air rises and is replaced by cool air, the warm air cools and sinks back to the surface

20. Which earthly materials heat up fastest? Land heats up and cools faster than water

21. What does differential heating and cooling of Earth cause? Wind; Because land heats up faster the air will warm up and rise, the cooler air moves in to replace it.

22. Climate Notes Part 8

24. Describe the factors that affect the climate of a region? 1.LATITUDE - Latitude determines the amount of solar radiation a region receives; the higher the latitude the smaller the angle at which the sun’s rays hit Earth and the smaller the amount of solar radiation 2.WATER - Because land heats up and cools down faster than water, being close to large bodies of water will cause less drastic changes in yearly temperatures. 3.ELEVATION – The temperature drops as elevation increases. Also, mountains cause air to rise rapidly and lose its moisture through precipitation. As a result, the air flowing down the other side is usually warm and dry.

25. How do the global winds control the global distribution of rainforests and deserts. Near the equator, air warms, rises and cools, and water vapor condenses. Most rainforests are located is these areas because they usually have large amounts of precipitation. In other areas where cool air is sinking, the air is cool and dry. Most of the world’s deserts are located here because of the lack of precipitation.