1. Warm-up: 9/2/2015 1.What is the difference between weather and climate? 2.What is the climate of the United States? 3.What is the climate of Texas?

2. Factors That Affect Climate Weather vs. Climate Creating Seasons LAME COWS

3. Weather vs. Climate  Weather –condition of the atmosphere in one place during a short period of time.  Climate –weather patterns typical for an area over a long period of time.

4. Creating Seasons  Revolution –Orbit around the sun  Rotation –Earth rotates on its axis - 24 hours – from west to east.  Axial Tilt –Earth is tilted at 23 ½ ° differing the amount of sunlight throughout the year.

5. Creating Seasons  Equinox –March 21 and September 23, suns rays on the equator. Spring and Fall  Solstice –June 21, north hemisphere receives the most sun, Dec 22 Southern hemisphere receives most sun. Summer and Winter.

6. Creating Seasons

7. Eight Factors That Affect Climate L atitude A ir Pressure M ountain Barriers E levation C ontinental Location O cean Currents W ind Currents S torms

8. L atitude  Major change to climate  Change as you move North to South  Equator = direct rays = hot  Poles = indirect rays = cold

9. A ir Pressure   the force on a surface by the weight of the air above it  Caused by unequal distribution of earths heat.  LP = warm, moist air rises → forms clouds → storms.  HP = cold dry air → sinks → stable and clear.

10. M ountain Barriers  a.k.a. - Orographic Precipitation  a.k.a. – Rain Shadow Effect  Windward side –Warm, moist air → up windward side → cool moist air drops precipitation  Leeward side –Warm dry air → down leeward side → little to no rain.

11. E levation  How far above sea level you are.  Every 1,000 feet temperature changes 3.5°F.

12. C ontinental Location  Water heats and cools more slowly than land.  Coastline areas have stable temperature.  Interiors of continent have extreme temperature changes.

13. O cean Currents  Warm-water currents - equator to the poles.  Cold water currents - poles to the equator.  Coriolis effect – The currents circular patterns are opposite of one another due to the Earth’s rotation. –Northern Hemisphere – clockwise –Southern Hemisphere – counter clockwise.

14. W ind Currents  Air in high pressure rushes into areas of low pressure – this causes wind.  Helps to distribute earth’s heat.  Coriolis effect

15. S torms  Clashes between warm and cold air masses –Hurricanes – tropical storms moving heat from tropics. –Tornadoes – powerful funnel shaped spiraling air.

16. Assignment  Read page 58 in your textbook, section titled “The Greenhouse Effect”. (total of 6 paragraphs) –Answer the following questions,  Why is the earth’s atmosphere referred to as being like a greenhouse?  What human activities have caused there to be high levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere?