Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions in a small area that can change rapidly, while climate describes long-term patterns over 100+ years in a large area that changes very slowly. Seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation relative to its orbit around the sun, which determines how direct sunlight strikes each hemisphere over the course of a year. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year when the sun's rays are most direct, while the winter solstice is the shortest day with the most indirect sunlight.

2. Weather
 Temporary behavior of atmosphere
(what’s going on at any certain time)
 Small geographic area
 Can change rapidly

3. Weather
--The study of weather is
meteorology
--Someone who studies weather
is called a meteorologist

4. Climate
 Long-term behavior of atmosphere
(100+ years)
 Large geographic area
• Very slow to change

5. Climatology
The study of Earth’s climate and the
factors that affect past, present, and
future climatic changes

6. Normals
Standard values for a
location
Average values over a
long period of time

7. What Factors Affect Weather
& Climate?
1. The Sun
2. The Water Cycle
3. The Atmosphere
4. The Ocean
5. Ice
6. Landforms (Topography)
7. Latitude and Altitude
8. Living Things

8. How Does the Sun Affect
Weather and Climate?
It warms the atmosphere & oceans
(causing wind, ocean currents,
temperature changes, etc.)
It creates climate zones
• (ie. Tropics, temperate, polar)
It keeps the water cycle going
It affects weather patterns

9. The Water Cycle
All the water on the planet is recycled in
this manner!

10. Parts of the Cycle
Evaporation—Water going
from a liquid to a gas (gains
energy from the sun)

11. Parts of the Cycle
Transpiration—evaporation of water
from/out of plants. Locate this on the
diagram!
transpiration

12. Parts of the Cycle
Condensation—Water going from a gas to a
liquid (cools or loses energy)
 When this happens in the atmosphere,
CLOUDS form.

13. Clouds by Brainpop

14. Parts of the Cycle
Precipitation—when water falls out of
the atmosphere. Forms when the water
droplets in clouds become too heavy to
stay up.

15. Precipitation
Liquid water = rain
Frozen water = snow or sleet or
hail
Rain Clip

16. The Water Cycle
WaterCycle by Brainpop
WaterCycle Advanced by Brainpop

17. The Water Cycle by Brainpop
1) What process must happen
for clouds to form?
2) What is “collection”?
3) Name one way to conserve
water.

18. How does the atmosphere affect
weather?
The atmosphere is a mixtureof gases thatsurrounds the
Earth
Has five different layers; each has differentproperties
We’lllabeltheminjustaminute…
Air Temperature and Pressure change withaltitude
(lower temperatureand less pressure as altitude
increases)
Weather occurs in thelayer closest to Earth (troposphere)

19. Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Ionosphere
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Write in the labels!
Ozone layer

20. Atmosphere: Air Masses
= body of air with a certain
temperature and moisture level
Can be warm or cold
Can contain a lot of moisture or not a
lot of moisture

21. Fronts
=places where air
masses meet
4 Types: Warm, Cold,
Occluded,Stationary
Each kindcan bring
different kinds of
weather

22. Occluded Front: Stationary Front:
Thunderstorms ahead of this front:
then weather will become cold
Severe weather:
Then weather will become
warm and humid
Less severe weather
Rain, snow, or fog for several days

24. How does Air Pressure affect weather?
How muchthe earth’satmosphere is pressing down on us
Measured witha BAROMETER
If itCHANGES, thennew weatheris on the way:
FallingAir Pressure (Low pressure)= associated with warm air rising;
stormy weather coming
Rising Air Pressure (High pressure) = associated with cold airsinking;
fair weather coming
Steady Air Pressure = nochange is coming

25. Winds
created from differences in air pressure
Moves from areas of HIGH to LOW
pressure
Greater the difference in pressure, the
FASTER the wind blows
Measured with wind vanes and
anemometers or you can estimate with
the Beaufort Wind Scale

26. Global Winds
Thousands of kilometers long;
can cause weather to move in
different directions
Examples: Jet stream,
prevailing westerlies, doldrums,
horse latitudes, trade winds

27. Global Winds
Caused by the temperature
difference in different regions
 Hot Tropical Regions—causes air
to rise
 Cold polar Regions—causes air to
sink

28. Global Winds
Also affected by Earth’s Spin
 Coriolis Effect = causes winds to
curve to the right in the N.
Hemisphere; to the left in the S.
Hemisphere

30. How does the Ocean affect weather?
Ocean currents affect thetemperature of the land they
pass by
Cold ocean currents = coolingeffect
Warm ocean currents = warmingeffect
Temperaturechangesaffectpressure – whichthencreates
WINDS
Winds blow this cooling or warming effectover the land
Ocean currents distribute heat from the equator to the
poles.
http://earth.rice.edu/MTPE/hydro/hydrosphere/topics/Ocean_Atm_Circ_ElNino.mov

31. http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/

32. Science Saurus Sections 203-204-205-206

33. How Does Ice (the Cryosphere)
Affect Weather and Climate?
Ice in the arctic is white and so it reflects almost
all of the sunlight that hits it. This reflection of
the sun is what keeps the artic regions cold
because the sun’s rays never reach the surface
to heat it.
In other words, ice (the cryosphere) keeps the
Earth from getting too warm.
Changes in snow and ice cover affect air and
surface temperatures: less ice= warmer air and
surface

34. How Does Topography Affect Weather
and Climate?
Topography
Mountain also affect climate of an area.
Since the mountains act as a barrier to air
movements and moisture (such as rain clouds),
one side of the mountain may be desert-like,
while the other receives lots of rain and is lush
with vegetation.

35. How Does Topography Affect Weather
and Climate?
Topography
Coastal Regions, areas near water, are warmer
in the winter and cooler in the summer
This is because seasonal changes affect oceans
more slowly than land.
Therefore, oceans heat up more slowly in the
summer and produce cooler temperatures.
Likewise, oceans cool down more slowly in the
winter and produce warmer temperatures.

36. Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Cancer
Arctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
66.5° N
23.5° N
23.5° S
66.5° S
0°
How Does Latitude Affect Climate?

37. Tropics
Tropics
Temperate
Polar
Polar
Temperate

38. Climate Zones
Tropics (warmest because most direct sun
rays hit here)
Most solar radiation, generally warm
Between Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer
Temperate (warm summers and cold
winters)
Between 23.5 and 66.5 North and South
Mild temperatures
Polar (coldest because receives least direct
sun rays)
66.5 North and South to the Poles
Cold Temperatures

39. How Do Living Things Affect
Weather and Climate?
Trees and other plants can actually help keep climates
cooler by providing shade and using carbon dioxide gas
from the atmosphere.
Since carbon dioxide gas is a greenhouse gas that
traps heat near the surface of the Earth, when trees,
algae, and other plants remove it from our atmosphere,
they are helping to keep our planet cooler.

40. How Do Living Things Affect
Weather and Climate?
Farm animals, microbes, and humans produce
lots of methane and carbon dioxide, both of
which are greenhouse gases.
Thus, many living things, mainly humans, are
causing climates across the globe to grow
warmer.

41. Long-Term Climatic Change
Climates change over extremely long
periods of time
Ice Ages – Periods of extensive glacial
coverage
Most recent ended
10,000 years ago
Temps dropped 5°C

42. Short-Term Climatic Change
Caused by regular
variations in
daylight, temp, and
weather patterns
Examples:
Seasons
El Nino (Warm
ocean current)

43. Why do we
have
seasons?

44. Earth’s rotation
The Earth rotates on its axis
(imaginary vertical line
around which Earth spins)
every 23 hours & 56
minutes.
One day on Earth is one
rotation of the Earth.
One Day on Earth is when
our side of the Earth faces
the sun.
Night on Earth is when the
side of Earth we are on
faces away from the sun.

45. Earth’s revolution
It takes the Earth 365.25
days (or rotations) to travel
or revolve around the Sun
once.
This is called a year.
Orbit

46. Motion Terminology
Rotation – to spin on an axis

47. Motion Terminology
Revolution – the motion of a body around
another body

48. Motion Terminology
Orbit – the path that is followed around another
body in space

49. Why do we have seasons?
The Earth’s orbit around the
sun is NOT a perfect circle. It is
an ellipse.
Seasons are not caused by
how close the Earth is to the
sun.
In fact, the Earth is closest to
the sun around January 3 and
farthest away from the sun
around July 4.
Ellipse

50. Why do we have seasons?
Seasons are the result of the
tilt of the Earth's axis.
Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5°.
This tilting is why we have
SEASONS like fall, winter,
spring, summer.
The number of daylight
hours is greater for the
hemisphere, or half of Earth,
that is tilted toward the Sun.
Seasons Interactive

51. Why do we have seasons?
Summer is warmer than winter (in each hemisphere)
because the Sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle
during summer than during winter

52. Why do we have seasons?
Also the days are much longer than the nights during
the summer.
During the winter, the Sun's rays hit the Earth at an
extreme angle, and the days are very short. These
effects are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis.

53. Seasons…in a nut shell

54. Solstices
Occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is oriented at its
extremes. Tilted the farthest or closest
Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. In the Northern
Hemisphere. It occurs on December 21 or 22 and marks the
beginning of winter.
The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. It occurs on
June 20 or 21 and marks the beginning of summer.

56. Equinoxes
A day lasts 12 hours and a
night lasts 12 hours at all
latitudes.
Equinox literally means "equal
night".
Sunlight strikes the earth most
directly at the equator.
This occurs twice a year.

57. Equinox
The vernal (spring)
equinox occurs March 20.
The autumnal (fall)
equinox occurs September
22 or 23.

58. The Earth's seasons are not caused by the
differences in the distance from the Sun
throughout the year.

59. Review
Look closely at where the Sun is hitting the Earth during
each season: