Weather and Climate

1. Weather and Climate

2. Why is weather important in Saskatchewan? Spend 3 minutes sharing your thoughts with 1 partner. • Is climate important in Saskatchewan?

3. Climate & Weather • Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. – Mark Twain

4. Climate & Weather • Weather is a specific event or condition that happens over a period of hours or days. For example, a thunderstorm, a snowstorm, and today's temperature all describe the weather.

5. Climate & Weather • Climate refers to the average weather conditions in a place over many years (usually at least 30 years). • The climate in Saskatchewan is cold and snowy in the winter, while British Columbia’s climate is mild and rainy.

7. Climate & Weather • Weather conditions can change from one year to the next. For example, Saskatoon might have a warm winter one year and a much colder winter the next. • This kind of change is normal. But when the average pattern over many years changes, it could be a sign of climate change.

8. Climate & Weather • Climate helps you decide what clothes to buy, and weather helps you decide what clothes to wear each day. • Weather = short term Climate = long term • http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/science/earth-sci/climate-weather-sci/

9. Table Texting: • Write in the question box “The difference between weather and climate is” • Then write your opinion in the “My Response” bubble • Pass your paper to others at the table, writing replies to whatever the previous “text” said; each sheet should have things written by 4 people.

10. Climate: Weather of the Planet Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5YaTnerROY

11. Vocabulary terms • Air pressure • Water Cycle • Fronts • Humidity • Temperature • Precipitation • Hurricane • Tornado • Weather • Radiation • Absorption • Convection • Currents • Meteorology • Atmosphere • Forecast • Climate

12. The Sun provides the energy that drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents; • How does the Sun’s energy drive our weather and climate systems?

13. Energy from the Sun: Spectrum of light

14. Earth’s Radiation Budget From http://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/ceres_brochure.php?page=2

15. Time for some activities! • A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-plans-middle-school-educators/?page_id=474?&passid=36 Students examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature. • Fireproof Balloon http://www.imcpl.org/kids/blog/?p=10660 This demonstration can be used to get students to think about heat capacity. • Are Cold Liquids More Dense than Warm Liquids? http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/pdf/245900main_MeteorologyTeacherRes-Ch9.r3.pdf Verifying that warmer air is lighter than cooler air helps to take some of the abstractness out of developing a basic understanding of weather. Students examine this principal with liquids instead of gases. • Weather Stations: Winds http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/solar_system/activities/weatherStations/winds/ Students use a toaster to generate wind and discover that convection drives wind.

16. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html The solar radiation heats the surface of the Earth. Heat is transferred to air molecules that come in contact with the ground or ocean.

17. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html As the Warmer Air Rises… Cooler air is pulled in from other places Cooler air is pulled in from other places Convection

18. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Where else do we see convection?

19. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Convection current – the transfer of heat energy through a fluid due to gravity Low Pressure WIND High Pressure

20. Image from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/atmosphere/

21. Think, Pair, Share… How does a convection current work? Why do we have wind?

22. How does the Sun’s energy drive ocean currents? Image from Windows to the Universe

23. Visuals of Currents and winds • See http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669361/better-than-a-van-gogh-nasa-visualizes-all-the-worlds-ocean-currents And http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es2401/es2401page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization

24. (B) identify how global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather using weather maps that show high and low pressures and fronts; Activities: The STORM Project • Activity 5: Fronts http://www.uni.edu/storm/downloads/Level2/Fronts-5.pdf Christine’s recommendation: Use this image http://www.uni.edu/storm/wximages/images/usfronts.gif and http://www.uni.edu/storm/wximages/images/sfc_map.gifand skip questions about winds Students examine temperatures and precipitation compared to fronts. Possible addition; invite students to compare air pressure numbers (http://www.uni.edu/storm/wximages/images/pmsl.gif) to the fronts map as well. • Activity 7: Precipitation Patterns http://www.uni.edu/storm/activities/level2/act7.shtml http://www.uni.edu/storm/downloads/Level2/Precipitation%20Patterns-7.pdf Students will demonstrate the relationship between precipitation types and surface temperatures. They will use forecast maps to predict where snow or rain will fall over the next several days.

25. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html The Wind • Result of uneven heating of the Earth’s surface • causes differences in air pressure to develop (cold air near the poles, warm air near the Equator) • Molecules always move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure Image courtesy of NASA.

26. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Frontal Boundaries • Leading edge of an air mass • 4 kinds of fronts: • Cold front • Warm front • Stationary front • Occluded front front boundary Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thunderstorm_with_lead_gust_front_-_NOAA.jpg

27. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Weather Terms/Symbols • Cold Front: mass of cold air moving into area of warmer air • Warm Front: mass of warm air moving into area of cooler air • Stationary Front: masses of cold & warm air meet from opposite directions and stop moving • Occluded Front: mass of cold air overtakes mass of warm air moving in same direction

28. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Cold Front • mass of cold air moving into area of warmer air • cold air forces warm air up & over the cold air; often creating storms Image courtesy of http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/?n=education-airmasses

29. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Warm Front • mass of warm air moving into area of cooler air • As front enters, rain showers, then light rain, then clearing and warmer Image courtesy of http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/?n=education-airmasses

30. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Stationary Fronts • air masses are not moving against each other • forms when a cold front or warm front stops moving • may stay put for days • often cloudy with rain or snow Image from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/stat_front.html

31. REVIEWING: Slides from http://greenslime.info/notes.html Occluded Fronts • forms when a cold air mass overtakes a warm front • Light to moderate rain before and during • Clearing and cooler after Image courtesy of the http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tstorm/occl_front.html

32. (C) identify the role of the oceans in the formation of weather systems such as hurricanes. Activity: Hurricanes As Heat Engines http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/lesson-plans/lesson-plans-middle-school-educators/?page_id=474?&passid=50 Students examine authentic sea surface temperature data to explore how hurricanes extract heat energy from the ocean surface

33. Oceans Show movie • http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011056/The_OCEAN.mov