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Understanding Climate Influencing Factors: Latitude, Winds, and Ocean Currents

This content explores the various factors that influence a region's climate, including latitude, atmospheric circulation cells, and ocean currents. Key concepts include the impact of global wind belts, the role of proximity to large water bodies, and the effect of altitude. It illustrates how latitude affects solar energy received, how the Intertropical Convergence Zone and other wind belts shape weather patterns, and how ocean currents regulate coastal temperatures. Additionally, it examines the significance of continental versus maritime climates and the rain shadow effect caused by mountains.

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Understanding Climate Influencing Factors: Latitude, Winds, and Ocean Currents

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Presentation Transcript

  1. 17.1 Climate and its causes

  2. Learning Targets • Describe the effect of latitude on climate • Diagram the Hadley, Ferrell, and Polar atmospheric circulation cells and show how they influence the climate of various locations • Discuss position in the global wind belts, proximity to a large water body, position relative to a mountain range

  3. Climate • Climate is the long-term average of weather • Weather is unpredictable • Climate is predictable

  4. Climate • Factors influencing region’s climate: • Latitude • Three Global Wind Belts • Prevailing Winds • Continental Position • Ocean Currents • Altitude

  5. Factor # 1 - Latitude • The main factor influencing region’s climate • Low latitude = high solar energy • Equator • Sun directly overhead; equal night and day • High latitude = low solar energy • Poles • Sun at low angle; long days, long nights • High albedo

  6. Factor # 2 – Global Wind Belts #1 • ITCZ – Intertropical Convergence Zone • Low Pressure boundary between two Hadley Cells, lots of precipitation. • Equator 00 - Doldrums

  7. Factor # 2 – Global Wind Belt #2 • Hadley and Ferrell Cell Boundary • High Pressure – sinking cold air causing evaporation • Horse latitudes - 300 N/S

  8. Factor # 2 – Global Wind Belt #3 • Ferrell and Polar Cell Boundary • Polar jet stream – cold air from poles meet warmer air from tropics, very stormy • 500 to 600N/S latitude

  9. Factor # 3 - Prevailing Winds • Global wind belts create H and L zones • Bring weather from locations they come from • H  Dry • Cold air descending causes evaporation • L  Wet • Warm air rising and losing its water

  10. Factor # 4 - Continental Position • Water regulates air temperature • Higher specific heat than land • Maritime climate – influenced by nearby large body of water • Less extreme • Continental climate – greater temperature differences between day/night & summer/winter • More extreme

  11. Factor # 5 - Ocean Currents • Surface and deep water currents affect air temperatures along the coast • Cold water moves towards the equator • California current cools Southern California • Warm water moves towards the poles • Gulf stream warms Northern Europe • Cold upwelling can cool or heat surrounding land

  12. Factor # 6 - Altitude • Mountains affect climate by • Lowering temperature • Temperature decreases with altitude in the troposphere • RainshadowEffect • Air is dry after it has been forced over mountains  no precipitation • e.g. California compared to Nevada

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