Section 1!
Defining Climate!
Climatology!
- Climatology- Is the study of earth climate and the factors that cause past, present, and future climatic changes.
- Climate describes the long-term weather patterns of an area.
- Climate also describes annual variations temperature, precipitation, wind , and other weather variables.
Normals!
- Normals- Are standard values for a location.
- The data are averaged on a monthly or annual based for a period of at least 30 years to determine the normals.
- While climate describes the average weather condition for a region, normals apply only to the specific place where the meteorological data were collected.
Cause of Climate!
- Climate- The weather condition prevailing in an area in general or long period.
- There several regions for such climatic variations, including differences in latitude, topography, closeness of lakes and oceans, availability of moisture, global wind patterns, ocean currents, and air masses.
Latitude!
Tropics
- Tropics - The areas between 23.5 degrees south and 23.5 degrees north of the equator.
Tempature Zones
Temperature Zones- lies between 23.5 degrees 66.5 degrees north and south of the equator.
Polar Zones
Polar Zones- Are located 66.5 degrees north and south of the equator to the poles.
Topographic Effects!
- Many coastal are warmer in winter and cooler in the summer than inland areas at similar latitudes.
- Also temperatures in the lower atmosphere generally decrease with altitude.
Air masses!
- Two of the main causes of weather are the movement and interaction of air masses.