Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 50 views

    Temperature: Dr. R. B. Schultz

    Uploaded by

    Big Chair
    Temperature is one of the most basic elements of weather and climate. It is measured using thermometers and expressed on different temperature scales with fixed points like freezing and boiling points. Some key factors that influence temperature variations from place to place are differential heating of land and water, ocean currents, altitude, latitude, cloud cover, and surface reflectivity. Temperature patterns are often illustrated using isotherm lines on maps which generally trend east-west and show decreasing temperatures with increasing latitude or elevation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Temperature: Dr. R. B. Schultz

    Uploaded by

    Big Chair
    50 views24 pages
    Temperature is one of the most basic elements of weather and climate. It is measured using thermometers and expressed on different temperature scales with fixed points like freezing and boiling points. Some key factors that influence temperature variations from place to place are differential heating of land and water, ocean currents, altitude, latitude, cloud cover, and surface reflectivity. Temperature patterns are often illustrated using isotherm lines on maps which generally trend east-west and show decreasing temperatures with increasing latitude or elevation.

    Original Description:

    Temperature powerpoint weather and climate tutorial

    Original Title

    Temperature

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Temperature is one of the most basic elements of weather and climate. It is measured using thermometers and expressed on different temperature scales with fixed points like freezing and boiling points. Some key factors that influence temperature variations from place to place are differential heating of land and water, ocean currents, altitude, latitude, cloud cover, and surface reflectivity. Temperature patterns are often illustrated using isotherm lines on maps which generally trend east-west and show decreasing temperatures with increasing latitude or elevation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    50 views24 pages

    Temperature: Dr. R. B. Schultz

    Uploaded by

    Big Chair
    Temperature is one of the most basic elements of weather and climate. It is measured using thermometers and expressed on different temperature scales with fixed points like freezing and boiling points. Some key factors that influence temperature variations from place to place are differential heating of land and water, ocean currents, altitude, latitude, cloud cover, and surface reflectivity. Temperature patterns are often illustrated using isotherm lines on maps which generally trend east-west and show decreasing temperatures with increasing latitude or elevation.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 24

    Temperature

    Dr. R. B. Schultz

    Temperature
    Temperature is one of the most basic elements of

    weather and climate.


    The daily mean temperature is determined by

    averaging the 24 hourly readings or by adding the maximum and minimum temperatures for a 24-hour period and dividing by two.

    Daily Temperature
    The daily temperature range is computed by finding the

    difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures. Other temperature data involving longer periods include the: monthly mean temperature (the sum of the daily means for each day of the month divided by the number of days in the month), annual mean temperature (the average of the twelve monthly temperatures), and annual temperature range (the difference between the warmest and coldest monthly mean temperatures).

    Controls of Temperature
    The controls of temperature, those factors that

    cause temperature to vary from place to place, are:

    (1) differential heating of land and water, (2) ocean currents, (3) altitude, (4) geographic position, (5) cloud cover, and (6) albedo.

    Example of Ocean Currents Example of Ocean Currents

    Isotherms
    On maps illustrating the world distribution of

    temperature, isotherms, lines that connect points of the same temperature, generally trend east and west and show a decrease in temperature poleward. Moreover, the isotherms illustrate a latitudinal shifting of temperatures caused by the seasonal migration of the Sun's vertical rays and also reveal the presence of ocean currents. The north-south migration of isotherms is more pronounced over the continents because the temperatures do not fluctuate as much over water.

    Example of Geographic Position

    Example of Cloud Cover in Day and Night

    Isotherms (cont.)
    Isothermal Pattern in January

    Isotherms (cont.)
    Isothermal Pattern in July

    Isotherms (cont.)
    Typical Regional Isothermal Map

    Temperature Changes
    The primary control of daily temperature changes is

    Earth's rotation. However, the magnitude of these changes is variable and influenced by local factors, local weather conditions, or both.
    As a consequence of the mechanism by which

    Earth's atmosphere is heated, the months of the highest and lowest temperatures do not coincide with the periods of maximum and minimum incoming solar radiation.

    Solar Energy Received


    Although the greatest intensity of solar

    radiation occurs at the time of the summer solstice, in the Northern Hemisphere the months of July and August are generally the warmest of the year.
    Conversely, in the Northern Hemisphere a

    minimum of solar energy is received in December at the time of the winter solstice, but January and February are usually colder.

    Thermometers
    Thermometers measure temperature either

    mechanically or electrically. Most mechanical thermometers are based on the ability of a substance to expand when heated or contract when cooled. One type of mechanical thermometer, the liquid in glass thermometer, includes maximum thermometers, which use the liquid mercury, and minimum thermometers, which contain a liquid of low density, such as alcohol.

    Maximum Thermometer

    Minimum Thermometer

    Thermometers (cont.)
    A bimetal strip mechanical thermometer

    is frequently used in a thermograph, an instrument that continuously records temperature.


    Electrical thermometers use a

    thermistor (a thermal resistor) to measure temperature.

    Thermograph

    Temperature Scales
    Different temperature scales use different reference

    points, sometimes called fixed points. The three common temperature scales used to measure temperature are: (1) the Fahrenheit scale, which is defined by using the ice point (32) and steam point (212), (2) the Celsius scale, a decimal scale on which the melting point of ice is set at 0 and the boiling point of water at 100, and (3) the Kelvin or absolute scale, where the zero point represents the temperature at which all molecular motion is presumed to cease (called absolute zero), the ice point is set at 273, and the steam point at 373.

    Temperature Indices
    Three common applications of temperature indices

    are: (1) heating degree days, where each degree of temperature below 65F is counted as one heating degree day, (2) cooling degree days, which are determined by subtracting 65F from the daily mean, and (3) growing degree days, which are determined from the difference between the daily mean temperature and the base temperature of the crop, the minimum temperature required for it to grow.

    Human Perception
    One familiar use of temperature data relates

    to human perception of temperature. The heat stress index (or heat index), a commonly used expression of summertime discomfort, links humidity and temperature to determine the thermal comfort of the human body. Wind chill, a typical wintertime index, uses both wind and air temperature to calculate the human sensation of temperature.

    Key Terminology
    Temperature Daily mean temperature

    Monthly mean temperature


    Annual temperature range Isotherms

    Annual mean temperature


    Differential heating Thermometer

    Thermograph
    Fahrenheit Scale Kelvin Scale

    Fixed points
    Celsius Scale Heating degree day

    Cooling degree day


    Heat index

    Growing degree day


    Wind chill

    You might also like