The document summarizes several key factors that influence the heating of the atmosphere and variations in temperature. These include the sun angle, the spherical shape of the Earth, surface materials and albedo, relief, duration of radiation, and daily temperature changes from sunrise to sunset. It also outlines concepts like isotherms, isobars, isohyets, air pressure, wind patterns, cyclones, anticyclones, the Coriolis effect, global air circulation, dominant winds, and jet streams.
The document summarizes several key factors that influence the heating of the atmosphere and variations in temperature. These include the sun angle, the spherical shape of the Earth, surface materials and albedo, relief, duration of radiation, and daily temperature changes from sunrise to sunset. It also outlines concepts like isotherms, isobars, isohyets, air pressure, wind patterns, cyclones, anticyclones, the Coriolis effect, global air circulation, dominant winds, and jet streams.
The document summarizes several key factors that influence the heating of the atmosphere and variations in temperature. These include the sun angle, the spherical shape of the Earth, surface materials and albedo, relief, duration of radiation, and daily temperature changes from sunrise to sunset. It also outlines concepts like isotherms, isobars, isohyets, air pressure, wind patterns, cyclones, anticyclones, the Coriolis effect, global air circulation, dominant winds, and jet streams.
The document summarizes several key factors that influence the heating of the atmosphere and variations in temperature. These include the sun angle, the spherical shape of the Earth, surface materials and albedo, relief, duration of radiation, and daily temperature changes from sunrise to sunset. It also outlines concepts like isotherms, isobars, isohyets, air pressure, wind patterns, cyclones, anticyclones, the Coriolis effect, global air circulation, dominant winds, and jet streams.
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Heating of the
atmosphere Factors influencing the heating of land, water and air
• The sun angle: the greater it is, the more intensive the heating • Same amount of radiation heats a smaller area near the Equator than at the Poles • Spherical shape of the Earth: the air temperature in the troposphere isn’t spread evenly • Relief: slopes modify the angle at which radiation reaches the surface • E.g. southern slopes get more radiation in the Northern Hemisphere Material and colour of the surface: continents Albedo: the ability of heat faster than oceans the surface to reflect and seas, oceans and radiation seas cool down slower Variation in temperature • Temperature changes significantly during the day • The source of this is the rotation of the Earth • Daily change of temperature: it generally rises from the early morning up to 2 p.m. and then drops until sunset • Daily mean temperature: the average value of temperatures measured at four fixed times a day • The daily variation of temperature: the difference between the minimum and maximum temperatures measured within 24 hours • Duration of radiation: measured in hours per year • Possible maximum is 4448 hours • Huge differences in the actual amount • E.g. in Scotland: 800 hours a year • In some parts of the Sahara: 4000 hours a year • In Hungary: around 2000 hours a year • The top quality of Hungarian vegetables and fruits is thanks to the long duration of sunshine GROWING SEASON IS THE THE VEGETATION CHANGES TIMBERLINE IS THE PERIOD OF THE YEAR WHEN AS THE HEIGHT ABOVE SEA BOUNDARY ABOVE WHICH CROPS AND OTHER PLANTS LEVEL INCREASES CONTINUOUS FOREST GROW SUCCESSFUL VEGETATION ENDS MAPS OF ISOTHERMS, ISOBARS AND ISOHYETS Isotherm: a line connecting points of equal temperature
• drawn with the aid of the
data of annual, monthly, weekly or daily mean temperatures Isobar: a line drawn on a weather map that connects places with the same air pressure
• https://www.shutterstock.com/ hu/video/clip-6964687-animate d-weather-forecast-map-isobars -cold-warm Isohyet: a curved line that connects places of equal precipitation • https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-heavy-is-air-da n-quinn#watch • The pressure exerted by the atmosphere on the surface of the Earth • 1013 hPa at sea level and decreases with height Air pressure as the atmosphere becomes less dense • air flows from an area of high pressure towards an area of low pressure The movement of air parallel to the Earth’s surface and they’re named according to the direction from which they arrive
The greater the difference between the air
pressure of two areas, the higher the wind blows
Wind The rotation of the Earth influences the direction of the wind
Winds tend to follow isobars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBqohRu2RRk Local winds • There are plenty of well-known local winds such as bora, eddy- wind, sea breeze, s(c)irocco etc.
• Phoen is a warm, dry wind that blows down the mountainside
• Wind is mainly used as energy source in agriculture wind power
but it is also essential for sailing and hang-gliding
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec9P3C1OXqE Cyclones • Severe storms in which air tends to spin anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere • Low pressure at their centre • Winds inside blow not only inwards but also upwards • Areas of clouds and precipitation • Occur over the oceans in torrid and temperate zones • Large weather systems in which air spins clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere • High pressure at their centre • The winds inside blow outwards and downwards • Associated with clear sky • Occur at the poles and the tropics • Cyclones and anticyclones are of great importance since they Anticyclones exchange the warm and cool air in the low and high latitudes The rotation changes the movement on the surface
Towards the right on the
Coriolis force Northern Hemisphere
Towards the left on the
Southern Hemisphere Global air circulation • At the Equator and along 60° latitudes, low pressure zones develop • The poles and the regions along 30° latitudes are surrounded by high pressure zones • The direction due to the Coriolis force • Solar radiation warms the air over the Equator, which causes it to rise • The rising air then proceeds south and north towards the poles • From approximately 20° to 30° north and south latitude, the air descends • Then, the air flows along the Earth’s surface back towards the Equator and starts the cycle again Dominant winds
• The westerlies (=westerly
winds) blow between 30 and 60° latitudes • The winds which blow from the latitudes of 30° towards the Equator are called the trades • The polar winds dominate the areas closest to the poles • A powerful wind current found in the upper levels of the troposphere which blows from the west to the east due to the Earth’s rotation
• Typically thousands of kilometres long, but only a
few hundred kilometres wide and thick • Wind speed within jet streams might as well make Jet streams 300 mi/h • Strongest jet streams generally occur in winter when large temperature differences exist between low and high latitudes • Two main types of jet streams: subtropical and polar • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDEcAxfSYaI
