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1.7 factors that affect climate: Wind and ocean (the main geographical…
1.7 factors that affect climate: Wind and ocean
an areas climate is a measure of two things:
temperature
humidity and precipitation
the main geographical factors that determine an areas climate are
prevailing winds
proximity to the ocean
altitude
ocean currents
latitude
wind is. the movement of air parallel to Earth's surface
wind moves from areas of high air pressure to areas of low air pressure
The Earth's surface is hotter near the equator because the ocean surface is heated. by the sun by radiation. This warms. up the air above it by conduction . Then, hot air rises and circulates in the atmosphere by convection.
air cools down as it rises and spreads out in the upper atmosphere
cool. air is less dense, so it sinks back down to the surface
The cool dense. air spreads out especially into the areas of lower density-the areas where the hot air is rising
Prevailing winds
in a region you may feel wind blowing in any direction this is due to local winds, these are affected by local geographical features and weather.
However, in other areas the wind generally originates from just one direction most of the time-these are the prevailing winds that are mainly affected by global wind currents.
prevailing winds may be polar or equatorial, oceanic or continental.
A wind that is coming from the North Pole or South Pole is. called a polar wind
a wind coming from the equator is called equatorial wind
the Coriolis effect diverts air flowing north-south into east-west winds, which causes single circulation cell in each hemisphere to become three cells.
mountains near oceans interfere with prevailing winds, affecting precipitation.
seasonal winds
prevailing winds. might not come from the same direction all year- They may be seasonal. This mkay be due to the difference in temperature between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Seasonal changes in wind may bring extreme changes in precipitation, in South and Southeast Asia.
Monsoon seasons are the winds that bring heavy rains
Water changes temperature slower than land-this applies to large changes between summer and winter, and also small changes between night and day.
Sea breezes: during the day, air over the land is warmer, rises and creates a low pressure. area into which a cool wind blows from the denser air over the sea.
Land breezes: during the night the air above the land is now cooler than the air above the sea so it blows from the land to the sea.
Surface ocean currents are streams of ocean water that move through the oceans in regular patterns, caused by wind blowing in the same direction .
Warm currents: Some warm ocean currents move from the tropics toward the poles. This warm ocean water warms the air above it. The warm air than moves over nearby land, affecting its climate ex: The Gulf Stream.
Cold Currents: Bring cold water from the polar zones toward the equator. This. cools the air that comes with it.
El niño: Every 2 to 7 years. an event called El Niño happens. The. Pacific equatorial ocean current weakens, so warm water stays near the American coasts and warms up the air there.
La Niña: the Pacific equatorial currents are stronger than usual , pushing warm water further right up to the coasts of Asia , bringing hot and wet weather , including storms. This event can last 9-12 months