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Climate Factors - Coggle Diagram
Climate Factors
Latitude
Latitude describes how far north or south a place is from the equator. It's measured in degrees and the places closest to the equator often receives more concentrated sunlight which then makes it hotter where as the poles get colder because of less direct sunlight hitting the surface because of how spread out the rays have to be to hit all of the land. Therefore, the equator is the hottest because it receives the most direct sunlight where as the poles receive the least direct sunlight.
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At the equator the sun's rays are concentrated but at the poles the sun's rays are spread over a larger area. Concentrated sunlight means higher temperatures so the equator is the warmest part of the planet and the poles are the coldest because of concentrated sunlight.
Elevation
The higher you go the colder it gets, and the lower you go the warmer it gets because the higher you go the more dense the air is and the lower to the earth's surface you go the less dense the air is which means the air is warmer near the surface and colder the further away from the surface.
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The higher up you go the farther apart the air molecules are, the fewer molecules means that higher elevations are colder because there are fewer particles to trap heat in.
Air that is at a low elevation near land or water will be warmer because land and water are better at absorbing heat than cold air and the molecules are closer together with a lower altitude. Therefore, the higher you go the colder it gets because the air molecules are further apart.
Ocean Currents
If you live near a warm current you will have warmer weather and wetter climate because of the heat rising from the water, and if you live near a cold ocean current you'll have colder and dryer climate because of the temperature of the water which changes the air's temperature.
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Ocean currents are massive flows of water. 90% of the world's ocean currents are cold currents, cold currents come from the poles and warm currents come from the equator. Ocean currents are an energy distribution system. ocean currents move in circular patterns because the earths spinning on its axis. Therefore, the water cold comes from the poles and then cools down the coast and the warm water comes from the equator and warms the air.
Bodies Of Water
The water absorbs heat and redistributes it into the air. Mild regulated temperature's all year. Winter is a little warmer and summer is a little cooler.
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Large lakes and oceans are very good at absorbing and holding heat energy. This means all summer the oceans and lakes are absorbing heat. It takes a very long time for the lake to heat up or cool down. So all summer the lake is releasing cold from the winter and all winter the lake is releasing the heat from the summer. Therefore, the water absorbs heat and redistributes it later when the temperature's changed.
Mountain Barriers
The higher the water and water vapor goes it becomes colder and creates clouds which then precipitates on the windward side and the leeward side stays dry.
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A mountain range like the Rockies can create a barrier to stop winds. Moist air rises up because the mountain forces it up, the warm air then has to cool, condense and precipitate. So the windward side gets lots of rain but the leeward side is dry sometimes even like a desert because it doesn't get enough moist air, and than it heats up again. Warm air can't hold as much as cold air because it's not as dense as cold air. Once it gets to it's maximum capacity it turns to 100% humidity and forms clouds which will then cause precipitation. Therefore, the mountain creates a barrier that forces the air up and then the air condenses and precipitates.
Wind and Air Masses
Wind systems redistribute warm and cold air
and therefore causes wind and rain across the earth's surface.
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Cold air comes from the poles and hot air comes from the equator. Wind systems spin because the earth is rotating on its axis. Much of the warm air masses come from the over water because water absorbs heat better than land, so the wind systems are like an energy distribution system they balance out the atmosphere by redistributing heat from the equator and cold from the poles.
When warm air meets warm air its forced up because cold air is more dense. The warm air will cool, condense and rain. Therefore, cold air forces warm air up above where it's colder and then it condenses and precipitates
