Climate

[|Climate Activity #1]   media type="file" key="Climate.mp3" width="240" height="20"

We learn about climate by looking at temperature and precipitation conditions - weather. Weather patterns determine the climate of a region.  Weather describes the day to day conditions such as rainy one day, sunny the next, foggy in the morning, snowy in the evening, cold, hot, muggy, or even windy.  Climate describes the average weather over a long period of time to the point where you can predict what it will probably be like in an area during a particular time of year. For example, it will probably be cold and snowy in Dryden, Ontario, in January, because it often has been cold and snowy in Dryden in January.

Two ways of comparing climates are to look at continental and maritime climates.  A Maritime climate is milder, which means the difference in temperature between winter and summer is small because it is located near a large body of water, like an ocean or large lake. The ocean would slow the heating of the air in the summer, and slow the cooling of air temperatures in the winter.  A Continental climate is more extreme. In the winter it is extremely cold with very little precipitation. In the summer it is extremely hot with a little more precipitation. This type of climate usually occurs in areas that are far from large bodies of water.  There are other types of climates, but these are the two that dominate a large portion of Canada.

Here are a few videos on climate and seasons to help us out. Climate Video Seasons Video

1. Based on what you've learned, what is climate?

A climate graph looks like...

Together, as a class, we'll answer the two questions below based on the graph above <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">a) What time of year has the MOST precipitation? (Precipitation is the bar) <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> b) What time of year has the HIGHEST temperatures?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Factors That Impact Climate

There are several factors that effect climate in different areas. Why is it that it is always snowier 2 hrs north of Toronto? Why is it that it is warmer by Lake Ontario in the fall, but colder in the spring? These factors all have their role to play….

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Factors Affecting Climate, Definition of Factor, How Factor Effects Temperature. How Factor Effects Precipitation

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Latitude-Lines that run west and east and separate the earth into north and south. The more north or south of the equator you are the colder the temperature. No immediate effect on precipitation.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Elevation-How high up you are from sea level. The higher you are the colder it gets. Air expands as it rises. The air cools 1 degree Celsius for every 100 metres in height. Read below on orographic precipitation

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Wind and Air Masses-Air that is moving along the ground. In continental areas wind moves the dry air keeping it hot in the summer and cold in the winter. In maritime areas wind moves moisture causing the area to get a lot of precipitation.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Nearness to Large Bodies of Water. Examples of large bodies of water are the oceans and the Great Lakes. Water heats and cools slower than the land. In spring the areas along the Great Lakes are somewhat cooler than areas inland. In the fall these areas are warmer. Areas near large bodies of water have a readily availabe source of moisture which will cause more precipitation than in areas where there is little water.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Relief-Physical Features-Barriers to the movement of wind. Mountains are such barriers. The Rocky Mountains are a unique barrier. They force the air up on the one side causing warm moist conditions as well as providing dry conditions on the side as the air falls back down. The Rocky Mountains are a unique barrier in that they are located near a large body of water. The moisture from the water and the westerly wind movements push the moist air up the mountain side cooling it and causing large amounts of precipitation. This is known as orographic precipitation.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Ocean Currents A mass of water with similar temperature moving within the larger mass of the ocean. Cold moving water from the polar region will decrease the temperature of the land nearby and warm moving water from the tropics will increase the temperature of the land nearby. The winds will pick up the moisture and create the maritime effect as described above.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Questions
<span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.How does Latitude effect precipitation? <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. How does Elevation effect temperature? <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3. How do the Rocky Mountains effect precipitation? Describe it in your own words! <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">4.Based on information in the above table, which city might be warmer in the winter, Vancouver or Edmonton. Why do you think that? <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5. Again, based on the information above, would Edmonton be colder than Toronto in the winter? Why? <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">6. What do you think the weather is like in the winter in Vancouver? Prove your thinking by referring to the table. <span style="background-color: #d8d4d4; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">7. Despite Africa being a very hot continent, you can find snow on the tops of several mountains in Kenya, and you can even cross-country ski in a few countries! Why do you think that is?