Ap Enviornmental Science Clouds
Virtual Meteorology 101
Name _______________________________ Period ______
Weather and climate are the two major abiotic (nonliving) factors responsible for determining the major geographic ecosystems called biomes.
Search the web and give a definition of weather:
The state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
Search the web and give a definition of climate: the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
Climate is closely associated with the seasons, but do you know what causes the seasons? Log on to the website below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuiQvPLWziQ
After watching the video, describe what causes the earth’s seasons. Give examples of the earth’s position to the sun in December vs. June and compare the northern and southern hemispheres.
As the earth spins on its axis, producing night and day, it also moves about the sun in an elliptical (elongated circle) orbit that requires about 365 1/4 days to complete. The earth's spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbital plane. This is what causes the seasons. When the earth's axis points towards the sun, it is summer for that hemisphere. When the earth's axis points away, winter can be expected. Since the tilt of the axis is 23 1/2 degrees, the North Pole never points directly at the Sun, but on the summer solstice it points as close as it can, and on the winter solstice as far as it can. Midway between these two times, in spring and autumn, the spin axis of the earth points 90 degrees away from the sun. This means that on this date, day and night have about the same length: 12 hours each, more or less.
What do the red lines along the edge represent? What do the blue lines along the edge represent? The red represents warm convection currents and the blue represents cold
Name _______________________________ Period ______
Weather and climate are the two major abiotic (nonliving) factors responsible for determining the major geographic ecosystems called biomes.
Search the web and give a definition of weather:
The state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.
Search the web and give a definition of climate: the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
Climate is closely associated with the seasons, but do you know what causes the seasons? Log on to the website below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuiQvPLWziQ
After watching the video, describe what causes the earth’s seasons. Give examples of the earth’s position to the sun in December vs. June and compare the northern and southern hemispheres.
As the earth spins on its axis, producing night and day, it also moves about the sun in an elliptical (elongated circle) orbit that requires about 365 1/4 days to complete. The earth's spin axis is tilted with respect to its orbital plane. This is what causes the seasons. When the earth's axis points towards the sun, it is summer for that hemisphere. When the earth's axis points away, winter can be expected. Since the tilt of the axis is 23 1/2 degrees, the North Pole never points directly at the Sun, but on the summer solstice it points as close as it can, and on the winter solstice as far as it can. Midway between these two times, in spring and autumn, the spin axis of the earth points 90 degrees away from the sun. This means that on this date, day and night have about the same length: 12 hours each, more or less.
What do the red lines along the edge represent? What do the blue lines along the edge represent? The red represents warm convection currents and the blue represents cold