Climate Notes

This page is notes written by user robotman in 2009 for the Climate topic of the Meteorology event.

Climate Notes

1. Climate

• average weather
  • described quanitativly
    • abnorms means extremes
  • data processed at NOAA's National Climate Data Center

Climatic norm

• average value of climatic events
  • 1935 first climatic norm
    • 30 years from 1901-1930
  • current based on 1971-2000
• climatic annomolies
  • deviations from climatic norm

Climate controls

1. latitude
2. elevation
3. topography
4. proximity to water
5. ocean circulation

Climate patterns

• temperature
  • heat equator
    • 10* north of equator
    • in northern hemisphere
• precipitation
  • ITCZ
    • intertropical convergence zone
    • poleward shift=summer rains
    • equatorial shift= dry winter

Climate classification

• 2 groups
  • Meteorological
    • generic classification
  • Environmental
    • based mainly on vegetation
• Koppen System
  • Wladimir Koppen
    • Similar zones located near same latitude
    • temperature
    • Precipitation
    • 6 types
      • Tropical
      • Dry
      • Subtropical
      • Snow forest
      • Polar
      • Highland

Climate record

• based on historical docs
• geological/biological history

Lessons of climatic past

• Climate variable over time
  • variables non uniform
  • May Be long term
  • Abrupt
  • impacts society
• Causes
  • No simple solutions
  • Plate tectonics
  • Earth orbit
  • El Nino/La Nina
  • volcanic eruptions

Solar variability

• 1%change could be damaging
  • sunspots
    • Spot on face of sun
    • last a few days
    • Max/min
    • more=warmer
    • less=cooler
  • Maunder Minimum
    • 1645-1715
    • few sunspots
  • Sporer Minimum
    • 1400-1510
    • before Maunder Minimum
• minimums during Little ice age

Earths Orbit

• Milankovitch Cycles
  • regular variants in precession and tilt
  • perihelion=closer to sun
  • aphelion= farther from sun
  • tilt on axis changes from 24.5-21.1 every 41000 years

Coldest Temp

Coldest temperatures

location	Temp C*	record for	Date
Vostok Antartica	-88	The world	Aug 24 1960
Verkhoyansk USSR	-68	Northern Hemisphere	Feb 7 1892
Northice Greenland	-66	Greenland	Jan 9 1954
Snag Yukon	-63	North America	Feb 3 1947
Prospect Creek Alaska	-62	Alaska	Jan 23 1971

Heat Records

Hottest temps

Location	Temp C*	Record for	Date
Azizia Libia	58	world	Sept,13,1922
Death valley	57	Western Hemisphere	July 10,1913
Tarat Tsvi Israel	54	Asia	June 21,1942
Concurry Queensland	53	Australia	Jan 16,1889
Seville Spain	50	Europe	Aug 4 1881

Radiation equations

Stefan-Boltzmann law: As temperature increases, more total radiation is emitted each second.

[math]\displaystyle{ E \propto T^4 }[/math]

Wien's Law

[math]\displaystyle{ \lambda_\mathrm{max} = \frac{\mathrm{constant}}{T} }[/math]

this shows the radiation of the earth

[math]\displaystyle{ \lambda_\mathrm{\odot max} = \frac{3000 \mathrm{\; \mu m \cdot K}}{300 \mathrm{\; K}} = 10 \mathrm{\; \mu m} }[/math]

this shows the radiation of the sun

Adaptations

1. Plants

• many types of adaptations
  • Hardy Rock colinizers
    • lichen
  • Desert
    • Trunks can hold lots of water
  • Winds
    • branches bent
    • grows with wind
  • coastal
    • large roots
      • mangroves

1. Animals

• lots of adaptations
  • blubber
  • long ears
  • camouflage
  • burrowing

1. humans

• sweat
• dressing for cold
• intelligence
  • building
  • migrating