MondayApril 2, 2012(Discussion & Worksheet –

Weather, Climate, and the

Atmosphere)

The Launch PadMonday, 4/2/11

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and

precipitation in a given atmosphere at a given time.

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental

measurements in a given region over long periods of time.

NOTE: Put this on your pink worksheet to answer Question #1

Assignment Currently Open

Summative or Formative

Date Issued Date DueDate Into

Grade Speed

Last Day

Quiz 24 S5 3/23 3/23

WS - The Coastal Zone and Waves F 3/27 3/30

Quiz 25 S6 3/30 3/30

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Meteorology

Aerial view of Punta Gorda, Florida, after

Hurricane Charlie struck on August 13, 2004. This Category 4 storm, one of four to strike Florida in

2004, had sustained winds of 145 miles

per hour.

Residents of Boston dig out after a blizzard

dropped up to two feet of snow in the

area on January 23, 2005.

Exceptional winter rains in 2005

triggered many debris flows in

Southern California, including this one at

La Conchita that killed 10 people and

destroyed 18 homes.

Weather and Climate Weather is constantly changing,

sometimes from hour to hour and at other times from day to

day.Whereas changes in the weather

are continuous and sometimes seemingly erratic, it is

nevertheless possible to arrive at a generalization of these

variations. Such a description of aggregate weather conditions is

termed climate.Climate is weather averaged over a

long period of time, or a “generalized composite” of

weather.

A graph showing daily temperature data for New York City. In addition to the average daily

maximum and minimum

temperatures for each month,

extremes are also shown. As this graph shows, there can be

significant departures from

average.

Weather and Climate

The most important elements of weather and

climate that are measured regularly are:Temperature

HumidityCloudiness

PrecipitationAir Pressure

Wind speed and direction

Composition of the AtmosphereAir is a mixture of certain

gases – the major gas components of clean, dry air

are:Nitrogen (N2) – 78%

Oxygen (O2) – 21%

Argon and other gases – 0.962%

Carbon dioxide (CO2) – 0.038%

CO2 absorbs heat energy from the Earth.

Proportional Volume of Gases That Compose Dry Air

Figure 16.4

Composition of the AtmosphereVariable components of the air

include:Water vapor

up to about 4% of the air’s volumeforms clouds and precipitation

absorbs heat energy from Earth Aerosols

tiny solid and liquid particles water vapor can condense on

solidsreflect sunlight

help color sunrise and sunset

This satellite image from November 11,

2002, shows two examples of aerosols.

First, a large dust storm is blowing

across northeastern China toward the

Korean Peninsula. Second, a dense haze toward the south is

human-generated air pollution.

Dust in the air can cause sunsets to be especially colorful.

A severe air pollution episode at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Weather influences the lives of people a great deal. It is also important to remember that people have a significant impact on

the atmosphere.

Major primary

pollutants. Percentages

are calculated

on the basis of weight.

Worksheet

Weather, Climate, and the Atmosphere