GEOG 1114 1st Edition Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture Solar Energy Insolation and Temperature continued Review of last lecture Processes of heating and cooling Spatial and Seasonal Variations in the Heat Budget Latitudinal Differences Outline of Current Lecture Review of thermal concepts Thermal capacity inertia heat and conductivity Land and water heating characteristics Mechanisms of Heat Transfer circulation patterns in the atmosphere Current Lecture Land Water Contrasts To understand this contrasts need to review thermal concepts Thermal capacity ability of an object to absorb heat Thermal inertia ability of an object to resist change Specific heat amount of heat required to raise 1 g of substance 1 degree Thermal conductivity how quickly heat moves through an abject Humans don t absorb or hold a lot of heat so we are able to cool off Land heating characteristics Low specific heat low inertia low conductivity low capacity These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Water Heating Characteristics High specific heat five times more than land high inertia high conductivity high capacity Land heats and cools more rapidly than water water heats up slowly cools slowly and is able to retain heat and store energy Implication Both hottest and coldest areas of earth are found on land inter continent locations Areas closest to oceans have more moderate temperature conditions This indicates that oceans are great reservoirs of heat Based on the thermal difference in land and water inter continent conditions are a much wider range than the costal areas Mechanisms of Heat Transfer Need heat transfer to prevent constant warming at tropics and cooling at the poles Circulation patterns in atmosphere and oceans transfer heat Ocean Circulation tied to circulation of atmosphere Respond to average wind conditions over long time scales Tied to circulation of atmosphere General Patterns Five Oceans 1 Atlantic 2 Pacific 3 Indian 4 Arctic 5 Southern 250 miles around Antarctica Who owns it 16 countries have claimed area Within each there is a similar pattern of ocean circulation based on prevailing winds due to unequal heating of the earth due to the tilt there are different energies throughout the world An Ocean current form loops or gyres clockwise in N counter clockwise in S What causes waves Wind set up by unequal heating 17 Major Ocean Currents Each major current can be characterized by temperature Those in low latitudes have warm water Pole ward moving currents on the western sides of ocean basins carry warm water toward higher latitudes Northward currents in the N hemisphere carry warm water towards the North and East Southern currents of the S Hemisphere are influenced by Antarctic waters and are essentially cool Equator ward moving currents on the eastern sides of ocean basins carry cool water toward the equator Vertical Temperature Pattern Temp change in troposphere decreases with altitude Variable rate of change especially on lower levels of troposphere Exceptions can be found Lapse Rate Rate at which temp decreases with altitude Environmental lapse rate observed trend in vertical change of temp in the atmosphere varies from place to place Can be anthropogenic caused by humans Global Temperature Patterns Shown by Isotherms line across a map where temps are the same Illustrate the effects of 1 Altitude average annual temp maps factor this out 2 Latitude Lines follow east west trends 3 Land water contrasts begin to dip over land dips increase going north in relationship to the sun These all affect temperature across the planet 4 Ocean currentsMove energy surplus in equator to deficits at poles 5 Season Latitudinal shift Isotherms follow the changing balance of insolation during the year Northward from Jan July