11.3 Flashcards
Heat capacity?
Measure of how long it takes for a material to heat up or cool down
What is the reason for the oceans warmth?
Heat capacity
How long does it take for the ocean to heat up or cool down?
A long time
What do The ocean and atmosphere exchange water in its various forms through? What are the exchanging?
The water cycle
Exchanging energy
Weather?
The condition of the atmosphere at a specific time
How does weather happen?
Moisture reach the atmosphere through evaporation from the oceans, and the water eventually return to the ocean by precipitation in the atmosphere
How can Weather be described?
Weather can be described in terms of temperature, windspeed and direction, air pressure, and moisture (precipitation)
Climate?
When weather in a particular region is averaged over a long period of time (such as 30 years or more) its main characteristics are together referred to as climate
What is the average temperature on earths surface?
15°C
What is the hottest temperature that ever occurred on earths surface? Where? When?
58°C
El Asizia, Libya
1922
What is the coldest temperature that ever occurred on earth? Where? When?
-90°C
Vostok, Antarctica
1988
What is the process of Convection? What is the mass of warm air called?
As the sun heats the surface of the ocean, some of this heat is transferred to the air above. As air over warm ocean water gets warm, it starts to rise upward like a bubble.
The mass of warm air is called a thermal
What happens when thermals reach the cooler levels in the atmosphere? What happens to the cooler air?
If they lose their heat and some of their ability to rise
The cooler the same sinks towards the oceans surface , where it gets reheated and the cycle begins again
Convection?
The process of heat transfer In air
What is a good example of how oceans, atmosphere, and weather interacts?
El Niño
El Nina
El Niño?
Refers to the warm ocean waters of the coast of Ecuador and Peru that occur every year around Christmas time
How long does El Niño usually last? How does it end?
2-4 weeks
Then the warm waters are replaced by cooler waters
What happens where when El Niño occur?
The temperature of the ocean surface warms up in this area near the equator, extending in a current from the coast of South America all the way to the Middle of the Pacific Ocean
What does El Niño usually lead to?
Weird weather patterns
What does El Niño open responsible for?
Changing patterns of rainfall around the world, and creating conditions that have led to more droughts and fires in Australia, Africa, and central America
How does El Niño effect sea creatures?
The warmer waters force the smaller ocean organisms to move deeper into cooler water. The fish and other marine life that feed on these organisms have to follow them in order to survive.
How does El Niño effect on fish affect humans?
The resulting changes of migration patterns of fish has caused entire commercial fishing industries along the coast of north and South America to cut back or close down
La Niña?
When upwelling causes colder than usual waters to come to the coast of South America
What do oceans affect?
Weather and climate
Why does oceans stay warmer in the fall months and into the winter than the land masses do?
Because of the waters high heat capacity
How does the Gulf Stream moderate of the British isles and Norway?
The golf stream is a current of ocean water that runs north from the equator and up the east coast of Canada. Cold water currents from Greenland and the arctic cause the Gulf Stream to veer eastward towards the British isles and Northern Europe. Even the coastal parts of Norway that are north of the Arctic circle rarely experience freezing temperatures in the winter. Meanwhile, the neighbouring regions of Finland and Sweden have very cold winters dominated by the influence of arctic air masses
Why does the coast and southwest corner of British Columbia usually stay mild in the winter? What is this current called? What does this current bring?
Waters in the Pacific ocean start warming the equator, flow westward, then circle north past the philipeans and Japan.
Pacific drift
Brings warm waters towards the north west closest of North America
What does the Alaskan current do?
Pushes the water down along the British Columbia coast. Winds from the ocean push large masses of this warm ocean air over the province. The result is that the moisture and heat energy brought in by the ocean keeps the climate of the coast from being extremely hot in the summer or extremely cold in the winter
What keeps the moist air from coming into the interior of bc?
The coastal mountain ranges
