temperature and precipitation patterns

Question 1

what defines the climate?

Answer 1

temperature and precipitation patterns

Question 2

what gives rise to seasonality in solar heating?

Answer 2

the tilt in Earth’s axis of rotation
- more pronounced at higher latitudes

Question 3

what are the thermal properties of land?

Answer 3

• only a thin layer gets warmed
• thin layer cools down very quickly at night and warms up very quickly during the day

Question 4

what are the thermal properties of the ocean?

Answer 4

• thick layer of the ocean gets warmed because of mixing
• ocean takes longer to warm up and cool down

Question 5

how do sea/lake and land breezes work?

Answer 5

• wind blows towards the land in the morning
• land gets cloudy because cool water is bringing moisture
• thunderstorms in afternoon
• at night, land is cooler than the water so wind goes from land to water

Question 6

what is the effect of warmer waters on land?

Answer 6

mild, rainier climates because more moisture

Question 7

what is the effect of cold water on land?

Answer 7

dry climates

Question 8

what are the ways in which orography affects climate?

Answer 8

• colder/windier at high altitudes
• mountain barriers force air up and remove moisture of air via clouds and precipitation which results in lots of clouds/rain on the upwind side and sunny/dry on the downwind side

Question 9

what are the effects of upwind and downwind winds on climates?

Answer 9

areas downwind of ocean will have less contrasted climates than those upwind (wind is mostly coming from land)