Climatology
Climatology
Climatology
Climatology
*
Definition of Geography
A. Meteorology
B. Climatology
Dynamic climatology:-
*is global in scope and it studies the thermodynamic
processes in the atmosphere and the resultant atmospheric
motions
*it investigate the impact of changes in various physical
parameters on climate
• This branch of climatology includes:-
i. The effect of the increase of greenhouse gases in global
temperature
ii. the role of mountains in determining the dynamics of the
atmosphere
iii. An investigation into sea-surface temperature
* cont’d
Synoptic climatology:-
Deals with local or hemispheric climate from the view
point of atmospheric circulation.
Different circulation patterns lead to differences in
climates
It studies the relationship between circulation features and
severe weather conditions-E.g.- the effect of El Nino and
La Nina in creating severe weather conditions
* cont’d
Regional climatology:-
Applied climatology:-
Temperature
*Temperature shows how hot or cold a body is.
*It is the intensity that concerns how hot or cold
the atmosphere is, how many degrees Celsius it
is above or below freezing.
*Temperature is a very important factor in
determining the weather, because it influences
other elements of the weather, such as
precipitation, humidity, clouds & atmospheric
pressure.
* cont’d
Solar radiation
*It is the most important element of climate.
*Solar radiation first and foremost heats the
Earth's surface which in turn determines the
temperature of the air above.
*The receipt of solar radiation drives
evaporation, so long as there is water available.
Air pressure it is the weight of air resting on
the earth's surface. Air has specific weight.
The weight exerted by the air is atmospheric
* cont’d
Humidity
Atmospheric moisture is the most important element
of the atmosphere which modifies the air temperature.
Humidity is the measurable amount of moisture in the
air of the lower atmosphere.
Precipitation it is the term given to moisture that falls
from the air to the ground. It includes snow, hail, sleet,
drizzle, fog, mist and rain
Wind It is the horizontal movement of the atmosphere
which can be felt only when it is in motion.
Wind is the result of the horizontal differences in the air
* cont’d
Cloudiness
Clouds are suspended water in the atmosphere.
Clouds give us a clue about what is going on in our
atmosphere and how the weather might change in the hours
or even days to come
1.2.2. Controls of weather and climate
*Both weather and climate differs from place to place and
from time to time due to the variation in the amount,
intensity and areal distribution of various climate elements.
*The factors that cause for such variation are termed as
controls of climate and weather.
* cont’d
When the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the earth’s
surface is vertical, each unit area receives large amount of
solar energy because of concentration of light.
v) Mountains barriers/Relief
* Carbon dioxide and water vapor are not the only greenhouse
gases.
* Impurities from both natural and human sources are also present
in the atmosphere.
*2. Variable Gases: Variable gases refer to atmospheric gases that vary
appreciably in relative abundance over a short period of time. Comprise
only a very small proportion of the atmosphere’s total mass and
volume. e.g. Water vapor, Carbon dioxide, Ozone, Methane (CH 4)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), Nitrous
oxide(N2O )…..
Most particulates are solids rather than liquids, and are collectively referred
to as dust (aerosols).
* cont’d
i) Homosphere
* It refers to part of the atmosphere that lies between the earth’s surface and 80 kilometers
above the surface which contains more than 99.9 percent of the total air.
* In this part of the atmosphere various gasses are kept mixed by wind currents so that the
proportion of the non-variable gases remains constant.
ii) Heterosphere
* The density of the atmosphere above 80 kilometer is low so that the number of air
molecules colliding is greatly reduced. The wind flows at these higher altitude is also
* cont’d
Troposphere
iii) Mesosphere
* This part is, therefore, the coldest and the darkest part of the
atmosphere.
* cont’d
iv) Thermosphere
If, however, we put the same amount (that is, same mass) of
compact dry soil on the flame, we would see that it would take
about one-fifth the heat (about 0.2 cal) to raise its temperature
by 1°C. The specific heat of water is therefore 5 times greater
than that of soil.
Not only does water heat slowly, it cools slowly as well. It has a
much higher capacity for storing energy than other common
substances, such as soil and air.
* cont’d
i) Origin of Energy
Fig 3.1 The transfer of heat from the hot end of the metal pin
to the cool end by molecular contact is called conduction
Cont’d
A) Wave Length
B) Wave Frequency
*The violet color is the shortest wave length of the visible light. Wave
lengths shorter than violet (0.4 μm) are:
Ultraviolet
X-ray and
Gamma rays
Cosmic rays
3.4. Heat Budget and Radiation Balance
* Albedo, the ratio of light reflected to light received, varies widely from place to place
depending upon the composition of the surface.
*Out of the total unit number (100 percent) solar radiation (insolation)
reaching the top of the earth’s atmosphere, about 30 percent is returned
back as the total planetary albedo.
* It is evident that out of the total unit number (or percent) radiation
emitted by the sun, about 70 percent is absorbed by the earth-
atmosphere system.
*Because of the great distance between the earth from the sun, i.e.
150 million km (roughly 93 million miles), the earth intercepts
only a tiny fraction of the sun’s rays. A surface placed
perpendicular to the solar beam arrests the largest possible amount
of radiation.
Cont’d
* The altitude of the sun (i.e. is the angle formed between the rays of the sun and a
tangent to the earth’s surface at the point of observation) affects the amount of
solar radiation received at the surface of the earth.
* When the sun is high in the sky (i.e. vertical rays), the radiant energy received per
unit area of the earth’s surface is maximum.
* The length of day light, which depends upon the altitude of the sun, can also affect
the amount of radiation received. Obviously, the longer the time that the sun
shines, the greater is the quantity of radiation a given portion of the earth will
receive. Length of a day light is close to 12 hours in all months, around the
equator where as it varies between 0 and 24 hours between and winter summer, as
we move away from the equator.
Cont’d
* Temperature controls
*The factors that control the earth’s temperature pattern are divided into:
i. Primary temperature controls
ii. Secondary temperature controls.
i) Primary temperature controls
*Although a number of factors influence the earth’s temperature pattern,
five factors stand out as the primary controls. They are:
* i. latitude
* ii. The duration of day light
* iii. The distribution of land and water
* iv. The elevation, and
* v. The pattern of ocean current
Cont’d
Temperature decreases pole ward, due to the fact that angle at which
the rays of the sun striking the earth/’s surface gradually diminishes.
Example: Based on the above equations Convert 98.6°F into Celsius (°C) and Kelvin scale
(°K).
° C= 5/9(°F-32)
= 5/9(98.6-32)
= 333/9
= 37 (Therefore, 98.6°F is equal to 37°C)
°K= (98.6+460)5/9
=558.6x5/9
=2793/9
=310°K
K=°C+273
=37+273=310°K (i.e 310°K is equivalent with 37°C)
Cont’d
Exercise
1. Convert the following Celsius scale to degree Fahrenheit and Kelvin
a) 85°C b) 50°C
2. Convert the following °F to Celsius scale and Kelvin
a) 180°F b) 140°F
3. Convert the following °K to °F and °C
a) 150 °K b) 400 °K
Cont’d
Wind
At the Equator, the sun warms the water and land more
than it does the rest of the globe. Warm equatorial air
rises higher into the atmosphere and migrates toward
the poles. This is a low-pressure system. At the same
time, cooler, denser air moves over Earth’s surface
toward the Equator to replace the heated air. This is a
high-pressure system. Winds generally blow from high-
pressure areas to low-pressure areas.
The boundary between these two areas is called a front.
The complex relationships between fronts cause
different types of wind and weather patterns.
Cont’d
1) Absolute humidity
3. Mixing ratio: - is the ratio of the mass of water vapor per unit mass
of dry air. It is expressed as gram of water vapor per kilogram of dry
air (g/kg).
Dry air includes such gasses like oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and
others.
Cont’d
4) Relative humidity: - the relative humidity is the ratio of the amount
of water vapor actually present in the air to the maximum amount of
water vapor required by air parcel for saturation at that particular
temperature (and pressure)
Evaporation is the net loss of water from a liquid surface that results
from a phase change from a liquid to a vapor.
High wispy clouds are called cirrus (from the Latin word for curl of hair);
Sheet like clouds are called stratus (from the Latin word for layer);
Billowing, puffy clouds are called cumulus (from the Latin word for heap);
Rain-producing clouds are called nimbus (from the Latin word for rain).
*5.4 Precipitation
*Precipitation is defined as liquid or solid condensation of water
vapor falling from clouds or deposited from air onto the ground.
Precipitation types