Air and Sea Interactions - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Air and Sea InteractionsSlide2

Air and Sea: Interdependency

Atmosphere and ocean are one

interconnected

system.Change in atmosphere affects the ocean.Change in ocean affects the atmosphere.Slide3

Unequal Solar Heating

Greatest amount of solar radiation is at the equator.

Least amount of solar radiation at the poles.

Moderate amount of solar radiation is at the mid latitudes.Creates an

imbalance of

heat on the Earth’s surface over land and water.Slide4

Intensity of Solar Radiation

(

This drives the overall heating/cooling on Earth.)

Greatest at the equator.Least at the poles.

Moderate at mid latitudes.

Intensity is reduced because decreasing angle of sun’s rays and radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere.

Intensity is affected by night and day and the seasonal changes.Slide5

Earth Surface Temperatures and Heat Transfer

Land more readily

absorbs

and releases heat due to its low heat capacity.Oceans have a larger

heat capacity.

It takes

the ocean awhile to heat up, but once it does, it keeps the heat for a long time. Slide6

Ocean’s Role in Temperature

Oceans play an important role in

stabilizing

the surface temperature of earth.

Their large heat capacity allows them to store and release large quantities of heat

without

large changes in temperature.This helps

moderate

surface temperatures.Slide7

Earth’s Heat Budget

Incoming heat being absorbed by the Earth, and outgoing heat escaping the Earth in the form of radiation are both perfectly balanced.

If

they were not balanced, then Earth would be getting either progressively warmer or progressively cooler with each passing year.

This

balance between incoming and outgoing heat is known as Earth’s heat budget.Slide8

Earth’s Heat BudgetSlide9

WIND

Air

moves from an area of

high

pressure to an area of

low

pressure.

Wind is formed by this movement of air from high pressure to low pressure.

Local

and

global

winds are caused by the differences in air pressure due to

unequal

heating of the atmosphere.Slide10

Local Winds

Winds that affect a

smaller

area. Caused by the unequal heating of the earth.

Sea Breezes:

Flow of air from the

sea to the land. Land Breezes: Flow of air from the

land

to the sea.

*The name of the wind tells you from which direction the wind is

blowing from

.*Slide11

Sea Breeze

Occur during the

day

.Land heats quicker than water.Air above the land heats up and rises

.

Cooler

air over the ocean rushes in to take the place of the warm air over the land.A convection cell is created.Slide12

Land Breeze

Occur at

night

.Land cools quickly at night, but the water doesn’t.Air over the water is warmer

because water can hold heat longer than the land.

Air rises over the

water and sinks over land.A convection cell is created.Slide13

Global Winds

Formed from the unequal heating of the earth’s surface.

The sun is almost directly

overhead the equator throughout the year, so the equator is heated rapidly.Temperatures near the

poles

are colder than temperatures near the

equator.Slide14

Global Winds Cont.

At the equator

warm air RISES and moves towards the poles.

At the poles

cooler air SINKS and moves toward the equator.Now you have a global wind pattern of air circulation; convection currents/cells.Slide15

Global Winds/Coriolis Effect

Do not move directly from north to south or from south to north.

Remember, the earth

rotates, or spins on its axis, from west to east.The paths of the winds

shift

in relation to the earths surface.

This is all due to the CORIOLIS EFFECT.Slide16

Coriolis Effect

Causes

deflections

of the atmosphere due to the rotation of the earth.This effect helps to create the global wind pattern.Winds in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the

right

as they move.

Winds in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left as they move.