Factors that affect climate:

Latitude - areas closer to the equator receive more direct solar heating

Topography - mountains, valleys, lakes, and rivers can all influence a region’s climate (ex. mountain range near a large water body creates orographic effect)

Altitude - typically, the farther away you are from sea level, the cooler the climate

Proximity to large water bodies - the high specific heat of water dampens the temperature of the seasons (like warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer)

Wind Currents:

Wind occurs due the convection in the difference in pressure.

Warm air rises because it is less dense, and cool air sinks because it is more dense.

Where there are hotter temperatures, there is higher pressure; where there are cooler temperatures, there is lower pressure.

When the cooler air forms high pressure at the bottom, the air heats up, and the convection carries the hot air up. When the hotter air increases in weight at higher altitudes, the air cools down, and the convection carries the cool are down.

Water Currents:

Surface Currents - driven by wind

Affects regional temperatures, because it brings heated water and air to different parts of the world.

Ex. The gulf stream causes Europe to be warmer than Cananda on the same latitudes.

Deep Ocean Currents - driven by density

Coriolis Effect (surface currents) - gyres that rotate CLOCKWISE in NORTHERN HEMISPHERE and COUNTERCLOCKWISE in SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Thermohaline Circulation (deep ocean currents) - as denser deep ocean water (because of salt) sinks, warmer surface water rises

This circulation that combines the surface and deep ocean water make the global water conveyer belt thing.

This circulation also carries nutrients that nourish ecosystems.

BUT RISING SEA TEMPERATURES ARE CAUSING THIS CONVEYER BELT TO SLOW DOWN!!! We can see this in the changing weather systems on coastal regions of the Atlantic Ocean.

Greenhouse Effect and Gases:

Greenhouse effect - when atmospheric molecules absorb infrared heat emitted by Earth and insulates this heat

Greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide (transportation, electricity production, methane (26x better; natural gas systems, cattle digestion), nitrous oxide (256x better; agriculture (fertilizer))

Albedo and Feedback Loops:

Albedo - percentage of light that reflects from a surface

Lighter surfaces reflect HIGHER ALBEDO than darker surfaces

Cities are often hotter than surrounding areas

Positive Feedback Loop - serves to increase the effect of a change

ex. Warming planet is due to high levels of greenhouse gases; the heat causes permafrost to thaw; previously frozen organic material releases carbon and methane (greenhouse gases) into the air, hence INCREASES temperatures.

Negative Feedback Loop - serves to reverse the effect of a change

ex. Warming planet causes more evaporation, hence more clouds; clouds have higher albedo, hence REDUCES temperature.

Positive loops are faster than negative loops.