The Restless Atmosphere Moyle Park College不安的气氛莫伊尔公园学院.pptVIP

The Restless Atmosphere Weather The Atmosphere The atmosphere is a blanket of gases surrounding the earth. It is made up of a mixture of different gases. The Earth’s Atmosphere The Earth’s Atmosphere Solar Energy – Energy from the Sun The sun provides us with heat and light. However, not all of the sun’s energy reaches our planet. 50% of the sun’s energy reaches planet earth. 25% is deflected back into space by dust and clouds in the atmosphere. 25% is absorbed as it passes through the atmosphere. Latitude Latitude means distance North or South of the equator. It is measured in degrees. In general, the further a place is away from the equator, the colder it will be. There are 3 reasons for this. Latitude 1. We know the sun’s energy is absorbed as it passes through the atmosphere. Well, at the poles the atmosphere is thicker than at the equator. Therefore, less heat gets through to the polar regions. 2. At the equator the sun shines directly overhead. This means the heat is concentrated on a small area and so this area becomes hot. 3. At the poles the sun’s energy is slanted and it is spread over the curved surface of the earth. This means it has to heat up a larger area and so this area does not heat up as much. In summary, less heat gets through to the poles. It has to heat up a large area. Lots of heat gets through to the equator. It has to heat up a smaller area. How Latitude influences Temperature Wind Wind is moving air. Air moves from High pressure areas to Low Pressure areas. Winds and Air Pressure Air moves from High Pressure areas to Low Pressure areas. Some places on the earth have high pressure and some have low pressure. But why? Warm air rises leaving areas of low pressure. Cold air descends creating areas of high pressure. High Pressure and Low Pressure Winds and Air Pressure High and Low Pressure Areas If we apply this principle to the earth we see that some places on the earth’s surface will have high pressure and other areas will have