Unit 8:
Climatic Interactions

 How was your Christmas break?
 Write “No School” on Monday

 Look for your name and move to your new seat

Concentration of Sun and Earth Lab
 With your table group your will be designing your own lab to answer the question
 Why do our oceans have different temperatures?
 You will have
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1 Balloon
1 Clamp Light
1 Light Bulb (careful will get hot, DON’T TOUCH)
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2 Thermometers
1 Roll of Tape
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I must see your steps before you receive materials
Must be completed today and handout must be turned in

 You will be learning how the Sun provides the energy that drives all of the Earth’s atmospheric movement and ocean currents resulting in weather and climate.

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The Sun and oceans play a role in the formation of weather systems such as hurricanes.
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Think about this statement as you complete your investigation .

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4.
1.
Fill a soda bottle to the top with tap water.
Mark on your bottle where the “fill line” is
1.
You will be timing and writing down (in your science notebooks) the exact amount of time that it takes for the bottle to empty. Turn the bottle upside down to empty it, without squeezing the bottle's size.
Repeat again
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2.
Fill the bottle again, but swirl the bottle by rotating it counterclockwise. Keep swirling the bottle until it forms a tornadolike rotation within the bottle while the water is pouring out of the container.
Time and write down the amount of time it takes to empty the bottle of the swirling water.
Repeat again
Don’t forget safety: BE CAREFUL

Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Amount of
Water
Time
Not
Swirling
Time
Swirling
X
X
X
X
Observations

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Title your next blank page Hurricane Notes
Copy what is in the red

 Hurricanes are tropical cyclones .
 They form in the southern Atlantic Ocean,
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern
Pacific Ocean.
 Their winds spiral outward in a counterclockwise , circulation pattern.

What conditions must exist for a hurricane to form?
 Low to medium winds blowing in the same direction
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5–30 degrees north of the equator in the ocean
Ocean surface temperature of greater than 80
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F that extends down to about 150 feet deep (50 m)
 Lower atmosphere must be moist

How do hurricanes form?
 The air mass above the tropical waters takes on the temperature and humidity of the water beneath it.
 Incoming winds force the air upward.
 The warm, moist air rises, forming water vapor and clouds.
 Above the storm, the winds flow outward.
 Outside winds blow inward, and the cycle repeats.

 Hurricanes turn to the right, away from the equator, because of the
Coriolis Effect caused by
Earth’s rotation.
 You will learn about this phenomenon later in the lesson.

Where does the energy for a hurricane originate?
 The Sun heats the oceans.
 Warm air rises, and as it cools, it releases energy, fueling the hurricane.

Why don’t hurricanes form in higher latitudes?
 The temperature of the oceans is not warm enough.
 The distance is too far from the equator.

 Think back to your lab:
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In your science notebooks, record what the following parts of the model represent:
Bottle:
 The bottle represents the atmosphere .
Swirling the Bottle:
 Swirling the bottle creates the formation of the vortex of the hurricane.
Swirling Water:
 Swirling water represents how air circulates to form a hurricane.
Rotating the Bottle Counterclockwise:
 The counterclockwise motion represents the rotation of the Earth and wind deflection in the Northern Hemisphere because of the
Coriolis effect.

 http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search
 Engineering Nature: Engineering Hurricanes

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What is the object?
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Psychrometer
What is its purpose?
 It is used to measure relative humidity.
How does it work?
 One thermometer bulb is kept dry, while the other is covered in a damp cloth. The instrument is waved through the air. The temperatures are taken, and the difference between the two is calculated. The difference is matched to the dry bulb reading on a relative humidity table to determine the relative humidity.
We are going to make a psychrometer to measure the relative humidity of the air.

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Materials:
Celsius thermometers (2)
2 cotton balls water small fan timer
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Procedure:
1. Create a data table, and record the initial temperature of the two thermometers.
2. Wet a cotton ball, squeeze out excess water, and place it over the bulb of one of the thermometers.
3. Place the thermometer bulbs an equal distance from the fan.
4. Turn the fan on high for three minutes.
5. Record, in the data table, the temperatures of the thermometers after three minutes.
6. To determine the relative humidity, subtract the dry bulb reading from the wet bulb reading. Find the temperature difference in the row with bold type and in a shaded box. Place a finger on that number.
7. Next, look at the column, where the dry bulb readings are listed. Find the correct dry bulb temperature. Place a finger from the other hand on that number.
8. Bring one finger down and the other finger across, until they’re both in the same box. This white box will give you the percent of relative humidity. Record the relative humidity on the data table.

1
Trial
Trial
2
Trial
3
Title your next blank page Humidity Lab
Initial Temperature of Dry
Thermometer
Initial Temperature of Wet
Thermometer
After 3 Minutes
Temperature of Dry
Thermometer
After 3 Minutes
Temperature of
Wet Thermometer
Relative
Humidity

 http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID
=27641&CategoryID=2665
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIIl-fL2Jk4

 http://app.discoveryeducation.com/search
 Engineering Nature: Engineering Hurricanes

 Complete the card sort with your table group

 Open Humidity Lab and Air Mass Notes
 You will copy what is in purple

 Air masses tend to form in areas with little wind.
 Remember, they sit over an area for a long period of time without moving.
Where do air masses form?

 Air masses that form over water are called maritime .
 Air masses that form over land are called continental.

 mT – maritime tropical
 cT – continental tropical
 mP – maritime polar
 cP – continental polar
 cA – continental arctic
Classification of Air Masses

 T = tropical
 C = continental
 m = maritime
 P = polar
 A=artic
Classification of Air Masses

 mT – warm, moist air
 cT – warm, dry air
 mP – cold, moist air
 cP – cold, dry air
 cA – super cold, dry air
Characteristics of Air
Masses

Cold, Warm, and Stationary Fronts
 http://www.phschool.com/atschool/phsciexp/active_a rt/weather_fronts/

Convection!
How do air masses move?

 Warm air rises, and cold air moves in to replace it.
 A circulation pattern is formed.
 Causes air and water currents to form

Density!
 Warm air rises.
 Cool air sinks.
How does convection work?

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Air masses take on the characteristics of the land and water beneath them.
How do air masses form?
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They take on the characteristics of the land or water beneath them.
What characteristics do you think the following air masses would have?
 Continental (land)/Tropical:
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Dry/warm
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Continental (land)/Polar:
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Dry/cold
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Maritime (water)/Tropical:
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Moist/warm
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Maritime (water)/Polar:
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Moist/cold

 Complete the Air Mass Map paper
 Move I over South America
 Move C over Europe
 Move D over Africa
 Move E over Russia
 It is due at the end of class for a grade
 You will be working with your shoulder partner, find a computer and visit these two sites.

With your shoulder partner, visit these two sites.
Check your history
 http://www.phschoo
l.com/atschool/phsc iexp/active_art/weat her_fronts/ http://www.edheads.org/ac tivities/weather/index.sht
ml

 Open Can Crusher Lab
 You are making an iMovie about your lab.
 This is a Test Grade
 This is due today

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Safety:
Exercise caution with hot plates, water, and electricity. Keep hair and clothing away from heat source. Take care not to spill water. Wipe up any spills immediately. Report any accidents to the teacher immediately. NO HORSEPLAY
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Procedures:
1. Add ice cold water to a bowl or tub.
2. Measure 15 mL of water.
3. Pour the water into the soda can.
4. Place the can on the hot plate.
5. Turn on the hot plate, according to teacher instructions
6. When you hear the water begin to boil, you will see water vapor coming from the can.
7. Continue to heat for another minute.
8. Turn off the hot plate.
9. Call Me Over!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 With your palm up, use the tongs to lift the can off of the hot plate.
10. Quickly flip the can over, and plunge it into the bowl of cold water.
11. Record observations in your notebooks.

 Data/Observations:
 Analysis of Results:
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Why did the can behave in the manner observed?
The liquid inside the can changed to a gas. The water vapor pushed the air in the can outward. When the can was plunged into the cold water, the gaseous water vapor condensed changing back into a liquid. The liquid does not take up as much space as the gas, so the pressure is lower. The pressure outside of the can was higher. In an effort to achieve a natural balance of air pressure inside and outside of the can, the can crushed.
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Conclusion:
 How does a change in temperature affect air pressure?
Warm air causes lower pressure, and colder air causes higher pressure.
This is due to convection, warm air will rise, and cold air will sink.

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Think back to yesterday’s lab:
Why did the can behave in the manner observed?
 The liquid inside the can changed to a gas. The water vapor pushed the air in the can outward. When the can was plunged into the cold water, the gaseous water vapor condensed changing back into a liquid. The liquid does not take up as much space as the gas, so the pressure is lower. The pressure outside of the can was higher. In an effort to achieve a natural balance of air pressure inside and outside of the can, the can crushed.
How does a change in temperature affect air pressure?
 Warm air causes lower pressure and colder air causes higher pressure. This is due to differences in density. Due to convection, warm air will rise, and cold air will sink.

 How do convection currents in the atmosphere affect weather?
 How is wind produced?

Open Winds and
Coriolis Effect

 The movement of air in a horizontal direction

 Wind = The uneven heating of the Earth causes differences in air pressure.

 The Sun’s energy is more concentrated at the
Equator and spread out more over the poles.
 Air over the equator is warm and less dense and has lower pressure.
 Air over the poles is cold and denser and has higher pressure.

 As warm air at the equator rises, cooler air from the poles will move in and replace it.
 Air pressure moves in a pattern from high to low.

 As warm air at the equator rises, cooler air from the poles will move in and replace it.

 The density changes caused by temperature changes create convection cells.
 These cause circular patterns of air that circulate over the whole planet.

 Where the convections cells meet, prevailing winds and
jet streams form.
 They blow from one direction over a certain area of the
Earth’s surface.

 Jet Stream: Forms high in the upper
Troposphere between two air masses of different temperatures
 Higher temperature difference = faster speed
 Due to the Coriolis Effect, it flows around air masses.
 Polar Jet:
 It dips southward when frigid polar air masses move south.
 It tends to stay north in the summer months.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vanished/jetstr_five
.html

 Named for the direction from which they blow:
 Polar Easterlies – High latitudes blow east to west toward the equator
 Westerlies – Mid latitudes blow west to east toward the poles
 Easterlies (Trade Winds) – Low latitudes blow east to west toward the Equator

 Pressure belts form in between the wind belts.

More
Direct
Sun
Hot
90 o
N 60 o
N 30 o
N 0 o
Equator 30 o
S 60 o
S 90 o
S

 The winds from the poles blow toward the equator.
 The winds from the equator blow toward the poles.

If wind is moving north and south,
…
…then why is it defined as the horizontal movement of air?
Does the Earth stand still?

 As the Earth rotates counterclockwise, the winds bend and curve around the Earth.
 Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis, an engineer and mathematician, described this effect as an inertial force in 1835.

 In the Northern Hemisphere, winds bend to the right of their direction of travel.
 In the Southern Hemisphere, winds bend to the left of their direction of travel.
 Let’s try a little investigation to see how this works.

 Complete page 2 The Coriolis Effect

 Weather patterns and systems move in a circular motion due to the bending of the winds caused by the
Earth’s rotation.

 Our Earth is always seeking balance.
 In an effort to find balance, there is a continuous cycle of patterns.
 What is the driving force behind the changes that create these patterns?

Convection, Ocean
Currents, and the
Coriolis Effect
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 Title your next blank page Ocean Currents Lab and copy this chart. 5 minutes per stations
Convection in Water
1)
2)
3)
4)
Gyres 1)
Ocean
Currents
Part 1
Ocean
Currents
Part 2
Data:
Conclusion:
1)
2)
Data:
Analysis:
Conclusion

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Title your next blank page Ocean Currents Notes
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Copy what is in Blue

s

 Warm currents flow away from the equator.
 Cold currents flow toward the equator.
Equator

 Sun
 Wind
 Coriolis
 Gravity

 Energy from the Sun heats the water.
 Warm water is less dense that cold water.
 Warm water rises, and cold water sinks.
 As warm water rises, cold water moves it to replace it.

 Just as wind moves from high pressure to low pressure areas, so does the water.
 Winds blow across the surface of the water, causing friction.
 The water piles up because the surface currents flow slower than the winds.

 As water piles up and flows from high pressure to low pressure, gravity will pull down on the water.
 This forms vertical columns or mounds of water.
 The Coriolis Effect causes the water to curve.

 Causes water to move to the right in the Northern Hemisphere
 Causes water to move to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

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M ake up 10% of oceans’ water
Up to maximum depth of 400 m
Surface ocean currents are caused by the surface wind patterns.

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Gyres: Vertical columns or mounds of water at the surface
 Produce enormous circular currents
 Five major locations:
 North Pacific - clockwise
 South Pacific - counterclockwise
 Indian Ocean - counterclockwise
 South Atlantic - counterclockwise
 North Atlantic - clockwise

 A strong surface current
 Begins at the tip of Florida
 Flows up the eastern coastline of the U.S.
 Crosses the Atlantic Ocean
 Causes warmer climate in
NW Europe

 Upwelling: Surface waters blow to the right of the wind. As less dense, surface water moves off shore, cold, deep, denser waters come to the surface to replace them.

The Great Ocean Conveyor:
Helps maintain Earth’s Balance

 Deep Water Currents: Make up about 90% of oceans’ water
 Differences in density cause them to move.
 Differences in density are related to temperature and salinity.
 At high latitudes, they sink deep into the ocean basins.
 Temperatures are so cold, they cause the density to increase.

 Discovery Education
 Whirlpool
 You Tube
 Japan Earthquake Whirlpool During Tsunami

 Open Climatic Interaction Notes
 Copy what is in blue

s

 Sun
 Wind
 Coriolis
 Gravity

 Just as wind moves from high pressure to low pressure areas, so does the water.
 Winds blow across the surface of the water, causing friction.
 The water piles up because the surface currents flow slower than the winds.

 As water piles up and flows from high pressure to low pressure, gravity will pull down on the water.
 This forms vertical columns or mounds of water.
 The Coriolis Effect causes the water to curve.

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M ake up 10% of oceans’ water
Up to maximum depth of 400 m
Surface ocean currents are caused by the surface wind patterns.


Gyres: Vertical columns or mounds of water at the surface
 Produce enormous circular currents
 Five major locations:
 North Pacific - clockwise
 South Pacific - counterclockwise
 Indian Ocean - counterclockwise
 South Atlantic - counterclockwise
 North Atlantic - clockwise

 A strong surface current
 Begins at the tip of Florida
 Flows up the eastern coastline of the U.S.
 Crosses the Atlantic Ocean
 Causes warmer climate in
NW Europe

 Upwelling: Surface waters blow to the right of the wind. As less dense, surface water moves off shore, cold, deep, denser waters come to the surface to replace them.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV90dy0ns1U
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APMzM-xYlOs

The Great Ocean Conveyor:
Helps maintain Earth’s Balance

 Deep Water Currents: Make up about 90% of oceans’ water
 Differences in density cause them to move.
 Differences in density are related to temperature and salinity.
 At high latitudes, they sink deep into the ocean basins.
 Temperatures are so cold, they cause the density to increase.

 Discovery Education
 Whirlpool
 You Tube
 Japan Earthquake Whirlpool During Tsunami

 El Nino: Abnormally high surface ocean temperatures off the coast of South
America
 Causes unusual weather patterns across the globe

 Starts because the easterly trade winds weaken and allow the warm waters in the
Western Pacific to move east toward South
America
 This changes where the convection current occurs.
 Causing rain where it usually doesn't occur and drought where it usually rain s

 Abnormally low surface ocean temperatures off the coast of South America
 Causes unusual weather patterns across the globe

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Ocean currents move more slowly than winds.
Oceans hold more heat than the atmosphere and land.
Cold currents will cause nearby coastlines to be cooler.
Warm currents will cause nearby coastlines to be warmer.
Where do the cold currents come from?
The warm currents?

Predictable Patterns
How do these currents affect the climate of the coastline?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FVZrw7bk1w
 El Nino and La Nina from United Streaming

 Due Tomorrow

Warm Up

 Due Tuesday 1/21
 Listen to instructions