Oceans
SPI 0507.8.1 Describe the effects of the
oceans on weather and climate.
Group Assignment
 Each group will be given two locations of
similar latitudes. One location in is a coastal
area; the other is landlocked.
 Two students from each group should go to
www.weather.com
 Student 1 - Find the average monthly
temperatures for your landlocked location.
 Student 2 - Find the average monthly
temperatures for your coastal location.
Assignment Part 2
 Student 3 - Go to Create-a-Graph
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
 You are to create a line graph with the following:
– 12 items – Label these:
 Jan Feb Mar . . . Dec
– 4 groups – Label these:




Name of Location #1 High
Name of Location #1 Low
Name of Location #2 High
Name of Location #2 Low
– With the color picker choose a light and dark of the
same color for each location. Example dark blue and
light blue for Location 1 and dark red and light red for
Location 2.
Assignment Part 2 Continued
 Give your graph a title. Be sure to include the
names of your locations in this title.
 Label your X Axis
– Months
 Label your Y Axis
– Average Monthly Temperatures
 As students 1 and 2 read the average highs and
lows of your locations, type them into the value
areas.
 Once all the information is typed into your graph, it
should look similar to the one on the next slide.
Reporting
 Is there a difference in temperatures between the
landlocked location and the coastal location?
 How do the temperatures compare in the winter
months? summer months?
 For the group with Mountain City -- What factor
influences the temperature of Mountain City?
Be prepared to report your findings to the class.
Precipitation
Repeat the steps in Slides 1 – 6 with the
precipitation averages of each location. This
time you will need only 2 groups instead of 4.
Understanding Climate Differences
Reason #1
Sea Breezes and Land Breezes
Everything in the world is made of molecules.
These molecules move differently depending on
their state - solid, liquid, or gas.
Microscopic view of a
solid.
Microscopic view of a
liquid.
Microscopic view of a gas.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/states_of_matter/
Density
The density of solids does not change. Solids
will keep their shape even when moved.
Density
The density of liquids changes slightly. Liquids
will change shape, but are still bound
together. If you spill a glass of water the
water will change shapes and puddle, but
the water will remain together.
Density
The molecules in gases are not bound at all.
They are free to move about and will only
stop when they are confined to a container
or by gravity.
Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure is a little difficult to
understand because it can’t be seen, heard,
smelled, or felt. However, it is very important
on the weather.
Atmospheric pressure is the force the
atmosphere pushes on the objects located
within it.
The reason we don’t feel this pressure is
because our bodies have enough gases
within them that we push back on the
atmosphere with an equal force.
High or Low Pressure
When the atmosphere presses down with
more force, we say that it is a high
pressure. High pressure is when the
molecules in the atmosphere are more
tightly packed together.
When the atmosphere presses in with less
force we say that there is a low pressure in
the area. Low pressure is when the
molecules in the atmosphere are more
loosely packed together.
Temperature
When the atmosphere is heated it expands.
The density of the gas molecules lessons
creating a lower pressure.
Wind
 Gases in the air move around trying to
equalize the pressure. When a low
pressure area is next to a high pressure
area, the gases will move from the high to
low pressure areas to try of equalize the
pressure.
 The moving about of these gases is wind.
 Remember winds blow from High  Low.
Water
Water, unlike air and land, does not change
temperature quickly. It can absorb a lot of
heat energy before the temperature of the
water changes. The same is true in reverse.
Water must lose a lot of heat energy before
it cools noticeably.
Sea Breezes
 During the day the sun heats the land quickly. As
the land heats, the air above the land is heated.
The hot air rises becoming less dense creating a
low pressure. The air over the sea is cooler
because it takes much longer to heat water. The
air over the sea keeps its high pressure.
 High  Low
 The differences in pressure creates wind or a
breeze. Winds blow from the sea to the land to try
to equalize the pressure. This is called a sea
breeze.
Land Breeze
 At night the land cools rapidly. Because the
air of the sea is warmer, the wind's direction
changes. The cooler heavier air over the
land forms a high pressure causing the air
to move towards the sea where the air
pressure is lower. This is called a land
breeze.
 High  Low
Land and Sea Breezes Interactive
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_
weather_climate/media/sea_and_land_breeze.swf
http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~nese/sea_breeze.swf
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/
content/visualizations/es1903/es1903page01.cfm
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001472/en/interactive/fl
ash/seabreeze.swf
Wind Challenge – Sea Breeze
 http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/weather/wind/swf
/wind.swf
Experiment
*Colored Convection with Wendy Wind*
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/kids/activities.p
hp
Graphic Organizer
Create a graphic organizer for you science
notebook.
 http://www.answers.com/topic/sea-landbreezes
 http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamen
tals/7o.html
Understanding Climate Differences
Reason #2
Ocean and Wind Currents
Coastal Climate
Remember - Water takes much longer to
heat up or cool down. Because of this land
areas near oceans have a milder climate.
They are warmer in the winter and cooler in
the summer.
Currents
 Ocean currents are like large rivers that run
within the ocean.
 Without this motion the equator regions
would be much warmer and the polar
regions would be much colder.
http://www.galapagosonline.com/Galapagos_Natural_History/Oceanography/Currents.html
Animation
 http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/o
ceans_weather_climate/media/ocean_circul
ation.swf
Currents
Both the atmosphere and the ocean are in
constant motion.
Proof
 Go to www.weather.com and look at the
average temperatures for London, England
(latitude 51.5002)
 Compare this to Calgary, Alberta, Canada
(latitude 51.0551)
Brain Pop on Ocean Currents
http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem
/oceancurrents/