CHAPTER 2:
METEOROLOGICAL AND
OCEANOGRAPHIC
MRI 2313
MARITIME GEOGRAPHY
LEARNING OUTCOME
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Introduction to meteorology
Introduction to oceanographic
Basic meteorological instrument
Factors affecting shipping and transport
Introduction to meteorology
Definition
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Meteorology
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Weather
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The study of the processes and phenomena of the
atmosphere, especially as a means of weather forecasting.
The state of the atmosphere at a place and time regards
temperature, wind, rain, etc. (concise oxford dictionary,
2011)
Climate

The general weather conditions prevailing in an area over a
long period.
Meteorology
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The study of the atmosphere, atmospheric
phenomena and atmospheric effects on our
weather.
Gravity keeps the atmosphere from expanding
much farther.
Atmosphere
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It reaches over 560 km (348 miles) from the surface
of the earth.
There is no exact place where the atmosphere ends;
It just gets thinner and thinner, until it merges with
outer space.
The composition
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It is primarily composed
of nitrogen (78%) and
oxygen (21%) with only
small concentrations of
other trace gases.
Nearly all atmospheric
water vapour or moisture
is found in the
troposphere, so it is the
layer where most of
Earth's weather takes
place
Atmosphere
Pressure layers
Layers of the atmosphere
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Troposhere
 Lowest
atmospheric layer and is about seven miles (11
km) thick.
 Most clouds and weather are found in the troposphere
contains most of the water vapor)
 It is thinner at the poles (averaging about 8km thick)
and thicker at the equator (averaging about 16km
thick).
 The temperature decreases with altitude
Layers of the atmosphere
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Stratosphere
 The
stratosphere is found from about 7 to 30 miles (1148 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.
 In this region of the atmosphere is the ozone layer,
which absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation
from the Sun (dangerous to plant and animal life).
 The temperature increases slightly with altitude in the
stratosphere. The highest temperature in this region is
about 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius.
Layers of the atmosphere
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Mesosphere
 Above
the stratosphere
 50 km – 80 km above earth’s surface
 Rarefield, thin, and the temperature is decreasing with
altitude, about -130 Fahrenheit (-90 Celsius) at the top
Layers of the atmosphere
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Thermosphere
 Starts
at about 55 km.
 Temperature quite hot; here the temperature is not
measured using a thermometer, but by looking at the
motion and speed of the affect a thermometer.
 Temperature may be as high as thousands of degree.
Layers of the atmosphere
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Exosphere
 Region
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beyond the thermosphere
Ionosphere
 The
ionosphere overlaps the other atmospheric layers,
from above the Earth. The air is ionized by the Sun’s
ultraviolet light. These ionized layers affect the
transmittance and reflectance of radio waves. Different
ionosphere layers are the D, E (Heaviside-Kennelly),
and F (Appleton) regions.
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Lightning can generate whistlers, radio waves that can
travel long distances.
Very high frequency radio waves (VHF) can travel
through the atmosphere to and from satellites and are
used for communication. The airglow is due to a
chemical reaction in the upper atmosphere that emits
light.
Many radio waves are reflected at night by the
ionosphere making it possible to hear AM radio and
shortwave radio stations that are far away.
Gamma rays and x-rays are absorbed by the upper
atmosphere; visible light can penetrate to sea level.
Many infrared wavelengths can also pass through the
atmosphere.
Introduction to oceanography
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Oceanography
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Geophysics
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Study of the ocean, with emphasis on its character as an
environment. The goal is to obtain a description sufficiently
quantitative to be used for predicting the future with some
uncertainty.
Study of the physics of the earth
Physical oceanography
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Study of the physical properties and dynamics of the ocean.
The primary interests are the interaction of the ocean with
the atmosphere, the oceanic heat budget, water mass
formation, currents and coastal dynamics. It is considered by
many to be subdiscipline of geophysics.
What is oceanography?
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The branch of science concerned with the physical
and biological properties and phenomena of the
sea. (Oxford Dictionary)
Sea:
 The
expanse of salt water that covers most of the
earth’s surface and surrounds its land masses. Example:
South China Sea, Black Sea.
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Ocean:
A
very large expanse of sea; in particular, each of the
Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans.
Ocean
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An ocean is a body of saline water that composes
much of a planet's hydrosphere, occupying more
than two-thirds of Earth's surface
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Hydrosphere: the combined mass of water found
on, under, and over the surface of a planet.
Ocean contains 97% of the Earth's water
Major divisions of the World Ocean – the Pacific,
Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic (Southern Ocean), and
Arctic Oceans
Arctic ocean
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Located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in
the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and
shallowest of the world's five major oceanic
divisions.
The northernmost part of the World Ocean.
Almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North
America
Partly covered by sea ice throughout the year (and
almost completely in winter).
Pacific ocean
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The largest division of the World Ocean, 165.25 million
square kilometers in area
Covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about
one third of its total surface area, making it larger than all
of the Earth's land area combined.
It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Antarctica in the
south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the
Americas in the east.
The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and
South Pacific Ocean,
The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the
deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911
metres
Atlantic ocean
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The world's second largest ocean.
Total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres.
Covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth‘ surface
and about 29 percent of its water surface area.
Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin
extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to
the east, and the Americas to the west.
The equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean
and South Atlantic Ocean.
Indian ocean
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The third largest of the world's oceanic divisions,
covering approximately 20% of the water on the
Earth's surface.
It is bounded by Asia—including India, after which
the ocean is named on the north, on the west by
Africa, on the east by Australia, and on the south by
the Southern Ocean (Antarctica).
Area is 73556000 km², including the Red Sea and
the Persian Gulf.
Southern ocean (Antarctic ocean)
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The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost
waters of the World Ocean.
Generally south of 60°S latitude and encircling
Antarctica.
The fourth-largest Ocean.
South China Sea
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Is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean
Encompassing an area from the Singapore and
Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around
3,500,000 km square
Importance area due to one-third of the world's
shipping transiting through its waters, and believed
to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its
seabed.
South China Sea
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It is located:
 South
of mainland China and the island of Taiwan,
 West of the Philippines,
 North west of Sabah (Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia)
and Brunei,
 North of Indonesia,
 North east of the Malay peninsula (Malaysia) and
Singapore, and
 East of Vietnam.
Ocean basin
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Ocean basins are large geologic basins that are
below sea level.
The geomorphologic features such as the continental
shelves, the deep ocean trenches and the undersea
mountain ranges (for example, the mid-Atlantic
ridge)
Ocean basin
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An oceanic basin covered by seawater
Ocean basins are large basins below sea level
There are under sea features;
Continental shelves
 Deep ocean trenches
 Undersea mountain ranges
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There are complement to the continents, with erosion
Sediments derived ending up in the ocean basins
Most ocean basins as basaltic plains, than as
sedimentary depositories
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Basins are both above and below sea level;
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Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela
Oceans cover 71.11% of the Earth's surface.
Oceans lie lower than continents, the former serve
as sedimentary basins.
Is serve as repositories for the skeletons of carbonateand silica-secreting organisms;
coral reefs
 Diatoms
 Radiolarian
 foraminifera.
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Oceanic basin actively changing size /relatively,
tectonically inactive, depending on whether there is
a moving plate tectonic boundary associated with it.
The elements of an active& growing
 elevated
mid-ocean ridge
 flanking abyssal hills leading down to abyssal plain
 oceanic trench associated with a subduction zone.
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Active oceanic basin
The Atlantic Ocean
 The Arctic Ocean
 The Pacific Ocean
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Growing oceanic basin
The Mediterranean Sea
 The Pacific Ocean
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Inactive ocean basin
The Gulf of Mexico in Jurassic
 The Aleutian Basin
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Basic meteorological instruments
1. Sight
Sense of
human
body
2. Touch (feel)
3. Smell
4. Hearing
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Temperature, pressure, wind measurements and
humidity are the variables that are measured by:
 Thermometer
 Barometer
 Anemometer
 Hygrometer
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Remote sensing
Remote sensing, as used in meteorology, is the concept of
collecting data from remote weather events and
subsequently producing weather information.
 The common types of remote sensing are Radar, Lidar, and
satellites (or photogrammetry). Each collects data about the
atmosphere from a remote location and, usually, stores the
data where the instrument is located. Radar and Lidar are
not passive because both use EM radiation to illuminate a
specific portion of the atmosphere. Weather satellites along
with more general-purpose Earth-observing satellites circling
the earth at various altitudes have become an indispensable
tool for studying a wide range of phenomena from forest
fires to El Niño.
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Factors affecting shipping and transport
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Weather forecasting is the application of science
and technology to predict the state of the
atmosphere for a future time and a given location.
Human beings have attempted to predict the
weather informally for millennia, and formally since
at least the 19th century. Weather forecasts are
made by collecting quantitative data about the
current state of the atmosphere and using scientific
understanding of atmospheric processes to project
how the atmosphere will evolve.
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Once an all-human endeavour based mainly upon changes in
barometric pressure, current weather conditions, and sky condition,
forecast models are now used to determine future conditions. Human
input is still required to pick the best possible forecast model to base
the forecast upon, which involves pattern recognition skills,
teleconnections, knowledge of model performance, and knowledge
of model biases. The chaotic nature of the atmosphere, the massive
computational power required to solve the equations that describe
the atmosphere, error involved in measuring the initial conditions,
and an incomplete understanding of atmospheric processes mean
that forecasts become less accurate as the difference in current time
and the time for which the forecast is being made (the range of the
forecast) increases. The use of ensembles and model consensus help
narrow the error and pick the most likely outcome.
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There are a variety of end uses to weather
forecasts. Weather warnings are important
forecasts because they are used to protect life and
property. Temperature forecasts are used by utility
companies to estimate demand over coming days.
On an everyday basis, people use weather
forecasts to determine what to wear on a given
day. Since outdoor activities are severely curtailed
by heavy rain, snow and the wind chill, forecasts
can be used to plan activities around these events,
and to plan ahead and survive them.
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