Temperature Pattern Exercise Example

EXERCISE 10 PART 1

1. Is the temperature contrast between the equator and the arctic region greatest in winter or summer?

Answer. The temperature contrast between the equator and arctic region is greatest in the winter. Temperatures near or at the equator only change a few degrees between winter and summer while the Arctic region changes drastically up to 40 degrees between the seasons.

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2. (a) How does latitude control temperature? Were latitude the only control of temperature, the isotherms would run straight across the maps from east to west. Describe one region of the world where this hypothetical isotherm pattern is actually observed. (b) Why is the hypothetical pattern seen here?

Answer. Latitude is a major control of temperature since latitude determines the sun angle. The region of the world is near or on the equator, a specified area for discussion is central South America, in the country of Brazil. Brazil falls right in line with the tropical zone. The temperatures of these zones are consistent all year round. The only distinguishing characteristic of the different seasons is the amount of rainfall that they bring. In areas of rainforests, such as in Brazil, the average rainfall is at least 2.4 inches per annum. To qualify as a Tropical Zone, an area must have a mean temperature of over 18 degrees Celsius all year round. (Brazil Climate, 2011). In addition, the height of mid-day sun is never less than at the equator. Twice in a year the sun's rays are vertical at the equator. Thus, the temperature is uniformly high in the equatorial region, and the annual range of temperature is negligible. (Rajan, 2012).

Resources

Brazil Climate. (2011). Brazil Climate. Retrieved from http://www.brazil.org.za/climate.html

Rajan. (2012). The following Are the Factors That Affect and Control the Annual Range of Temperature. Retrieved from http://www.preservearticles.com/2011111217118/the-following-are-the-factors-that-affect-and-control-the-annual-range-of-temperature.html

3. (a) Is the influence of cool ocean currents on coastal temperatures more pronounced in summer or winter? (b) Why?

Answer. Cool current ocean temperature modification of the coast is more pronounced in the summer. The reason will be coming from an article on (How the Oceans Influence Climate, 1993). Cool ocean currents influence the climate by transporting heat. Horizontal currents, particularly those moving north or south, can carry warmed or cooled water as far as several thousand kilometers. The displaced water can then warm or cool the air (in the case, cooling during the summer) and, indirectly, the land over which this air blows. In addition to currents, up-wellings of cold water in places where the wind blows surface water away can also affect climate. Thus San Francisco, influenced by coastal up-welling, is hardly warmer than Dublin, which is influenced by the Gulf Stream, despite being over 1,600 km further south.

Resource

How the oceans influence climate. (1993). How the Oceans Influence Climate. Retrieved from http://www.gdrc.org/oceans/fsheet-01.html

4. (a) Comparing the January map with the July map, describe one region of the world that exhibits a large annual temperature range (the difference between the January and July average temperatures): Answer. Siberia is the best answer according to what I see on both figures 10-1 and 10-2. (b) What explains this large annual temperature range?

Answer. According to an article online (Williams, USATODAY.com, 2003), Siberia is located near the eastern end of the world's largest land mass (Asia) and blocked by mountain ranges from moderating oceanic influences. He also goes on to say during the winter, strong areas of high atmospheric pressure dominate. High pressure keeps the sky clear, which allows the Earth's heat to radiate away into space, and also creates light winds, which do not stir up the air to mix very frigid air near the ground with slightly warmer air higher up. (Williams, 2013).

Resource

Williams, J. (2003, December 13). USATODAY.com Why Siberia is so cold. USATODAY.com Why Siberia Is So Cold. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-12-05-answers-siberian-cold_x.htm (c) Describe one region of the world that exhibits a small annual temperature change.

(d) What explains this small annual range of temperature?

Answer. I mentioned in question 2(b) that parts of Brazil are located near and right on the equator and the reason being is because twice in a year the sun's rays are vertical at the equator. Thus, the temperature is uniformly high in the equatorial region, and the annual range of temperature is negligible. (Rajan, 2012). The equatorial region experiences little winter cooling because of this. (Hess, 2011).

Resource

Rajan. (2012). The following Are the Factors That Affect and Control the Annual Range of Temperature. Retrieved from http://www.preservearticles.com/2011111217118/the-following-are-the-factors-that-affect-and-control-the-annual-range-of-temperature.html Hess, D. (2011). Mcknight's Physical Geography; A Landscape's Appreciation. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc

EXERCISE 10 PART 2

1. Begin in the west and move across the map to the east, briefly explaining why the actual 16 degrees Celsius isotherm deviates from the hypothetical.

Answer. The isothermal shift is much more pronounced in high altitudes than in low and also much more pronounced over the continents than over the oceans. (Hess, 2011, p.90). The temperature gradient (rate of temperature change with horizontal distance) is steeper in winter than in summer, which in turn reflects the greater contrast in radiation balance in winter. (Hess, 2011, p. 91).

Resource

Hess, D. (2011). Mcknight's Physical Geography; A Landscape's Appreciation. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

EXERCISE 10 PART 3

1. Which factor primarily explains the different temperature patterns of St.Louis and Oakland?

Answer. The pattern most associated with the temperature difference is land-water contrasts. Land heats and cools faster and more intensely than water. With Oakland next to the Pacific Ocean and St. Louis centralized on land in the Continental United States, this answer makes more sense.

2. Why is the warmest month of summer different in St. Louis and Oakland?

Answer. The winds coming off the ocean in Oakland keep the summer cooler than the summers you would experience in St. Louis. With St. Louis found in the interior of the United States and not close to the ocean, the land that it sits on heats up more rapidly and reaches a higher temperature than a comparable city near a water surface subject to the same insolation. (Hess, 2011, p. 81).

Resource

Hess, D. (2011). Mcknight's Physical Geography; A Landscape's Appreciation. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

3. Why does St. Louis have colder winters than Norfolk?

Answer. With Norfolk next to the Atlantic Ocean while St. Louis is centralized in the United States, the temperatures in winter differentiate due to St. Louis not near an ocean to help mitigate the crisp winters and Norfolk does. Land cools more rapidly than water. Water harnesses the heat from the sun throughout the spring and summer months and slowly releases that warmth through the ocean air next to bodies of land if there is any. This helps mitigate the city of Norfolk from not experiencing winter-like settings such as St. Louis.

4. Compared to Oakland, Norfolk has a very continental temperature pattern. Why?

Answer. The wind patterns between the two cities is what makes the difference. Oaklands wind pattern comes off the maritime climate, a climate much modified by oceanic influences. Typical characteristics include relatively small diurnal and seasonal temperature variation, and increased precipitation due to more moist air. (Allaby, 1999). Norfolk on the other hand has a mostly continental climate, a climate characterized by hot summers, cold winters, and little rainfall, typical of the interior of a continent. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). Norfolks westerly winds come off the continent.

Resources

Allaby, M. (1999). Maritime Climate. In Maritime Climate. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-maritimeclimate.html Continental Climate. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/134841/continental-climate

5. What explains the difference in temperature patterns between Fairbanks and St. Louis?

Answer. The wind patterns explain the different temperature patterns between the two cities. Fairbanks is within the polar easterlies pattern while St. Louis is within the westerlies wind pattern.

6. What explains the difference in temperature patterns between Fairbanks and Nome?

Answer. Nome, AK is next to the ocean while Fairbanks, AK is centralized within the state. Land cools more rapidly than water. Water harnesses the heat from the sun throughout the spring and summer months and slowly releases that warmth through the ocean air next to bodies of land if there is any. This helps mitigate the city of Nome from not experiencing winter-like settings such as Fairbanks.

7. Why does Lihue have a smaller annual temperature range than Oakland?

Answer. This is due because of the Land-water contrast pattern. Lihue is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean therefore has warmer waters constantly around it year round while Oakland is next to a body of water, though it does have land mass big enough around it to differentiate the air temperature more than Lihue.

8. What explains the difference in temperature patterns between Lihue and Kilauea?

Answer. The difference in temperature patterns between Lihue and Kilauea is because of altitude. Kilauea is 364m above mean sea level and Lihue is 31m above mean sea level. With the elevations of the two cities, the phase difference can be calculated by the average lapse rate of 6.5oC to...