Vince Eric Timkang BSCE – IV

Questions:

1. Why are latitude and tilt of the earth key factors in determining the climate at a particular
location?

2. What drives the weather and life on earth?

3. Explain Why/How is the earth having 365 ¼ days a year and 24 hrs. a day?

4. What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?

5. What is the phenomenon known as “Urban Heat Island Effect”?

Answers:

1. Latitude is the main factor in determining the climate in a particular location. The amount
of the sunlight received by a location is dependent on its latitude in the globe. The higher
the latitude the lesser the sunlight received by a certain location. That explains why
countries in upper side and lower side of the globe experiences winter and countries in
and near the equator only experience summer and rainy days.

2. Life and weather drive each other, life affects the composition of the atmosphere and
therefore the climate because different life forms take in and release gases like carbon
dioxide, methane and oxygen at different rates. Climatic conditions help to shape various
ecosystems and habitats around the globe. A particular climate can be a boon to one
species and a devastation to another. As the climate changes, species and ecosystems
respond by adapting, migrating, or reducing their population. Gradual shifts in the climate
are easier to adapt to than abrupt swings, and this is certainly true for humans as well as
other species. Studies of Earth's climatic history indicate that climates have changed in
the past and resulted in dramatic shifts in ecosystems. The most recent geological period
the Holocene (about last 10,000 years), however, has been unusually stable.
3. The earth has 365 and ¼ days a year because that’s how long it takes for the earth to orbit
the sun. The time required by earth to move around its own axis takes 23 hours and 54
minutes and was rounded off to 24 hours for convenience. The length of a day depends
on the planet you are in. Length of a day of a planet is the time taken by the planet to
complete a circular rotation around its own axis. Earth’s day is 24 hours long. However,
in the North and South Pole experience 6 months of night and 6 months of day because
of the Earth’s revolution movement around the sun. There is 6 months the South Pole
facing the sun and 6 months away from the sun as well as the North Pole. That explains
why they experience a very long nights and long days.

4. If the Earth stopped spinning suddenly, the atmosphere would still be in motion with the
Earth's original 1100 mile per hour rotation speed at the equator. All of the land masses
would be scoured clean of anything not attached to bedrock. This means rocks, topsoil,
trees, buildings, your pet dog, and so on, would be swept away into the atmosphere. If it
stopped spinning completely...not even once every 365 days, you would get ½ year
daylight and ½ year nighttime. During daytime for 6 months, the surface temperature
would depend on your latitude, being far hotter that it is now at the equator than at the
poles where the light rays are more slanted and heating efficiency is lower. This long-term
temperature gradient would alter the atmospheric wind circulation pattern so that the
air would move from the equator to the poles rather than in wind systems parallel to the
equator like they are now.

5. An urban heat island, or UHI, is a metropolitan area that's a lot warmer than the rural
areas surrounding it. Heat is created by energy from all the people, cars, buses, and trains
in big cities like New York, Paris, and London. Urban heat islands are created in areas like
these: places that have lots of activity and lots of people. There are many reasons for
UHIs. When houses, shops, and industrial buildings are constructed close together, it can
create a UHI. Building materials are usually very good at insulating, or holding in heat. This
insulation makes the areas around buildings warmer.