Troposphere: seasonal

and daily temperatures An area

experiencing
more direct
Reasons for the seasons solar rays will
receive more
Seasonal change with four distinct seasons, heat than the
only happens in two regions in the planet same size
(temperate latitudes). In those two, the area being
seasons are reversed. struck by
sunlight at
angle.

When the
sun is high
in the sky, it
can heat the
ground to a
much higher
If Earth takes 365 days to complete one temperature
revolution, is it at the same spot on my birthday than when it
every year? NO is low on the
horizon.
The shape of earth’s orbit
Hence, earth’s orbit is technically Seasons of Northern Hemisphere
elliptical, but it is nearly a perfect circle. Its
eccentricity is 0.01671123. thus, earth’s
distance from the sun varies through the year.

The position of the earth

The earth is in a tilted position. Its axial
tilt is 23.5° from vertical. The axis is always
pointing the same direction throughout the
year.

Our seasons are regulated by the amount of

solar energy received at the earth’s surface
(insolation). This amount is determined
primarily by the angle at which sunlight strikes Hartford,
the surface, and by how long the sun shines on connecticut
any latitudes. has 15 hrs in
daylight and 9
hrs for night
time in summer
That’s why it’s
warm.
June 21–
summer
solstice
 Hartford, • The warm air ends abruptly when an
connecticut has outbreak of polar air reminds the earth
9 hrs in daylight that winter is not far away.
and 15 hrs for
night time in Lag in seasonal temperature
winter that’s why A situation that arises because although
it’s cold. incoming energy from the sun is greatest in
Dec. 21 – winter June, it still exceeds outgoing energy from the
solstice earth for a period of at least several weeks.

Summer solstice – june 21 Seasons of southern hemisphere

The northern part of the world is directed
towards the sun. The sun is at the highest
position in the noonday sky of summer months.
The farther north we go, the longer are the
daylight hours.
When we reach the arctic circle, daylight lasts
for 24 hours, as the sun does not set.
A close examination of the southern
hemisphere reveals that 81% of the surface is
water compared to 61% in the northern
hemisphere. The added solar energy due to
the closeness of the sun is absorbed by large
bodies of water, becoming well mixed and
circulated within them.

The surface air in the far north is not warmer
than the surface air in the far south. TRUE OR
FALSE?
Because as insolation enters the atmosphere,
fine dust, air molecules and clouds reflect and
scatter it, and some of it is absorbed by
atmospheric gases.
Local seasonal variations
During the winter, in the northern hemisphere,
the sun rises in the southeast and sets in the
southwest. During the summer, it rises in the
northeast and sets in the northwest.
Daily temperature variations

In September 22, the earth is in a position Daytime warming

where the sun is directly above the equator. As the sun
This day is called the autumnal equinox, and rises, it
it marks the astronomical beginning of fall in warms the
the northern hemisphere. At this point, in the ground,
north pole, the sun appears on the horizon for and the
24 hours, due to the bending of light by the ground
atmosphere. warms the
In the following days, there are fewer hours of air in
daylight, and the noon sun is slightly lower in contact
the sky for the northern hemisphere. with it by
conduction.
Indian summer However,
• In some years around in the middle of air is a
autumn, there is an unseasonably warm poor heat
spell, especially in the eastern two-thirds conductor,
part of the united states. This warm that this
period, referred to as Indian summer, process
may last from several days up to a week only
or more. reaches
• It occurs when a cool, shallow polar air few centimeters above the ground.
mass stagnates and becomes a deep,
warm high pressure centre.
 • Near the surface, convection begins, night or early morning.
and rising air bubbles (thermals) helps
to redistribute heat. • Radiation Inversion is a term used to
• On windy days, forced convection describe the increase in air temperature
happens, it helps the thermals transfer just above the ground.
heat away from the surface more
efficiently. Sea breeze and land breeze
explained
NIGHTTIME COOLING
• As the sun lowers, its energy is spread Land breeze
over a larger area, which reduces the is the wind
heat available to warm the ground. from above
• The earth’s surface and air above the surface of
begins to lose more energy than they the land that
receive, they start to cool. moves above
• RADIATIONAL COOLING is the cooling the surface of
of the earth by radiating infrared the ocean.
radiation.

Sea breeze is the

wind from above
the surface of the
ocean that moves
above the surface
of the land.

The controls of temperature

There are factors that cause variations in
temperature from one place to another. These
include latitude, land and water distribution,
As the night ocean currents, and elevation.
progresses,
the ground Latitude
and the air in
As we go to areas in higher latitude
contact with it
(north or south), the air temperature
continue to
decreases. Areas in different latitudes receive
cool more
different solar radiation due to the solar angle,
rapidly than
length of the day, and earth’s tilted position.
the air few
meters higher. Land and water distribution
Because of Solar energy reaching land is absorbed
the air’s poor in a thin layer of soil, while when reaching
thermal water, it penetrates deeply. Water has high
conductivity, specific heat. Thus, Land warms and also
the coldest air cools quicker than water.
is next to the
ground by late
 Areas in the middle of continents are
cooler (in winter) and warmer (in summer) than The MAXIMUM THERMOMETER is
those in coastal areas. used to measure the maximum temperature.

Ocean currents The MINIMUM THERMOMETER is

Along the margin of continents, ocean used to measure the minimum temperature.
currents often influence air temperatures.
Warm ocean currents (east) heat the air above ELECTRICAL
the water and carry the warm air to the land THERMOMETERS
increasing the temperature of coastal regions. are used for high
On the other hand, cold ocean currents (west) accurate temperature
cool the air above the water and carry the cold measurements. It
air to the land decreasing the temperature in measures the
coastal regions. resistance of the
material that changes
as temperature
Elevation changes.
As you go on higher elevation or altitude,
the air above you decreases, therefore, the air
pressure decreases. When the air pressure BIMETALLIC
decreases, the temperature also decreases.
THERMOMETERS
The greatest daily temperature variation in air consists of two
temperature occurs at the Earth’s surface. Both the different metals
diurnal and annual range of temperature are (usually iron and
greater in dry climates than in humid ones. Even brass). One of these
though two cities have the same annual metals expand as
temperatures, the range and extreme of their temperature changes
temperatures can differ greatly. causing the strip to
Measuring Air Temperature bend.

Liquid-in-glass thermometers are often RADIOMETERS

used for measuring surface air temperature do not directly
because they are easy to read and inexpensive to measure air
construct. There are two types of this: the temperature,
maximum and the minimum. rather, they
measure emitted
radiation. By
measuring bot
the intensity of the radiant energy and the
wavelength of maximum emission of a
particular gas, radiometers in orbiting satellites
are now able to estimate the air temperature at
selected levels of atmosphere.
Those devices
designed to measure
air temperatures near
the surface are housed
in instrument shelters to
protect them from direct
sunlight and
precipitation.