Factors

That Affect
Climate
Group 2

Keffin Catulay - Sed Oftana - Kezhia Cuay

Latitude
 What is Latitude
Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south
of the Equator. Latitude lines go from 0 degrees both
north and south of the equator.
 There are 5 major
parallel lines of latitude
from north to south.
 * Arctic Circle
*Tropic of Cancer
*Equator
*Tropic of Capricorn
*Antarctic Circle
 How does Latitude
Affects Climate?
When approaching the equator, temperatures are generally warmer.
This is because of latitude, or how far north or south of the equator an
area is. The equator is where the sun directly hits the Earth, producing
some of the hottest temperatures. How direct the sun is hitting a place
greatly influences the climate. As latitudes increase, the average
temperature cools. Conversely, as latitudes decrease, average
temperatures increase.
 There are 3 Climate Zones

Tropical Zone

Temperate Zone

Polar Zone
 Tropical Zone
Any area that lies within the tropic zone is within a latitude
that's closest to the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer,
and the Tropic of Capricorn. These areas receive the most
direct sunlight throughout the year and usually only
experience two seasons: the wet season and the dry
season.

Example of Tropical
Countries

Indonesia Brazil

China Philippines
 Temperate Zone
Countries in the
The majority of Earth's population
Temperate Zone
resides in these middle latitudes, which
span the region between the tropics
and the arctic circles. Only this zone Canada Germany
experiences all four of the seasons:
spring, summer, winter, and fall. Japan U. S
Temperate climates are generally
defined as environments with
moderate rainfall spread across the
year or portion of the year with sporadic
drought, mild to warm summers and
cool to cold winters.
Polar Zones Countries in the
The Arctic and Antarctica, also Polar Zone
known as the South and North
Poles, are the coldest polar
regions. This is due to the fact that
Iceland Sweden
they receive the least amount of
direct sunlight. Because they are
Norway Greenland
at the highest latitudes, they have
distinct climates.The polar climate
regions are characterized by a lack
of warm summers but with varying
winters.
Altitude
 Altitude
Altitude is the vertical elevation of an object
above a surface (such as sea level or land) of a
planet or natural satellite.Areas are often
considered "high-altitude" if they reach at least
2,400 meters (8,000 feet) into the atmosphere.
 How does Altitude
Affects Climate?
Temperature decreases with increasing height above sea level. This makes the
higher areas to have lower temperatures than the lower areas. As altitude rises, air
pressure drops. In other words, if the indicated altitude is high, the air pressure is
low. The Earth and atmosphere get warmed up as a result of the sun's solar
radiation, specifically the infrared component of solar radiation. The infrared
radiation warms up the land and oceans, which, in turn, warms up the air in the
atmosphere. Since the atmosphere gets warmed up from the bottom up, the air is
usually at its warmest at the surface of the planet and cools down as altitude
increases.
TOPOGRAPHY
 What is Topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of
land surfaces. In particular, it lays the underlying
foundation of a landscape. For example, topography
refers to mountains, valleys, rivers, or craters on the
surface.
 How does Topography
Affects Climate?
Topography affects the climate in that it influences
wind patterns and weather patterns. For example,
mountains block cold air from flowing over the warm
ground below them, which results in warmer
temperatures on one side of the mountain range
than on the other side.
Nearness to Water
 How does Nearness to Water
Affect Climate?
Nearness to water relates to the ocean
currents' factors. The closer you are to the
water, the milder the climate. This is mostly
because the bodies of water help maintain
moderate temperatures. Large bodies of water
such as oceans, seas, and large lakes affect the
climate of an area. Water heats and cools more
slowly than land. Therefore, in the summer,
the coastal regions will stay cooler and in
winter warmer.
Being near water affects climate greatly because water’s
thermal capacity is high. It is able to retain heat when it is
hot and release heat when it is cold, which affects the
temperature of the area around it. Large bodies of water,
such as the ocean, release heat during the winter and
absorb it during the summer, keeping temperatures within
a more moderate range. In other words, the ocean
functions as a heat sink – albeit a very effective one.
Ocean currents, which act as giant conveyor belts
transporting heat away from tropical regions and toward
the frigid poles, play a complicated role in coastal
climates. This frequently serves to keep northern
latitude coastal regions warmer than they would
otherwise be.
Topographic Effects
 What is Topographic Effect
The topographic effect is the variation in radiance from
an inclined surface compared to the radiance from a
horizontal surface as a function of the surface
orientation relative to the light source and sensor
position.
 Topographic effects have been reviewed in some detail by Geli et al. (1988),
Aki (1988), and Kawase (1993). Because there are so many different observations
on the strength of the topographic effect, we cannot draw clear conclusions.
However, many studies in the past suggest that even a rock site has strong site
effects due to the subsurface structure below (e.g., Steidl et al., 1996; Spudich et
al., 1996) so it may be difficult to distinguish the effects of the subsurface structure
and those of the topography from observed site effects, unless we know the
subsurface velocity structure of the site in detail.
Theoretically speaking, the pure topographic amplification factor will be 2 at
most, because constructive interference between two arrivals of different waves,
either diffracted waves, surface waves, or body waves, is likely to happen but
more than two arrivals with the same phase rarely meet at the same location.
Besides, strong topography can be found only in the mountain area, where
amplification itself is basically low compared to the basin surface and so
practically speaking pure topographic effects are of secondary importance.
The End
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