Heat Budget Flashcards
How does aspect affect the heat budget?
The direction of a slope leads to local climate variations. Eg in the Southern Hemisphere slopes facing north face the sun.
How does the curvature of the earth affect the earth?
Solar energy is more concentrated at the equator and spread over a greater near the poles. At higher latitudes solar energy has to pass through more atmosphere, therefore more reflection.
How does albedo affect the heat budget?
Dark colours, such as the ocean, absorb more heat energy whilst light colours such as ice reflect heat. Rate of reflection ranges from 1 for perfectly white surface to 0 for perfectly black surface.
How do ocean currents affect the heat budget?
They move heat away from the equator via the thermohaline circulation called the Great Ocean Conveyor. Warm currents increase air temperatures, humidity and rainfall while cool currents bring the opposite.
How do the seasons affect the heat budget?
Variations in the length of day and night caused by tilt of the earths axis. Winter is a time of heat deficit while summer is a period of surplus.
How does altitude affect the heat budget?
Over 99% of all atmospheric gases are within the first 10km of earths surface. Lower air pressure means less greenhouse gases, therefore less capacity to retain heat.
