GEOG 1300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Subsolar Point, Solar Irradiance, General Idea
23 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
General idea: temperature affects society and our resources. Studying temperature can help us understand earth-energy balance system, climate, and other stuff. Temperature is the measure of average kinetic energy. Heat has more to do with the transfer of energy between two systems. Insolation decreases as you move away from the subsolar point, which changes between the tropic of. The troposphere decreases in temperature as you increase with latitude. Ability to absorb sensible (ground to air) heat decreases. Clouds moderate temperature and the effectiveness of moderation depends on type and density of clouds. Water evaporates more than soil, and latent heat is transferred. Transparency: ground is opaque and absorbs more sensible heat, water is transparent and can also move which lowers temperatures and water has a higher heat capacity. Ocean currents and temperature: a negative feedback mechanism.
