2. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place.
Weather is measured and described in a
variety of ways by meteorologists, scientists
who study and predict weather. Air
temperature and air pressure, the amount
and type of precipitation
(hail, sleet, snow, rain, etc.) the strength and
direction of wind, and the types of clouds in
the sky (cirrus, stratus, cumulus, etc.)
3.
4. Climate: The composite or generally prevailing
weather conditions of a region averaged over a
series of years.
5.
6.
7. According to NASA, “Weather is what
conditions of the atmosphere are over a short
period of time, and climate is how the
atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long
periods of time.”
Weather is particular and fine-grained over
short time scales.
Climate is general and broadly conceived over
longer time scales.
8. Climate models simulate the Earth’s, a
continent’s, or a region’s climate using
fundamental understandings from the natural
sciences to generate predictions of the
climate’s behavior.
9. Physical laws (laws of
motion, thermodynamics, etc.)
Topography & surface features
Distribution of land and water*
Atmospheric contents**
Temperatures
Insolation
Albedo***
Size of the planet
Gravity
Speed of its rotation
10. Model must “predict” the behavior of the
climate system. How?
Venus
Jupiter
Predict the past.
Make predictions about future climate
behavior.
12. What happens if you change the ice albedo
effect?
What happens if you move Earth farther from
the sun?
What happens if you change CO2?
What if you change H2O concentration?
