Section 12.

The Causes of Weather

Objectives
Compare and contrast weather and climate.
Analyze how imbalances in the heating of
Earths surface create weather.

Describe how air masses form.

Identify five types of air masses.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air masses have different temperatures

and amounts of moisture because of the
uneven heating of Earths surface.

Review Vocabulary
heat: transfer of thermal energy from a
warmer material to a cooler material

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

New Vocabulary
weather

air mass

climate

source region

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

What is meteorology?
Meteorology is the study of atmospheric
phenomena.
The root word of meteorology is the
Greek word meteoros, which means
high in the air.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

What is meteorology?
Weather versus climate
Short-term variations in atmospheric
phenomena that interact and affect the
environment and life on Earth are called
weather.
Climate is the long-term average of
variations in weather for a particular area.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Heating Earths Surface

Imbalanced heating
One reason that temperatures may vary
from location to location at a certain time of
year is that Earths axis of rotation is tilted
relative to the plane of Earths orbit.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Heating Earths Surface

Imbalanced heating-due to Earths tilt.
Solar radiation is unequal
partly due to the changing
angle of incidence of the
sunlight. The greater the area
covered by solar radiation,
the smaller the amount of
heat per unit of area.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Heating Earths Surface

Thermal energy redistribution
The constant movement of air and water
redistributes thermal energy around the
world.
Weatherfrom thunderstorms to large-scale
weather systemsis part of the constant
redistribution of Earths thermal energy.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
An air mass is a large volume of air that has
the same characteristics, such as humidity
and temperature, as its source region.

A source region is the area over which an

air mass forms.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
Types of air masses
1.The origins of maritime tropical air
are tropical bodies of water.

2.The southwestern United States

and Mexico are the source regions of
continental tropical air, which is hot
and dry, especially in summer.

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The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
Types of air masses
3.Maritime polar air masses form over
the cold waters of the North Atlantic and
North Pacific.
4.Continental polar air masses form
over the interior of Canada and Alaska,
and carry frigid air southward in the
winter.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
Types of air masses
5.Earths ice- and snow-covered
surfaces above 60 N latitude in
Siberia and the Arctic Basin are the
source regions of arctic air masses.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
Air mass modification
When an air mass travels over land or
water that has characteristics different from
those of its source region, the air mass can
acquire some of the characteristics of that
land or water and undergo modification.

Section 12.1

The Causes of Weather

Air Masses
Air mass modification
As the cold, continental
polar air moves over the
warmer Great Lakes, the
air gains thermal energy
and moisture. This
modified air cools as it is
uplifted and produces
lake-effect snows.

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Meteorology

12.1 Section Questions

Climate is the long-term average of weather.

a. true

b. false

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Meteorology

12.1 Section Questions

Which type of air mass forms over the North

Pacific Ocean?
a. arctic
b. continental polar
c. maritime polar
d. maritime tropical

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Meteorology

12.1 Section Questions

Why does Earths equator receive more

solar energy than Earths poles?

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Meteorology

12.1 Section Questions

Answer: Sunlight strikes Earths equator at

a high angle throughout the entire year.
Sunlight strikes Earths poles at a low
angle throughout the entire year. The highangle rays that strike the equator provide
more energy per unit of surface area than
the low-angle rays that strike the poles.