Surface and Air Temperature

SURFACE AND AIR TEMPERATURE
AIR TEMPERATURE
• The temperature of the air as observed at 1.2 m (4 ft)
above the ground surface. Air temperature conditions
many aspects of human life, from the clothing we wear to
the fuel costs we pay. Air temperature and air
temperature cycles also act to select the plants and
animals that make up the biological landscape of a
region. And air temperature, along with precipitation, is a
key determiner of climate.
FIVE IMPORTANT FACTORS
INFLUENCE AIR TEMPERATURE:
• Latitude. Daily and annual cycles of insolation vary
systematically with latitude, causing air temperatures and air
temperature cycles to vary as well. Yearly insolation decreases
toward the poles, so less energy is available to heat the air. But
because the seasonal cycle of insolation becomes stronger with
latitude, high latitudes experience a much greater range in air
temperatures through the year.
• Surface type. Urban air temperatures are generally higher than rural
temperatures. City surface materials—asphalt, roofing shingles, stone,
brick—hold little water, compared to the moist soil surfaces of rural
areas and forests, so there is little cooling through evaporation. Urban
materials are also darker and absorb a greater portion of the Sun's energy
than vegetation-covered surfaces. The same is true for areas of barren or
rocky soil surfaces, such as those of deserts.
• Coastal or interior location. Locations near the
ocean experience a narrower range of air
temperatures than locations in continental interiors.
Because water heats and cools more slowly than
land, air temperatures over water are less extreme
than temperatures over land. When air flows from
water to land, a coastal location will feel the
influence of the adjacent water.
• Elevation. Temperature decreases with elevation. At high
elevation, there is less atmosphere above the surface, and
greenhouse gases provide a less effective insulating blanket.
More surface heat is lost to space. On high peaks, snow
accumulates and remains longer. The reduced greenhouse
effect also results in greater daily temperature variation.
• Atmospheric and oceanic circulations. Local
temperatures can rise or fall rapidly when air from one
region is brought into another. Temperatures of coastal
regions can be influenced by warm or cold coastal
currents.
• TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO THE GROUND
• Soil, surface, and air temperatures within a few meters of the ground
change through the day. The daily temperature variation is greatest just
above the surface. The air temperature at standard height is far less
variable. In the soil, the daily cycle becomes gradually less pronounced
with depth, until we reach a point where daily temperature variations on
the surface cause no change at all.
During the day, the air above the land
heats up more quickly than the air over
water. The warm air over the land
expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler
air rushes in to take its place, creating
wind. At night, the winds are reversed
because the air cools more rapidly over
land than over water.
WHAT IS WIND?
• Wind is moving air and is caused by differences in air pressure within our atmosphere. Air under high pressure
moves toward areas of low pressure. The greater the difference in pressure, the faster the air flows.
• Wind is the horizontal motion of air, due to the pressure difference between two places.
AIR PRESSURE AND WIND
Wind is the movement of air across the earth’s surface and is produced by differences in air pressure between one places
to another. Wind strength can vary from a light breeze to hurricane force. Air pressure is created by the motion, size, and
number of gas molecules present in the air. This varies based on the temperature and density of the air mass.
CONVECTION AND CONDUCTION
• What is Convection?
Convection is the transfer of thermal energy through the movement of a liquid
or gas.
• What is Conduction?
• Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through direct contact.
• Conduction is the process by which heat energy is transmitted through
collisions between neighboring atoms or molecules. Conduction occurs
more readily in solids and liquids, where the particles are closer together
than in gases, where particles are further apart.
THANK YOU

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