Water in the troposphere, the atmosphere closest to the surface, conditions the Earth. In some locations water runs the local heating system while, at the same time, it acts as the cooling system in other locations. Water has an inordinately strong effect on climate.
What is climate?
Climate is weather averaged over a long period of time, usually, 30 years.
In this averaging, weather is defined by many variables. The predominant variables are temperature, precipitation and wind movement.
Temperature
Temperature is a measure of the 'heat' in any location.
This 'heat' is the sum of the amount of energy deposited on a place by sunlight and the amount of energy existing on Earth at that place.
Water in the atmosphere and in surface bodies acts as the controller of heat distribution around the planet.
Water in the wind moves heat from one location to another.
Ice sheets and clouds cool the Earth's surface by reflecting the heat energy back into space.
Ocean and river currents transport heat to locations far and near.
Precipitation
Precipitation IS water - in every form that water exists!
Water's Venetian Blind effect
Water in the air (with other greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide) acts in much the same way as slats in a Venetian blind.
The angle of each slat influences how much of the suns' heat and light enters a room. We can move the slats to form a 'closed' surface to, in effect, stop most light and heat from entering a room. We can fully 'open' the blinds to allow entry of the most amount of light and heat into a room.
In a similar way, nature manipulates the water content of air at individual locations (in conjunction with other parameters) to influence (raise and lower) in a very large way the temperature at a particular location.
What is climate?
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| Climate Map Source - blueplanetbiomes.org |
In this averaging, weather is defined by many variables. The predominant variables are temperature, precipitation and wind movement.
Temperature
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| Air Temperature Variations Source - griffin.uga.edu |
This 'heat' is the sum of the amount of energy deposited on a place by sunlight and the amount of energy existing on Earth at that place.
Water in the atmosphere and in surface bodies acts as the controller of heat distribution around the planet.
Water in the wind moves heat from one location to another.
Ice sheets and clouds cool the Earth's surface by reflecting the heat energy back into space.
Ocean and river currents transport heat to locations far and near.
Precipitation
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| Source - valdosta.edu |
Water's Venetian Blind effect
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| Source - b4i.ie |
The angle of each slat influences how much of the suns' heat and light enters a room. We can move the slats to form a 'closed' surface to, in effect, stop most light and heat from entering a room. We can fully 'open' the blinds to allow entry of the most amount of light and heat into a room.
In a similar way, nature manipulates the water content of air at individual locations (in conjunction with other parameters) to influence (raise and lower) in a very large way the temperature at a particular location.
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