DAILY

CLASS NOTES
Geography

Lecture - 29
Temperature Distribution
and Lapse Rate
 Temperature Distribution and Lapse Rate
Heat Budget:
 The earth receives a certain amount of Insolation (short waves) and gives back heat into space by terrestrial
radiation (longwave radiation).
 Through this give and take, or the heat budget, the earth maintains a constant temperature.

The Mean Annual Temperature Distribution:

 Isotherm: It is an imaginary line joining places having equal temperatures.
 The horizontal or latitudinal distribution of temperature is shown with the help of a map with isotherms.
 Effects of altitude is not considered while drawing an isotherm. All the temperatures are reduced to sea levels.
General Characteristics of Isotherms:
 Generally follow the parallels of latitude: Isotherms have a close correspondence with the latitude parallels
mainly because the same amount of insolation is received by all the points located on the same latitude.
 Sudden bends at ocean–continent boundaries: Due to differential heating of land and water, temperatures
above the oceans and land masses vary even on the same latitude. (we have seen how land-sea differential
affects temperature distribution)
 Narrow spacing between isotherms indicates a rapid change in temperature (high thermal gradient).
 Wide spacing between isotherms indicates a small or slow change in temperatures (low thermal gradient).
 The highest temperatures occur over the tropics and sub-tropics (high insolation). The lowest temperatures
occur in polar and subpolar regions in continents due to the effect of continentality.
 Diurnal and annual range of temperatures are highest in the interiors of continents due to the effect of
continentality (in continental interiors there will be no moderating effect of oceans).
 Diurnal and annual range of temperatures are least in oceans. [High specific heat of water and mixing of water
keep the temperature range low].
 Low temperature gradients are observed over the tropics (because the sun is almost overhead the entire year)
and high temperature gradients over middle and higher latitudes (the sun’s apparent path varies significantly
from season to season).
 Temperature gradients are more closely spaced over the eastern margins of continents. (This is because of
warm ocean currents)
 Temperature gradients are more on the western margins of continents. (This is because of cold ocean
currents).
 The isotherms are irregular over the northern hemisphere due to an enhanced land-sea contrast.
Because of the predominance of land over water in the north, the northern hemisphere is warmer.
 The thermal equator (ITCZ) lies generally to the north of the geographical equator.
 While passing through an area with warm ocean currents, the isotherms show a poleward shift. (Example:
North Atlantic Drift and Gulf Stream combined with westerlies in Northern Atlantic; Kurishino
Current and North Pacific current combined with westerlies in Northern Pacific).
 Mountains also affect the horizontal distribution of temperature. For instance, the Rockies and the Andes
stop the oceanic influence from going
inwards into North and South America.

Seasonal Temperature Distribution:

 The global distribution of temperature can well be
understood by studying the temperature
distribution in January and July.
 The temperature distribution is generally shown
with the help of isotherms.
 In general, the effect of the latitude on temperature is well pronounced as the isotherms are generally parallel
to the latitude. The deviation from this general trend is more pronounced in January than in July, especially in
the Northern Hemisphere.
 In the Northern Hemisphere, the land surface area is much larger than in the southern hemisphere.
Hence, the effects of landmass and ocean currents are well-pronounced.

Seasonal Temperature Distribution – January

 During January, it is winter in the northern hemisphere and
summer in the southern hemisphere.
 The western margins of continents are warmer than their
eastern counterparts, since the Westerlies are able to carry
high temperatures into the landmasses.
 The temperature gradient is close to the eastern margins of
continents. The isotherms exhibit a more regular behavior
in the southern hemisphere.

In the Northern Hemisphere:

 The isotherms deviate to the north over the ocean and to
the south over the continent. This can be seen in the North Atlantic Ocean.
 The presence of warm ocean currents, Gulf Stream and North Atlantic drift, make the Northern Atlantic
Ocean warmer and the isotherms show a poleward shift indicating that the oceans are warmer and are able
to carry high temperatures poleward.
 An equator-ward bend of the isotherms over the northern continents shows that the landmasses are over-
cooled and that polar cold winds are able to penetrate southwards, even in the interiors. It is much more
pronounced in the Siberian plain.
 Lowest temperatures are recorded over northern Siberia and Greenland.

In the Southern Hemisphere:

 The effect of the ocean is well pronounced in the southern hemisphere. Here the isotherms are more or less
parallel to the latitudes and the variation in temperature is more gradual than in the northern hemisphere.
 The high temperature belt runs in the southern hemisphere, somewhere along 30°S latitude.
 The thermal equator lies to the south of the geographical equator (because the Intertropical Convergence
Zone or ITCZ has shifted southwards with the apparent southward movement of the sun).
Seasonal Temperature Distribution – July:
 During July, it is summer in the northern hemisphere and
winter in the southern hemisphere. The isothermal behavior is
the opposite of what it is in January.
 In July, the isotherms generally run parallel to the latitudes.
The equatorial oceans record warmer temperatures, more than
27°C. Over the land, more than 30°C is noticed in the subtropical
continental region of Asia, along the 30° N latitude.

In the Northern Hemisphere:

 The highest range of temperature is more than 60° C over the north-eastern part of the Eurasian continent.
This is due to continentality. The least range of temperature, 3°C, is found between 20° S and 15° N.
 Over the northern continents, a poleward bend of the isotherms indicates that the landmasses are overheated
and the hot tropical winds are able to go far into the northern interiors.
 The isotherms over the northern oceans show an equatorward shift indicating that the oceans are cooler and
are able to carry the moderating effect into tropical interiors. The lowest temperatures are experienced over
Greenland.
 The highest temperature belt runs through northern Africa, west Asia, north-west India, arid southeastern
USA. The temperature gradient is irregular and follows a zig-zag path over the northern hemisphere.

In the Southern Hemisphere:

 The gradient becomes regular over the southern hemisphere but shows a slight bend towards the equator at the
edges of continents.
 Thermal equator now lies to the north of the geographical equator.

Lapse Rate:
 Lapse Rate is the rate of change in temperature observed while moving upward through the Earth’s
atmosphere.
 The lapse rate is considered positive when the temperature decreases with elevation, zero when the
temperature is constant with elevation.
 It is negative when the temperature increases with elevation (temperature inversion).
 The lapse rate of non-rising air-commonly referred to as the normal, or Environmental Lapse Rate (ELR)-
is highly variable, being affected by radiation, convection, and condensation; it averages about 6.5 °C per
kilometer in the lower atmosphere (troposphere).
Reasons for The Fall in Temperature With Rise in Elevation:
 When we move up a hill, we notice a fall in temperature. This fall in temperature with elevation is primarily
due to two reasons:
1. With an increase in elevation, the atmospheric pressure falls. A fall in pressure implies that the
temperature also falls [Pressure is directly proportional to Temperature and vice versa]
2. With an increase in elevation, the concentration of greenhouse gases decreases (Water vapor and carbon
dioxide fall sharply with elevation). Hence, the heat absorption capacity of the atmosphere will also
decrease.
 This sort of fall in temperature with elevation is called Temperature Lapse and the rate at which it happens
is called Temperature Lapse Rate or simply Lapse Rate.

Adiabatic Lapse Rate:

 Adiabatic Lapse Rate is the rate of fall in temperature of a rising or a falling air parcel adiabatically.
 It is without any heat exchange.
 Adiabatic or adiabatically: It means the heat doesn’t enter or leave the system. All temperature changes are
internal.
 The Adiabatic Lapse rate is governed by Gas law. According to gas law Pressure ‘P’ is directly proportional
to Temperature ‘T’ when Volume ‘V’ is a constant.

Latent Heat:
 The latent heat is normally expressed as the amount of heat (in units of joules or calories) per mole or unit
mass of the substance undergoing a change of state.
 It is the heat released or absorbed during a change of phase.
 Latent heat is the characteristic amount of energy absorbed or released by a substance during a change in its
physical state that occurs without changing its
temperature.
 The latent heat associated with melting a solid or
freezing a liquid is called the heat of fusion; that
associated with vaporizing a liquid or a solid or
condensing vapour is called the heat of vaporization.

Latent Heat of Condensation:

 Latent heat of condensation is the energy released when
water vapour condenses to form liquid droplets.
 An identical amount of calories (about 600 cal/g) is
released in this process.
 As moist air is lifted and cooled, water vapour eventually condenses, which then allows for huge amounts of
latent heat energy to be released, feeding the storm.
 Latent heat of condensation is the driving force behind all tropical cyclones.

 Condensation is the process where water vapor becomes liquid.

 Vaporization of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to vapor.

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