The temperature of the

atmosphere
-Temperature
- Horizontal differences in temperature
- Vertical differences in temperature
 The temperature of
the atmosphere
How hot or cold the atmosphere is.
Temperature is measured with a
thermometer in degrees Celsius or
Fahrenheit or Kelvin
 Measuring and representing
temperature

A thermograph is an instrument that

obtains a continuous record of the
temperatures

A maximum and minimum thermometer records the highest and lowest

temperatures over a 24 hour period
 Minimum and maximum
thermometers
• Measure the highest and lowest
temperature in 24 hours
• Mercury push marker up to maximum
• There is also alcohol in the tube which
react to different temperatures
• The lowest temperature is recorded with a
marker
• The markers must be reset daily
Thermometers are kept in a
Stevenson screen
Design of a Stevenson's screen
• Louvered to allow air through
• Opening between the roof
and walls to allow air through
• Holes in the bottom to allow
ventilation and convection
• Painted white to prevent
absorption of extra heat
• Away from surface to cancel
out conduction
• Door Faces the poles to
prevent sunlight falling onto
the instruments
 The door of a Stevenson screen
opens away from direct sunlight
• It always opens to the South in the
Southern hemisphere
• The doors open to the North in the
Northern hemisphere
• The instruments inside the Stevenson
screen are all sensitive to temperature and
should not be exposed to direct sunlight
• Hygrometers, thermometers and
barometers are placed in the Stevenson
screen
Stevenson screen
An automated Stevenson screen
 Temperature terms
• Isotherm: lines connecting places with the same
temperature
• Temperatures are used to calculate mean
temperature for every month. The January and
July temperatures are the most important,
because it indicates the annual range
• Range is the difference between the highest and
lowest temperatures, e.g. daily (diurnal) or
annual range
• Minimum – lowest temp,
• Maximum – highest temp
Representing temperature data
January and July isotherms for the world in degrees Celsius
• Mean or average temperature: is calculated by adding all
the average monthly temperatures and dividing by 12.

•The annual range of temperature: is calculated by

subtracting the temperature of the coldest month from the
temperature of the hottest month.

• The daily or diurnal temperature: is calculated by

subtracting the lowest temperature of the day from the
highest temperature recorded.

•Isotherms : are lines that are drawn on maps joining all

places that have the same temperature values.
 Horizontal differences in
temperature
1. Latitude
2. Influence of the seasons
3. Ocean currents
4. Distance from the sea
5. Aspect
6. Orientation of mountain ranges
7. Cloud cover
8. Winds
 LATITUDE
Places closer to the equator have higher temperatures and places closer to the poles
have lower temperatures .
• The sun’s rays strike the surface of the earth at a more direct angle in
the lower latitudes and at an oblique angle in the higher latitudes.
•Places closer to the equator are hotter as :
• the heat is more concentrated because the rays heat a smaller surface
area.
• less insolation is lost through reflection, scattering and absorption.
• The rays pass through a thinner layer of atmosphere.
• There is more insolation available.
•There is a smaller area to be heated

The influence of latitude on temperatures

Horizontal temperature differences
• Temperature differ on the surface of the Earth
due to:
– Latitudinal differences (how far a place is from the
Equator)
– Seasonal differences (also influenced by latitude)
– Different ocean currents (warm east coasts, cold west
coasts)
– The distance from the sea (land and sea react
differently to heat)
– Aspect (the direction a slope faces)
– Orientation of mountain ranges (protect against wind
or channel wind to a place)
– Cloud cover
– Winds
 Atmosphere

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How latitude influence temperature
• The average temperature at the Equator is
much warmer than at the poles because
1)The same amount of sunlight heats a smaller surface at
the Equator than at the poles
2)The sunlight falls in at a more oblique angle at the poles
than at the Equator
3) Sunlight goes through more atmosphere at the poles
than at the Equator and more of it is reflected and
absorbed and scattered at the poles. Sunlight is more
concentrated at the Equator
• The temperature range at the poles is
much more than at the Equator, because
1) the day and night lengths are always the same at the
Equator, but varies a lot at the poles
Sunlight falls onto the surface of the Earth at
a more oblique angle towards the poles
How day lengths differ over the Earth
during different seasons
 INFLUENCE OF THE
SEASONS

As a result of the seasons the sun is directly above different lines of latitude at
different times of the year .
• Thesun is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn on
the 21st of December and so the zone of hottest
temperatures or HEAT EQUATOR lies south of the real
equator during the southern hemisphere summer.

•In the southern hemisphere winter the direct rays of the

sun are shining directly on the Tropic of Cancer ( 21 June )

•In summer the days are longer than the nights . There is
therefore more time for insolation and less time for loss of
terrestrial radiation.

•Places further from the equator experience greater

differences in the length of day and night and greater
differences in the length of summer and winter .
 OCEAN CURRENTS
Air assumes the characteristics of the surface on which it is resting .
Consequently air that is resting on a warm ocean is warm , while air that is
resting on a cold ocean is cold . Winds that blow from the land to the sea will
therefore increase or decrease the temperature on land .
DISTANCE FROM THE SEA
The ocean moderates the temperatures. This creates maritime
climates ( coastal places ) and continental climates ( inland places ).
Water
1. The sun’s rays penetrate the water
because it is transparent and therefore
heat is spread over a larger volume .
2. The water is mobile and therefore the
water that has been heated mixes with
the colder water .
3. The water surface reflects a lot of the
radiant energy .
4. Heat is used when evaporation
occurs .
5. The specific heat of water is greater
than for land. Specific heat is the
amount of heat needed to raise the
temperature of 1g of a substance 1 °C .
Land
1. The sun’s rays only heat a thin layer
because the rays cannot penetrate the
land.
2. There is no mobility and the heat is
concentrated on the surface.
3. More heat is absorbed as there is
less reflection.
4. There is less evaporation and so less
heat is used .
5. The specific heat of a land surface is
lower.
ASPECT: direction in which a slope
faces .
 Orientation of mountain ranges
• Large mountain ranges that orientated
from east to west block the cold polar
winds and prevent the cold air from
penetrating further south or north .
• Mountains ranges that run in a north to
south direction allow the cold air to reach
areas further south or north.
CLOUD COVER
 WINDS

Higher temperatures

Lower Temperatures

Lower Temperatures

Higher temperatures
Vertical differences in temperature

• Altitude : Environmental Lapse rate

Positive lapse rate
Temperature inversion
Negative lapse rate
The higher you go the colder it gets
 Environmental Lapse rate

The rate at which temperature

decreases with an increase in
altitude
• Theenvironmental lapse rate varies from day to
day and place to place, depending on the
amount of cloud cover, water vapor and other
greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.

• Positive lapse rate: temperature decreases with

altitude. (on average about 0.65°C per 100m).

•Temperature inversion: when temperature

increases with altitude. (also called a negative
lapse rate)
Ocean currents influence temperatures
• Next to warm ocean currents temperatures
are warmer then next cold ocean currents
Cold current coast Warm current coasts

• Cold dry stable air • Warm, humid,

• No clouds unstable air
• Little rain • Clouds
• Fog may occur • More rain
• Low temperatures • Mild to warm
• Small temperature temperatures
ranges • Medium to small
• Rich fishing grounds temperature range
• Tropical fish
The influence of oceans on temperature
• Water absorb heat to a much deeper level
• Water store heat and release the heat slowly at
night
• As the ocean currents move it takes water to
colder areas
• Land heats up quickly, but also cool down
quickly
• Land masses react different to heat than water
masses
• All heat on land is concentrated on the surface
• Oceans moderates coastal climates
 Maritime or vs. Continental
Coastal climates
• Small diurnal and • Large diurnal and
seasonal temperature seasonal temperature
ranges ranges
• Moderate climates • More extreme climate
• Experience land breezes • Experience convection
that drains away cold air due to excessive heating
at night during the day
• Experience sea breezes • Experience fast radiation
during the day which during the night – cold
cools down the coast • Hot days cold nights
• Warm days cool nights • Hot summers and cold
• Warm summers and cool winters
winters • Frost occur often
• Frost free
 Land and sea breezes moderates
the temperatures at the coast.
• Land breezes
– Develop during the night
– Drains cool air from the land to the
sea
LP
Cool HP
– HP over land and LP over sea, winds
move from HP to LP
• Sea breezes
– Develop during the day
– Air rises over land and form LP
– Air cooler over sea and forms HP
LP
– Cool winds blow from HP over sea to
Day
LP over land
Cool HP
 The influence of aspect on temperature
Summer sun moves further
South and is more above
valley – less of a difference

The same amount of

sunlight is concentrated
over a small area and heat
the slope intensively Winter sun
cover a large
area on the
pole facing
slope

Warm and
Cold and
dry slope
moist slope

Water table

South North
 Aspect
• The direction that a slope face determines how
much sunlight it will receive
• Slopes that are parallel to the Equator
experience large differences between
temperatures
• Slopes facing the Equator in both hemispheres
are warmer, which lead to more evaporation of
ground water and drier soil
• Slopes facing the poles are much colder, which
cause less evaporation and moist soil conditions
 Day and night conditions in a valley

Low Pressure Air heat up early

Fast terrestrial
radiation on clear
windless nights

Anabatic winds

Inversion Katabatic winds

Cool air Cold air

High Pressure
• Day conditions in a • Night conditions
valley – On cloudless nights the terrestrial
– Hills heat up first as radiation takes place fast and the
sun shine on them valley cools down quickly
first – On windless nights the air in a valley
– Air above hills heat does not mix and form layers with
up and rises causing different temperatures
LP to develop on – The air in contact with the cold land
hills surface cools down more than the
– Cold air in valley rest of the air
forms HP – This cold air becomes dense and
– Winds blow from the heavy and drains to the bottom of
HP on the valley floor the valley
to the LP on the hills – These are Katabatic winds
– These winds are – The cold air displaces the warmer air
called Anabatic upwards
winds – The layer of warm air above the cold
– The whole wind air forms a temperature inversion
system that develop (negative temperature lapse rate)
in the valley are – Frost forms on the cold valley floor
called Valley winds on winters nights
The orientation of Mountain ranges
 Clouds influence temperature
• On cloudy days a lot of the Insolation is
reflected by the clouds and it be will cooler
than sunny days
• On cloudy nights a lot of the terrestrial
radiation is trapped under the clouds and it
does not become as cold as usual
• Clear nights are colder than cloudy nights
• Clear days are warmer than cloudy days
During cloudy days Insolation reflects from
clouds lowering the day temperatures
During cloudy nights the terrestrial radiation is
trapped under the clouds and temperatures
does not drop that low.
The temperature decrease with an
increase in altitude
• Insolation heats the surface of the Earth
and terrestrial radiation heats the
atmosphere from the surface upward
• There are more greenhouse gasses near
the surface due to the higher air pressure
and therefore more heat can be absorbed
in the lower layers of the troposphere.
The temperature decrease with altitude
 Vertical temperature gradient
• Near to the surface of the Earth there is a
lot of greenhouse gasses that can absorb
heat and the air is thus warmer.
• Higher in the atmosphere the air pressure
is lower and there are less air molecules /
volume of air. This means that there is
also less greenhouse gasses that can
absorb heat and thus the air is colder
• Even if a place is on the Equator it can be
very cold if it is high above sea level, e.g.
Kilimanjaro
Seasons influence the vertical
temperature gradient
The snow line on a mountain range
 Temperature lapse rates
How temperature change with altitude
• Environmental lapse rate (ELR) Temperature
drops with 0,65ºC/100m in stable air masses
• When an air masses is moving the temperature
will drop as it rise or rise as the air subside with
1ºC/100m. This is called Dry Adiabatic lapse
rate (DALR).
• When an air mass rise and reach dew point
temperature and condensation takes place,
latent heat is released and the temperature only
drops with 0,5ºC/100m. This is called Wet
Adiabatic lapse rate (WALR).