Explain how the following factors affect the temperature of a place:
(a) altitudes
(b) distance from the sea
(c) Slope and aspect
(a) How altitude affects the temperature of a place:
- Altitude is the height above sea level.
- Higher altitudes (mountain tops) are cooler than the surrounding lowlands
- Temperature decreases with height. The rate of decrease is about 6.5°C per 1000mm of ascent.
- This is because air is not heated directly by insolation
- The earth surface is heated first earth surface space is by radiation
- Air is then heated through conduction on the earth's surface
- Heated air particles rise and cooler ones descend
- Thus the base of the atmosphere is warmer than the top
- Air is thinner n the upper atmosphere so it is unable to hold much heat.
- This effect is only true in the troposphere.
- Mt. Kilimanjaro is capped by ice
(b) How distance from the sea affect the temperature of a place:
The sea heats up more slowly than the land
1. Land requires one-third (1/3) of energy to heat a given volume of land than the equivalent volume of the sea.
2. Solar insolation penetrates the sea more deeply than it penetrates the land.
3. Heating power is less concentrated on the sea than on land
4. The impact of the insolation is felt more on the land surface than the sea surface
5. The oceans cool down slower than the land as it slowly loses heat by radiation
6. Temperature over the sea is cooler than over the land
7. The lands close to the sea have lower temperatures than those far from the sea.
8. Sea breeze reduces the temperature of the adjacent coastlands.
9. This results in the temperature increasing as one moves inland from the coast.
10. This is especially so on tropical days and temperature summers.
11. In tropical nights and temperate winters the reversé becomes the case.
12. This process is also known as continentality.
(c) How slope and aspect affect the temperature of a place:
- Beyond the Northern and southern tropics, Scopes do not receive the same amount of insolation from the sun.
- The amount of isolation received depends on the angle of elevation of the midday sun.
- In the northern hemisphere, the south-facing slopes face the sun.
- As such, the south-facing slopes receive a good amount of insolation.
- On the contrary, the north-facing slopes in the northern hemisphere do not.
- Therefore the south-facing slopes are warmer
- in the southern hemisphere, the north-facing slopes receive a good amount of insolation.
- These slopes become warmer than the south facing slopes
-Therefore they are warmer.
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