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The Earth's weather is a consequence of its illumination by the Sun and the laws of thermodynamics. The atmospheric circulation can be viewed as a heat engine driven by the Sun's energy and whose energy sink , ultimately, is the blackness of space.
Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun (solar noon to solar noon) is its true solar day or apparent solar day. [26] It depends on Earth's orbital motion and is thus affected by changes in the eccentricity and inclination of Earth's orbit. Both vary over thousands of years, so the annual variation of the true solar day also varies.
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. [1] On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the troposphere, [2] [3] just below the stratosphere.
Earth's rotation relative to the Sun causes the 24-hour day/night cycle. A diurnal cycle (or diel cycle) is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the planet Earth around its axis. [1] Earth's rotation causes surface temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night, as well as weather changes throughout ...
Cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of cyclonic circulations, or low-pressure areas, within the atmosphere. [3] Cyclogenesis is the opposite of cyclolysis, and has an anticyclonic (high-pressure system) equivalent which deals with the formation of high-pressure areas—anticyclogenesis. [4]
Seasonal change in the angle of sunlight, caused by the tilt of Earth's axis, is the basic mechanism that results in warmer weather in summer than in winter. [1] [2] [3] Change in day length is another factor (albeit lesser). [2] [3]
It stops rising when it has cooled to the same temperature as the surrounding air. Associated with a thermal is a downward flow surrounding the thermal column. The downward-moving exterior is caused by colder air being displaced at the top of the thermal. Another convection-driven weather effect is the sea breeze. [6] [7]
δ 18 O, a proxy for temperature, for the last 600,000 years (an average from several deep sea sediment carbonate samples) [a]. The 100,000-year problem (also 100 ky problem or 100 ka problem) of the Milankovitch theory of orbital forcing refers to a discrepancy between the reconstructed geologic temperature record and the reconstructed amount of incoming solar radiation, or insolation over ...