ITCZ AND OCEAN CIRCULATION HIGHER NOTES: Introduction: The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is an area of low

pressure that forms where the Northeast Trade Winds meet the Southeast Trade Winds near the earth's equator. As these winds converge, moist air is forced upward. This causes water vapor to condense, or be "squeezed" out, as the air-cools and rises, resulting in a band of heavy precipitation around the globe. This band moves seasonally, always being drawn toward the area of most intense solar heating, or warmest surface temperatures. It moves toward the Southern Hemisphere from September through February and reverses direction in preparation for Northern Hemisphere Summer that occurs in the middle of the calendar year. However, the ITCZ is less mobile over the oceanic longitudes, where it holds a stationary position just north of the equator. In these areas, the rain simply intensifies with increased solar heating and diminishes as the sun moves away. An exception to this rule occurs when there is an ENSO event, during which the ITCZ is deflected toward unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific. The location of the ITCZ varies throughout the year and while it remains near the equator, the ITCZ over land ventures farther north or south than the ITCZ over the oceans due to the variation in land temperatures. The location of the ITCZ can vary as much as 40 to 45 of latitude north or south of the equator based on the pattern of land and ocean. In Africa, the ITCZ is located just south of the Sahel at about 10, dumping rain on the region to the south of the desert (as we have mentioned briefly when studying Rural Land Degradation). The Intertropical Convergence Zone has been called the doldrums by sailors due to the lack of horizontal air movement (the air simply rises with convection). The ITCZ is also known as the Equatorial Convergence Zone or Intertropical Front. There's a diurnal cycle to the precipitation in the ITCZ. Clouds form in the late morning and early afternoon hours and then by 3 to 4 p.m., the hottest time of the day, convectional thunderstorms form and precipitation begins. NOTE: You must be able to EXPLAIN the seasonal variation in CLIMATE over AFRICA making reference to the movement of the INTER TROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE.

Ocean currents
Ocean currents are movements of surface water. How the world's oceans move has a huge influence on our climate and it, in turn, is influenced by a number of factors. You need to be able to describe and explain the patterns and impacts of the earth's ocean currents. Like atmospheric circulation, ocean currents help to redistribute energy across the earth. Because they cover 67% of the earth's surface, the oceans receive 67% of the sun's energy that reaches earth. The ocean holds on to this heat for longer than the earth does and the ocean currents move this heat around, from the tropics to higher latitudes. In total, ocean currents transfer about 25% of the global heat budget.

Look at the world map of ocean currents. You can see that: The currents set up circular loops or gyres in both the northern and southern hemispheres The pattern of current flow is clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern hemisphere In the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the currents make a similar pattern

Ocean currents flowing away from the equator are called warm currents. The water in these currents is not necessarily warm, but it's warm compared to what you would expect for that latitude. The Gulf Stream is a good example of a warm current. If a current flows towards the equator it is a cold current, for example the Canaries current. These patterns can be explained by a number of factors:

The prevailing winds on the surface create friction with the surface water, setting up the ocean currents. The huge size of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans allows these patterns to form. The trade winds drive the pattern between 0 and 30 degrees north and south and the westerlies create the pattern between 30 and 60 degrees north and south. Ocean currents don't flow due north or due south because of the Coriolis force caused by the earth's rotation. This deflects the currents to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. Uneven heating produces density differences in the oceans. Cold dense polar air sinks, and then spreads towards the equator where it pushes up the less dense warmer water, which moves off towards the polar areas.

Look again at the map and, using the above points, you must be able to explain the different patterns you see there. You must be able to describe and explain variations in global temperatures for the last 100-150 years. Write notes from the PowerPoint about this and refer to them using this diagram.

Air masses are widespread expanses of homogenous air that is traveling in a horizontal direction. They are termed homogenous because the temperature and humidity levels of the air mass are similar throughout the surface layers. Horizontally they can measure up to 100s of km across. Areas where uniform conditions are found (such as in areas of sub-tropical high pressure zones) are the most suitable locations for the development of air masses. The same can be said for polar and large continental regions. Some masses are extremely thick and extend upwards into the stratosphere. The air masses tend to migrate away from their source and, though traveling great distances, they can still retain many of the original physical properties in terms of temperature and humidity of their source regions. If the air mass originates in a warm, dry area e.g. over a desert, it will bring those kinds of conditions to the areas over which it passes. If it originates over water areas, the air mass will bring wetter conditions.

Air Masses:

 The masses are generally termed Maritime M or Continental C depending whether they originated over sea or land. They are also denoted as Polar, Tropical or Arctic. They are denoted as Mt or Ct with the small letter indicating maritime or continental origin and the large letter showing the source region. It is quite normal to assume that tropical air masses include any air, which has its source in the equatorial regions. Task: open page 19 of the higher textbook. Look at Tropical Africa: Climate. Note: you must be able to describe and account for variations in West African rainfall with reference to the ITCZ.

Global warming
The diagram below shows variations in global temperature over the past 100 years. Note that the y-axis shows the difference in degrees Celsius from the 1900 mean (average) temperature. Global mean surface temperature 1900-2000

You may be asked to describe what a line graph like this shows. Broadly, this graph shows that the overall trend is a rise in global surface temperature from 1900 to 2000.

In more detail it shows:

There was a drop in mean (average) temperature of 0.1 degree in the first 10 years of the 20th century The temperature then increased, reaching 0.3 degrees above the 1900 mean by 1940 The average temperature then dropped back to 0.2 degrees above the 1900 figure by 1950 and fluctuated around that figure until 1975 In the past 25 years of the century the temperature rose rapidly to 0.7 degrees higher than 1900 by the year 2000

Remember that the gradient of this line graph shows how quickly or slowly the temperature is changing - the steeper the slope, the faster the change. The temperature varied due to a combination of physical and human factors. Physical causes of global warming and cooling include:

Variations in solar energy - sunspot activity raises global temperature Volcanic eruptions - large quantities of volcanic dust in the atmosphere shield the earth from incoming insulation, lowering global temperature For example, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 caused a dip in global temperatures in the early 1990s Milankovitch cycles or variations in the tilt and/or orbit of the earth around the sun Changing oceanic circulation such as the periodic warming (El Nino) and cooling (La Nina) of areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean

These physical causes of global temperature change have always existed and have been responsible for alternate heating and cooling cycles of the earth's temperature. The human causes of global warming have been in the news a lot in recent years you can probably think of a few examples. Human factors are the result of growing population and economic developments. They include:

The burning of fossil fuels for transport, industry and power, producing carbon dioxide

World-wide deforestation, sometimes involving rainforest burning, which also produces carbon dioxide Car exhausts and nitrogen fertilisers, producing nitrous oxide CFCs found in fridges, air conditioning and aerosols and as a byproduct of the production of polystyrene packaging, like pizza and burger boxes Methane, produced from rice fields, landfill sites and from both ends of cattle

These different greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have caused an enhanced greenhouse effect, trapping some outgoing infrared radiation and keeping the earth warmer than it might otherwise be. Collectively, these physical and human causes have produced the pattern seen in the graph above.