Surface Water and Global Temperatures

Surface Water and Global Temperatures

1- Thermal Inertia: San Francisco and NorfolK, Virginia area are the same Latitude, Why would you NV compare to SF, have warmer summers and cooler winters?

About half of this light reaches the surface, where it is converted to heat, then transferred into the atmosphere by conduction, radiation, and evaporation. the atmosphere, like the land and ocean, eventually radiates the heat back into space in the form of long wave (infrared ) radiation.




2- Describe the different ways temperatures are "moderated" on Earth without moderate temperatures, Earth could not support life as we know it.

Water takes much longer than air to heat up and also longer to cool because it has much higher specific heat. thus, on hot days, water (oceans, lakes and rivers) absorb heat, keeping the air something cooler. when the air gets cool, however water slowly releases heat to the atmosphere raising air temperatures. this is why temperatures along coast lines are cooler in summer and warmer in winter relative to inland areas. temperature varies.