"Weather is the moment-by-moment and place-by-place description of the
state of the atmosphere, with events taking place on a small scale in
both space and time. A fall day may begin warm and rainy, clear by
midday, and finish with snow flurries.
Climate, on the other hand, encompasses the totality of weather
effects, accumulated over an extended period of time. Climate is
usually described in terms of normals, means, and extremes of a
variety of weather elements including temperature, precipitation, and
wind. By international convention, climate norms are computed from
averages of weather elements compiled over a 30-year period."
"The atmosphere is the central component of the complex, connected,
and interactive global environmental system upon which all life
depends.
Climate may be broadly defined as the long-term behavior of this
environmental system.
To understand fully and to predict changes in the atmospheric
component of the climate system, one must understand the sun, oceans,
ice sheets, solid earth, and all forms of life."
"Weather versus Climate"
http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/fall04/atmo336/lectures/sec4/climate1_new.html
"Some of the interacting components of the climate system include:
- Atmosphere
- Hydrosphere (oceans, fresh water)
- Biosphere (life)
- Land surface
- Cryosphere
All components of the climate system are linked, such that a change in
one affects all of the others."
"Complexity of the Climate System Makes Predictions of Climate Change
Difficult and Uncertain"
http://www.atmo.arizona.edu/students/courselinks/fall04/atmo336/lectures/sec6/modeling.html
Sincerely,
Wonko |
