Climate, Atmospheric Heating, and Romeo & Juliet Act 3 Scene 5 Flashcards

The Heating of the Atmosphere and Insolation

• Primary Source of Energy: The sun is the primary source of energy for the Earth, known as insolation (an abbreviation for incoming solar radiation).
• Energy Transfer Process:
  • The ground absorbs incoming solar radiation (insolation).
  • The ground then re-radiates this energy back into the atmosphere as terrestrial radiation.
• Seasonal Warmth: Places are hotter in the summer due to two main astronomical factors:
  • Solar Angle: During summer, the sun is more directly overhead, meaning the insolation is more concentrated.
  • Daylight Duration: Places experience more daylight hours in summer, providing more time for insolation to take place.
• Latitudinal Temperature Variation: As one moves further from the equator, the following changes occur:
  • The difference between summer and winter temperatures increases.
  • The difference between the length of day and night becomes significantly greater.

Factors Affecting Temperature

Temperature is influenced by five primary factors:

1. Distance from the Equator (Latitude): Higher latitudes receive less direct sunlight.
2. Distance from the Sea (Oceanity): Proximity to water bodies moderates temperature.
3. Height Above Sea Level (Altitude): Temperature decreases with elevation.
4. Ocean Currents: Movement of warm or cold water across the globe.
5. Mountains (Relief / Aspect): The physical orientation and shape of the land.

Latitude and Solar Geometry

• Equatorial Regions (Low Latitudes): Sunlight strikes the Earth most directly around $0^{\circ}$ (the Equator). The sun's rays travel a short distance through the atmosphere and cover a small area, resulting in high intensity.
• High Latitudes (Polar Regions): Near the North Pole ($60^{\circ}\text{N}$ to $90^{\circ}\text{N}$) and South Pole ($60^{\circ}\text{S}$ to $90^{\circ}\text{S}$), sunlight strikes at a low angle. The rays must travel a long distance through the atmosphere and spread across a large area, resulting in lower temperatures.
• Specific Latitudinal Zones:
  • Tropic of Cancer: $23.5^{\circ}\text{N}$
  • Tropic of Capricorn: $23.5^{\circ}\text{S}$
  • Arctic Circle: $66.5^{\circ}\text{N}$
  • Antarctic Circle: $66.5^{\circ}\text{S}$

Distance from the Sea (Oceanity)

• Differential Heating: Land surfaces heat up and cool down much more quickly than water surfaces.
• Coastal Regions:
  • Summer: Water takes longer to heat up than land. Consequently, coastal areas are cooled by the relatively colder water temperatures.
  • Winter: Water takes longer to cool down. It retains heat from the summer and keeps coastal areas warmer.
  • Characteristics: Heats and cools slowly; cool in summer, warm in winter.
• Inland Regions:
  • Summer: The land heats up quickly, making inland areas warmer than the coast.
  • Winter: The land loses heat rapidly, making these areas significantly colder.
  • Characteristics: Heats and cools quickly; warm summer, cool winter.

Altitude and Lapse Rates

• Temperature Decrease: It becomes colder as altitude increases because the air is thinner and less able to retain heat.
• Environmental Lapse Rate (ELR): The average rate of temperature decrease is $0.65\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ per $100\text{m}$.
• Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR): The rate at which the temperature of a dry air parcel changes as it rises or falls, which is $1\,^{\circ}\text{C}$ per $100\text{m}$.
• Case Study (Ben Nevis, Scotland):
  • Sea-level: $10\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 200 m: $8\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 400 m: $6\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 600 m: $4\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 800 m: $2\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 1000 m: $0\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • 1200 m: $-2\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • Summit (1347 m): Approximately $-3.5\,^{\circ}\text{C}$

Ocean Currents

Ocean currents act as a global circulation system, moving water from the poles and the equator.

• Warm Currents: These originate near the equator and travel toward the poles, raising the temperature of the land they pass and increasing rainfall (e.g., the Gulf Stream).
• Cold Currents: These originate near the poles and flow toward the equator, lowering temperatures and often creating dry, desert-like conditions along coasts (e.g., the Benguela current off the coast of Africa).
• Major Global Currents identified:
  • Pacific Drift / California Current
  • North/South Equatorial Currents
  • Gulf Stream (North Atlantic)
  • Brazil Current
  • Canary Current
  • Benguela Current
  • Peru Current
  • Mozambique Current
  • West Wind Drift (Southern Ocean)

Aspect and Relief

• Aspect: This refers to the direction in which a slope faces.
  • North Facing Slopes (Northern Hemisphere): Generally cooler and shadier.
  • South Facing Slopes (Northern Hemisphere): Generally hotter and sunnier because they receive more direct solar radiation.
• Agricultural/Settlement Impact: Aspect influences soil temperature, which determines the types of agriculture and locations of settlements.

Types of Rainfall

Convectional Rain

1. Sun's energy reaches the earth.
2. The surface is heated, which in turn heats the surrounding air.
3. The heated air expands and rises.
4. As the air rises, it becomes cooler. Once it reaches the dew point temperature, condensation occurs.
5. Cumulonimbus clouds are frequently formed.
6. Water droplets become large and heavy enough to fall to the ground as rain.

Relief Rain (Orographic)

• Prevailing winds blow warm, moist air from the ocean toward high ground (mountains).
• The air is forced to rise over the mountain.
• As it rises, the air cools and condenses to form clouds, leading to precipitation on the windward side.
• After passing the peak, the dry air descends and warms, creating a rain shadow on the leeward side.

World Climate Regions

• Tropical Climates: Rainforest, Grasslands, Semiarid, Desert.
• Subtropical Climates: Humid Subtropical, Desert.
• Temperate Climates: Temperate, Grasslands, Desert.
• Polar Climates: Polar Tundra, Polar Ice Cap, Subarctic.
• Highland Climates: Climate varies specifically with altitude.
• Sample Data (Pretoria):
  • Altitude: $1281\text{m}$
  • Climate Class: Cfa (Humid Subtropical)
  • Average Temperature: $18.4\,^{\circ}\text{C}$
  • Annual Rainfall: $661\text{mm}$

Literature Study: Romeo and Juliet (Act 3 Scene 5)

Dialogue Summary

In the provided excerpt (Lines 107–125), Lady Capulet informs Juliet that her father, Lord Capulet, has arranged for her to marry Count Paris early next Thursday morning at Saint Peter's Church to help her overcome her grief (which they believe is for Tybalt).

Verbatim Text and Modern Translation

• Lady Capulet: "Well, well, thou hast a careful father, child; One who… Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy… early next Thursday morn The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, The County Paris… Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride."
• Juliet's Defiance: "He shall not make me there a joyful bride. I wonder at this haste, that I must wed Ere he that should be husband comes to woo… when I do [marry], I swear It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris."

Questions & Discussion

1. "Ere he that should be husband comes to woo." Explain what Juliet means by this.
   • Juliet is critiquing the speed of the arrangement. She is stating that it is strange and inappropriate to be married to a man (Paris) who hasn't even properly courted or "wooed" her yet.
2. How does Juliet's tone change from her first speech to her second?
   • In her first speech (line 111), Juliet is polite, compliant, and inquisitive ("Madam, in happy time. What day is that?"). By her second speech (lines 116–123), her tone becomes fierce, defiant, and emphatic as she swears by Saint Peter that she will not marry Paris.
3. Juliet nearly lets her secret slip. Quote the lines where this happens and explain how she disguises it.
   • The lines are: "I swear It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris." She disguises the fact that she is already married to Romeo by framing her preference for him as a hyperbolic expression of her intense dislike for Paris—essentially saying she'd rather marry her "enemy" than the man her parents chose.
4. What aspect of Juliet's character is evident in this extract?
   • Juliet shows significant independence, resourcefulness, and courage. She is no longer the passive daughter seen earlier in the play and is willing to directly defy her mother and risk her father's wrath to stay true to Romeo.