Lesson 5 Thermal Energy and Climate

While the sun plays the largest role in climate creation, the way thermal energy is transferred around Earth also has a huge effect. Thermal energy is always transferred from areas of excess thermal energy to areas where there is not enough thermal energy. It can be transferred in many different ways, including global wind patterns and ocean currents. This lesson looked at each of these factors in detail and explained how each is formed.

Climates are also affected by the physical characteristics of the land. The location of large bodies of water or mountains can change the predicted climate of a location.

In the next lesson, we will look, through the use of climatographs, at some of the predicted climates and how some locations vary from those predicted climates.

World Biomes: An Introduction to Climate © YouTube 52Things: Rob & Jonas

Watch this video for a review of how climate is affected by different factors, especially topography, wind, and ocean currents. It gives you some examples of different places affected by these factors. The video gives you an introduction into climate change as well.