Preview - Sun, Sunlight, and Weather Patterns

Sun, Sunlight, and Weather Patterns

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Sun, Sunlight, and Weather Patterns (26:00)

Item# 2402
©1990

Climate is a changing phenomenon, the first signs of alteration appearing in its day-to-day behavior—i.e., the weather. One readily observable recent climatic change is the increase in the number and ferocity of giant weather events like hurricanes. This program explains the origin of tropical storms, tropical rainforests, and polar deserts. It shows the route and the effect of the Gulf Stream and explains its role in the Little Ice Age of the 16th century; theorizes about the events that caused the Sahara to become desert; and examines the link between these events, changes in the sun’s activity, and cycles involving dust storms and volcanic eruption. (26 minutes)

Segments in this Video - (10)

1. Hurricanes (03:18)

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The first signs of climate change can be seen in day-to-day weather. Destructive hurricanes disperse heat across the globe; increased hurricane activity may be a sign of climate change.

2. Rainforests, Deserts, and Temperate Zones (01:21)

Warm, damp tropical air rises at the equator; when it cools the water vapor it contains falls as tropical rain. Dry air moving toward the poles slowly sinks to Earth and rainforests give way to deserts. Temperate zones are sandwiched between these deserts.

3. Tornados (02:00)

Tornados are the most powerful winds known on the planet. A 1982 tornado killed 46 people as it cut a half-mile wide path through Wichita Falls, Texas.

4. Britain's Weather (01:54)

Britain's most extreme weather is usually benign, but the great storm of October 16, 1987 is an exception. That storm killed 18 people and felled 15 million trees. Most of Britain's weather travels from the west, across the Atlantic Ocean.

5. Effects of Oceans and the Gulf Stream (02:06)

Oceans heat up and cool down more slowly than the atmosphere above them; the top three meters of the oceans store as much heat as all the gases in the atmosphere. The Gulf Stream keeps the western coast of Europe free from ice at latitudes that are frozen in North America.

6. Evidence of Changing Landscapes (02:07)

A change in Earth's orbit may have transformed a once green landscape into the Sahara desert. Cave paintings from Algeria show that humans lived, hunted, and raised livestock in an area that is barren today.

7. Europe's Little Ice Age (01:53)

Earth's climate has continued to fluctuate over the course of recent history. A change in the Gulf Stream's course likely caused Europe's Little Ice Age during the Middle Ages; sunspot activity may also have been a contributor.

8. Solar Rhythms and Volcanic Activity (03:41)

Solar rhythms affect weather; increases in the Sun's activity have often coincided with droughts in the American great plains. Volcanic eruptions have had significant impacts on weather and climate throughout history.

9. Increased Greenhouse Gases (02:51)

Shrinking glaciers provide evidence that the planet has warmed up over the past century. The rise in global temperatures coincides with increased human production of greenhouse gases that began during the Industrial Revolution.

10. Unusual Weather, El Niño, and Global Warming (05:06)

Unusual weather patterns, including hot British summers and rainy weather in California, might be isolated events or signs of climate change. A 1982 El Niño brought storms and floods to parts of South America during what should have been the dry season. There is a strong link between global warming and the El Nino phenomenon.