How Does Air Temperature Shape a Place? Crash Course Geography #7 - Free Educational videos for Students in K-12

How Does Air Temperature Shape a Place? Crash Course Geography #7 - By Math and Science

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00:0-1	these days , air temperature is something we can easily
00:01	check on our phones or by stepping outside before deciding
00:04	if we really need the T shirt and sweater and
00:06	puffy jacket and rain slicker and two pairs of socks
00:09	and a hat and gloves . I'm sweating already .
00:12	But air temperatures influenced so much more than what we
00:14	wear . Global temperature patterns have long affected cultures and
00:17	community decision making and the landscape of plants and animals
00:20	. Thousands of years of atmospheric observations and science have
00:23	led up to all we know about a regions temperatures
00:25	and even how we think about a place . Like
00:27	if we know nothing else about the vast region we've
00:29	long called Siberia , we know that it's cold ,
00:32	really cold but there's more to it than that .
00:34	Just like there was more to the cultivation of bananas
00:36	or the G . O . Eco sphere of Iceland
00:38	. If you haven't already noticed , we'll be doing
00:40	a lot of these deep dives to oh I don't
00:41	know , go bananas throughout this series and today we'll
00:44	talk about ice and snow and regions like Siberia with
00:47	temperatures that drop well below zero . But more broadly
00:50	how the science and patterns of air temperatures affect geographical
00:52	space , place and human interactions with the earth .
00:55	I'm Elise a career and this is crash course Geography
00:59	. Mm Okay . As geographers , one of our
01:07	fundamental goals is to answer the question why is that
01:09	happening here and not there . So while we could
01:12	look up in exact temperature reading , we'd be focusing
01:15	on a single data point and missing the larger connections
01:17	that tell the story of the earth . Like Siberia
01:19	can claim the lowest temperature ever recorded where people actually
01:22	live . But that alone doesn't tell us why it
01:24	has such an enduring fascination as inhospitable forbidding and a
01:28	place of exile . Actually , humans have lived in
01:30	Siberia for the last 40,000 years . It's been home
01:33	to many nomad groups , is thought to be the
01:34	birthplace of the turkic people and was part of the
01:37	Mongol Empire in the 13th century before slowly coming under
01:40	Russian control in the 16th century , all these habitats
01:42	in different peoples have survived despite and because of Siberia's
01:45	temperature , Yeah , it's really cold . But we
01:48	can unpack that simple statement about the Earth's atmosphere and
01:50	air temperature by using geography to explore the space place
01:54	and human environment interactions . In fact , we can
01:56	get a pretty good idea of Siberia's story and air
01:58	temperature patterns with just four questions . First , what's
02:02	the latitude of the place ? As geographers , we
02:04	want to see how temperature plays into the larger pattern
02:06	of global weather systems of bio geography and as we'll
02:09	see soon , climate zones and the global distribution of
02:12	plants and cultural traits and many air temperature patterns are
02:15	tied to latitude . in our episode on the movements
02:17	of the earth . We saw how latitude is tied
02:19	to how much insulation or incoming solar radiation each location
02:22	receives during the day . The short waves from the
02:25	hot sun ping pong through the atmosphere and absorb into
02:27	the ground , warming the surface at night when a
02:29	place isn't taking an insulation anymore , the cooler earth
02:32	is still radiating out long wave energy . So air
02:35	temperature drops . There's actually a time lag between our
02:37	sunlight and air temperature cycles because the earth takes a
02:40	bit to warm up , which is why the hottest
02:41	part of the day usually happens a little after two
02:43	p.m. And this phenomenon is mimicked on a bigger scale
02:46	throughout the year as the earth revolves , and the
02:48	latitude where the sun is directly overhead , shifts north
02:50	and south between the tropic of capricorn and cancer .
02:53	So we get a daily and annual air temperature cycle
02:55	. We can actually track these cycles and map the
02:57	air , which is kind of mind blowing . When
02:59	you think about it , we can't see air around
03:01	us , but we can map it . These two
03:03	iceoplex maps or maps that show the continuous distribution of
03:06	data show the average air temperatures around the world in
03:08	january and july using ISA Therms or lines joining locations
03:12	that have the same temperature in the course of a
03:13	year as the latitude where the sun is directly overhead
03:16	shifts the ice affirms follow . Remember places get less
03:19	insulation as we move from the equator to the poles
03:22	. The ISO . Therms also show how air temperature
03:24	varies season to season at the equator , there's almost
03:26	no difference between seasons , but the temperatures at the
03:29	polls very a ton . Basically . We can use
03:32	higher latitude equals colder temperatures as a rule of thumb
03:34	and dive deeper to better understand a place maps like
03:37	these are one way we can expand on latitude temperature
03:39	patterns even for a vast geographical region that makes up
03:42	3/4 of Russia's total territory . Like Siberia , it's
03:46	big like we're talking has eight time zones . Big
03:49	Siberia spans all the way between 50 degrees and 70
03:51	degrees north latitude , which means it tips over into
03:53	the arctic circle on our january map . Winter in
03:56	the arctic and sub arctic brings plunging temperatures like the
03:59	frigid minus 50 degrees Celsius . I saw therm cuts
04:02	across northeastern Siberia that just under 1400 people who call
04:05	the town of recoil in the arctic circle home deal
04:08	with average minimum temperatures as low as minus 57 degrees
04:11	Celsius . So yeah , parts of Siberia are indeed
04:13	very cold . The extreme cold of the high latitudes
04:16	means that even though there's lots of land that can
04:17	be farmed the short growing season , plus the mud
04:20	created by melting snow and ice make agriculture difficult .
04:23	Even building roads is a problem . So Siberia remains
04:26	largely uninhabited except for small scattered lumber and mining settlements
04:29	. The second question we can ask is how far
04:32	away is the place from the ocean or sea on
04:34	the ice . Author maps the greatest temperature difference from
04:36	east to west happens where the iso . Therms leave
04:38	large land masses to cross the oceans . Let's follow
04:41	the 15 degrees Celsius . I saw Therm it lies
04:43	over central florida in january by july . It's moved
04:46	farther north , where it then loops into northwestern Canada
04:48	. But the ISo . Therms over oceans shift much
04:50	less land has a low specific heat , or how
04:52	much heat is needed to raise the temperature one degree
04:54	Celsius . On the other hand , water has a
04:57	high specific heat so oceans need more heat for temperatures
04:59	to increase one degree water can also store heat by
05:02	moving it down to mix with deeper , colder waters
05:04	through conviction . So a really important factor for air
05:06	temperature is ocean distribution . Places far from oceans tend
05:09	to have a stronger temperature contrast from winter to summer
05:12	. This condition is called the continental effect , or
05:14	continental Itty Siberia has extensive coastline and sits within the
05:18	vast interior of the asian landmass , which means it
05:20	has inland areas with great seasonal temperature fluctuation and areas
05:24	on the coast where the ocean keeps things more stable
05:26	south of the arctic circle , the high latitude of
05:28	Yakutsk and its location in the continental interior means its
05:31	annual temperature jumps from minus 45 up to 20 degrees
05:33	Celsius . So it can be far below 01 moment
05:36	and you're sipping hot honey tea . But several months
05:39	later it's warm enough to drink some iced Covas ,
05:41	which according to the power of the internet , is
05:42	like a refreshing soda though I've never tried it .
05:45	I still have to visit Siberia . So if you've
05:47	tried it , tell me what you think , both
05:48	continental Itty and the ocean influence Siberia's climate significantly .
05:52	Russia's far east has a distinctive subregion with longer growing
05:55	seasons and a milder climate because it's close to the
05:57	pacific ocean . As we move southwest , the wetter
05:59	climate of East Asia meets the continental climate of the
06:02	Siberian interior . To create a zone of ecological mixing
06:05	coniferous forests mixed with asian hardwoods and reindeer . Mix
06:08	the siberian tigers and leopards . There's actually great landscape
06:12	and climate diversity within frigid Siberia . Our third temperature
06:15	related question is what is the elevation of the place
06:18	at high elevation or how high a point is on
06:20	earth's surface relative to sea level ? There's less air
06:23	to absorb solar energy and we feel a drop in
06:25	temperature for the same less air reason . We also
06:27	feel a drop in temperature at high altitude , which
06:29	refers to the height of an object like an airplane
06:31	above earth's surface . Basically , highlands are always colder
06:35	than lowlands . Mount Kenya is about 50 200 m
06:37	high and is located at the equator , yet is
06:39	still cold enough to have glaciers . The ice affirms
06:42	around the Rocky Mountains dipped down in both summer and
06:44	winter . The effect is even more noticeable in the
06:47	Andes Mountains in South America . The many mountain ranges
06:49	in Siberia , like the Altai mountains to the south
06:52	or the very coy in the mountains to the east
06:53	, will be colder than the surrounding lowlands . They
06:56	also marked changes in the ecosystems because of the difference
06:58	in temperature and moisture that mountains provide . Like in
07:01	many of these higher elevations in high latitudes , with
07:03	cold temperature comes snow and ice , which go on
07:06	to influence temperature in a feedback loop of sorts .
07:08	The high albedo or reflection of insulation of the snow
07:11	, keeps winter temperatures low by reflecting much of the
07:13	winter insulation back to space . The type of surface
07:16	can even influence temperature on top of latitude continental Itty
07:19	and elevation . This idea brings us to our fourth
07:22	and final question is the place in urban area or
07:24	a rural area . Cities across the world are actually
07:27	trying to increase their albedo with green roofs covered in
07:30	plants , more trees and painted white surfaces . The
07:32	darker sealed surfaces of human made urban environments absorb a
07:36	lot of solar energy without also absorbing moisture . So
07:39	we end up creating urban heat islands where air temperatures
07:41	are several degrees higher than in the nearby suburbs and
07:43	countryside . But there's more to solving urban heat islands
07:46	than that . Let's go to the thought bubble .
07:48	In modern day phoenix , Arizona , we're actually smack
07:50	in the middle of the sonoran desert , which can
07:52	get quite hot a city ak urban heat island in
07:55	the desert even hotter . Despite that , phoenix is
07:57	one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US
08:00	. As the city sprawls into the surrounding desert ,
08:02	it's increasing its paved , sealed surfaces , making it
08:04	the fastest warming city in the US as well ,
08:06	temperatures above 37 degrees Celsius are common in the summer
08:09	and like in other parts of the world , heat
08:11	related deaths are a public health issue . And as
08:13	climate change increases heat in the lower part of the
08:15	atmosphere , summers are projected to only get hotter and
08:18	longer . On top of that . The effect of
08:20	urban heat isn't evenly distributed because of land use ,
08:22	like the distribution of highways , parking lots and parks
08:25	measuring temperatures across various city spaces can reveal a 10
08:28	degree difference between neighborhoods less than two miles apart .
08:31	For example , wealthier neighborhoods are usually well shaded with
08:33	trees while low income neighborhoods are hardest hit by heat
08:36	, meaning those communities suffer disproportionately from health threats due
08:39	to extreme heat . Phoenix has introduced a program that
08:41	treats heat readiness on par with climate change . Disaster
08:44	preparedness plans included return to traditional building materials like adobe
08:48	, redesigning low income neighborhoods with emergency cooling towers ,
08:51	increasing the city's tree canopy and orienting new buildings so
08:54	they shade sidewalks and courtyards , along with alerting residents
08:56	with text notifications when a heatwave is imminent . But
08:59	citywide measures can only do so much and combating urban
09:02	heat islands has to do with where and how resources
09:04	are given to the communities that need them most Thanks
09:06	thought bubble , studying air temperature also means we have
09:09	to ask questions about equity . How does temperature affect
09:12	the people that live in a certain place ? And
09:14	who has access to the public services and facilities to
09:16	stay healthy and go about their lives ? We saw
09:19	how latitude , ocean proximity and elevation come together to
09:22	make Siberia so cold that very little grows and few
09:24	people live here in the past . The search for
09:26	valuable fur and minerals , which still continues stimulated Russian
09:30	expansion into the vast wilderness of Siberia . Today ,
09:33	melting sea ice in the arctic ocean from higher temperatures
09:35	has opened up shipping lanes , which will bring increased
09:37	trade and growth to the northern Siberian region , But
09:40	it also adversely affects indigenous reindeer herders of the Russian
09:42	arctic delays and sea ice freezing disrupts seasonal migration routes
09:46	, destroying a way of life and economy . The
09:48	environment creates opportunities and challenges to which humans respond .
09:51	But human environment interaction is a two way street .
09:54	We'll keep examining these issues as we explore larger patterns
09:57	of global climate and their impact on lives , both
09:59	human and non human . Many maps and borders represent
10:02	modern geopolitical divisions that have often been decided without the
10:05	consultation , permission or recognition of the land's original inhabitants
10:09	. Many geographical place names also don't reflect the indigenous
10:12	or aboriginal peoples languages , so we have Crash course
10:14	, want to acknowledge these people's traditional and ongoing relationship
10:17	with that land and all the physical and human geographical
10:20	elements of it . We encourage you to learn about
10:21	the history of the place you call home through resources
10:24	like native land dot C . A . And by
10:26	engaging with your local indigenous and aboriginal nations through the
10:28	websites and resources they provide thanks for watching this episode
10:32	of Crash Course Geography , which was made with the
10:33	help of all these nice people . If you want
10:36	to help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever ,
10:38	you can join our community on Patreon .

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