![]() As the satellite orbits from North Pole to South Pole, it captures observations in the afternoon on one side of Earth and observations of the early morning on the other side of the planet. For example, JPSS orbits Earth twice a day in what’s called an afternoon orbit. Satellites in the Joint Polar Satellite System ( JPSS) can also provide information on differences between day and night. The GOES-R series satellites monitor cloudiness and land surface temperature-information that helps scientists to understand how the differences between day and night can affect a region’s climate. In addition, the temperature of the land becomes cooler at night, and there are changes in the amount of clouds. Both of these things can influence a region’s climate. However, they also collect information that helps us monitor a region’s climate over time.įor example, satellites in the GOES-R series-short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R-can monitor the sea surface temperature and the Gulf Stream, a powerful current in the Atlantic Ocean. Weather satellites mostly help with tracking conditions that are happening right now and forecasting weather in the near future. Image credit: USDA/Agricultural Research Service/Oregon State University How do weather satellites play a role? It’s a specific type of climate zone map that can help you figure out what kinds of plants will survive in your back yard. This is called a Plant Hardiness Zone map. This is roughly where those climate zones appear on a globe: Even in summer, the temperatures here never go higher than 50☏ (10☌)! In the polar climate zones, it’s extremely cold. In the winter, this zone can experience snowstorms, strong winds, and very cold temperatures-sometimes falling below -22☏ (-30☌)!Į: Polar. These regions have warm to cool summers and very cold winters. In this zone, there are typically warm and humid summers with thunderstorms and mild winters.ĭ. These climate zones are so dry because moisture is rapidly evaporated from the air and there is very little precipitation.Ĭ: Temperate. In this hot and humid zone, the average temperatures are greater than 64☏ (18☌) year-round and there is more than 59 inches of precipitation each year.ī: Dry. Today, climate scientists split the Earth into approximately five main types of climates. ![]() The categories were also influenced by a region’s latitude-the imaginary lines used to measure our Earth from north to south from the equator. His categories were based on the temperature, the amount of precipitation, and the times of year when precipitation occurs. Using this information, in the late 1800s and early 1900s a German climate scientist named Wladimir Koppen divided the world's climates into categories. The snow-covered peaks of the Chigmit Range during winter.
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