What causes the uneven heating of the earth's surface?
2 Answers
the rays of the sun.
Explanation:
the earth is titled on its axis.
the rays of the sun fall directly on the equator, heating the equator more than the other regions.
they fall slanting or obliquely as you move north or south of the equator.
the heat also depends on the revolution of the earth,when it is summer in the southern and visa versa.sometimes the direct rays of the sun are on the tropic of Cancer and sometimes on the tropic of Capricorn.
this heats the earth unevenly,forming wind and ocean currents and sustaining life.
Albedo
Explanation:
Usually when we talk about uneven heating of the Earth's surface we are discussing convection. The uneven heating results in some of the atmosphere to be warmer than other parts and changes in volume and pressure which result in updrafts and can cause thunderstorms and other violent weather.
The cause of this is the reflectiveness of the surface of the Earth at that point (the albedo) and the angle that the sun's rays strike it at. A field covered with snow and ice is going to be much more reflective than a black top asphalt parking lot. As such the parking lot absorbs much more shortwave radiation from the sun and gets much warmer.
