10 Most Influential Factors On The World's Weather

[AtlanticFlamethrower]

This is post is intended to be a bit of fun. Don't know the best forum for it so please move it if necessary - I think it will be something to learn from but a bit more complex than basic so I'm trying Advanced discussions.

What's your top 10 biggest influences on the world's weather? Try and put these things that drive the weather in order in any given year; most important globally first, then most important regionally. Do not include basic physics eg: gravity, chaos in the list but do include cycles. In my list big Volcano erruptions come under "acts of nature" with earthquakes and meteors.

1. Sun - solar radiation

2. Earth Movement (Milankovitch cycles)

3. ENSO - El Nino/La Nina (how warm/cold a huge volume of water is in the east pacific)

4. Acts of Nature

5. Atlantic Sea temperature anomalies (NAO)

6. Air pollution (eg. smog, regional)

7. Global warming (still a believer although I'm listening to contrary evidence & arguments...)

8. Stratosferric patterns (know nothing about this except that the stratosphere is above the troposphere, might include polar vortex?)

9. Extent of snow Ice/Cover (depends on many of the above factors, but resulting albedo or lack thereof can result in a cascade of effects

10. Moon/Planets in the solar system. (Don't really understand this one, putting it in because it's a popular subject of discussion and who knows what scientists of the future may prove).

Obviously this is unlikely to be an acceptable list for many here - I'm not an expert! Hope it's given a few ideas to start of with.

[BLAST FROM THE PAST]

AFT

No replies yet so I'll give my list

1) Without doubt solar radiation

2) Earths Orbit of sun

3) Solar/planetary magnetic fields

4) Earths magnetic set up....ie magnetic north pole is moving position hence will reposition polar vortex

5) Ocean currents

6) ENSO, SSTs

7) MJO, PDO, PNA, AO, NAO

Natural global events ie Volcanic eruption

9) Cloud Cover/clear skies...affects the radiated wavelengths of the sun entering the atmosphere.

10) Snow/ice cover albedo affect.

BFTP

Edited June 29, 2006 by BLAST FROM THE PAST

[BrickFielder]

I think the short term influences are not the same as the long term ones. Here is a very quick stab at some ideas.

Short term (Up to three months)

1) Earths Tilt (Seasonal variation)

2) Sea Surface Temperatures (including ENSO ,El Nino and Atlantic) and its affects on the walker circulation

3) Current Air temperatures

4) Warm and cold air boundaries and the Jet Stream.

5) MJO activity and the location of the ITCZ and how the Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells are affected.

6) Planetary Albedo

7) Snow and Ice cover locations.

Ozone distribution in the Stratosphere

9) Stratospheric Temperatures

10) Sulphur Dioxide emissions and dust clouds from volcanoes

NAO, PDO and AO, PNA not included because they are really part of 2,3 and 4

Mid Term (6 months to 2 years)

1) Sea Surface Temperatures (6months+)

2) Snow and Ice cover locations

3) Sun spot activity + Moon and Sun orbits

4) Ocean Current and salt distribution

5) Stratospheric chemical mixture

6) Decadal and multi decadal natural cycles

7) Volcanic activity

Global warming due to greenhouse gases

9) Magma movements and gravitational changes

10) Sprite (lightning) activity and upper atmosphere chemical mixture.

Long Term

1) Stratospheric chemical mixture.

2) Mesosphere and Ionosphere chemical mixture.

3) Decadal and Multi decadal natural cycles.

4) Sun Spot cycles and Lunar and planetary orbits.

5) The earths tilt

6) The earths gravitational and Magnetic field.

7) Global warming due to greenhouse gases

Changes in the vegetation.

9) Close proximity Comets (Leave Ice tails which can affect the ionosphere)

10) Long term volcanic activity.

[Stratos Ferric]

This is post is intended to be a bit of fun. Don't know the best forum for it so please move it if necessary - I think it will be something to learn from but a bit more complex than basic so I'm trying Advanced discussions.

What's your top 10 biggest influences on the world's weather? Try and put these things that drive the weather in order in any given year;

8. Stratosferric patterns (know nothing about this except that the stratosphere is above the troposphere, might include polar vortex?)

Obviously this is unlikely to be an acceptable list for many here - I'm not an expert! Hope it's given a few ideas to start of with.

Hey, I'm good, but even I'm not THAT good. There are times when spelling is everything!

[VillagePlank]

(11) Hopecasting?

[parmenides3]

Sorry to be obtuse; do you mean weather, or climate?

P

[VillagePlank]

Aren't they both the same

[sconetone]

12. BBC website 5-day forecast (creates the opposite in real terms)

[VillagePlank]

(13) GFS

[parmenides3]

14) John Holmes.

:unsure:

[JRMcLeod]

Erm top 5 for me below...i think if you mean climate and if 1 from the list wasnt there then there would be a huge difference...

1. The Sun

2. Reinforest or the Great Northern Pine Forest

3. Arctic and Antarctic

4. Humans

5. El Ninio

[Thundery wintry showers]

16) TEITS. Sod's Law- if you keep predicting easterlies, they don't happen.

[Somerset Squall]

Aren't they both the same

No, Weather is something that changes daily in a local area, wheras Climate is long-term atmospheric conditions over a large area.

[Hiya]

1. The sun

2. Things that fall from the sky

3. Geological activity

4. the way the surface of the earth behaves in relation to 1.

6. human activity