Climate

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter examines the definition and the physical controls of climate. Climate is controlled by the different amount of solar energy received at the equator and the poles. Climate is the redistribution of energy to undo this imbalance. The atmosphere and the oceans undertake this redistribution. Complications are added because the Earth’s axis of rotation is at an angle with respect to the Sun, which leads to there being a strong season cycle. In addition the Earth rotates every 24 hours, plunging the Earth in and out of darkness. This means the redistribution of energy away from the equator takes place on a spinning ball. This creates the Coriolis Effect and helps to explain why nearly all-weather systems seem to spin.</jats:p>