What is diurnal and annual variation of air temperature and seasonal variation and what causes the differences in the temperature of air in land and sea?
The difference between the maximum and minimum daily temperatures is Diurnal temperature range. The difference between the hottest and coldest months, with monthly mean temperatures, is annual temperature range in each case. The large differences in the values, diurnal and seasonal variation of the measured incoming solar radiation between the dry and wet seasons are attributed to the attenuation of the flux by aerosol particles in the dry season and increased cloudiness and humidity in the wet season. Radiation is causing the winter-time air temperatures over water to be warmer than the winter-time air temperatures over land. The heat of the ocean is being given off into the air, thus making the air substantially warmer. The oceans in the northern hemisphere receive more heat due to their contact with larger extent of land than their counterparts in the southern hemisphere and thus the temperature of surface water is comparatively higher in the former than the latter. Ideally the temperature difference between the land and water should be around 6-10 degrees Fahrenheit. The land is able to heat up much faster than water during the day while the water is able to hold in its heat better than the land during the night due to specific heat differences between them.
Ocean water is moving through the lower few feet of the air as ocean surface waves, but this doesn't occur because of the sun's heat. The final process, radiation, is causing the winter-time air temperatures over water to be warmer than the winter-time air temperatures over land. Water has about four times higher heat capacity than land, i.e. it takes much more energy to increase the water temperature and the water temperature will therefore respond slower to temperature changes. It is normal for water temperature to be less than air temperature because evaporation takes heat from the water. With lower humidity in the air, evaporation is greater, increasing the temperature difference. The difference between the maximum and minimum daily temperatures is known as the Diurnal temperature range. The difference between the hottest and coldest months, with monthly mean temperatures, is annual temperature range in each case. The diurnal range of temperature is also influenced by soils and their coverage in addition to seasons. Addition of daily maximum and minimum temperature divided by two is daily mean / average temperature. In northern hemisphere winter minimum occurs in January and summer maximum in July. The difference between the maximum and minimum daily temperatures is known as the Diurnal temperature range. The difference between the hottest and coldest months, with monthly mean temperatures, is called the annual temperature range in each case.
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