Climate Notes

Climate Climate is the long-term average weather conditions that occur in a particular region.

What Affects Climate? 1. Climate is affected by latitude. Areas closer to the equator have the warmest climates. The amount of solar energy per unit of Earth’s surface area depends on latitude. Closer to the equator will receive more solar energy than areas located farther north or south.

What Affects Climate? 2. Climate is also influenced by altitude. The temperature decreases as altitude increases in the troposphere.

What Affects Climate? 3. Mountains influence climates because they are barriers to prevailing winds. This leads to unique precipitation patterns called rain shadows. Rain Shadow – an area of low rainfall on the downwind slope of a mountain.

Classifying Climates Wladimir Koppen – developed a system for classifying the world’s many climates. Climates were classified by their temperature, precipitation, and native vegetation. Native vegetation is limited to a particular climate. Example: Cactus grow in the warm-desert not the snowy arctic.

Classifying Climates Microclimates are a localized climate that is different from the climate of the larger area surrounding it.

How Climate Affects Living Organisms Organisms have adaptions for the climates where they live. Example: Polar Bears __ Climate also influences humans in many ways. Average temperature and rainfall in a location help determine the type of crops humans can grow there. Florida –orange trees Wisconsin - cranberries

Climate Cycles Long-Term Cycles are the cycles that can take longer than a lifetime to complete. Cold period lasting from hundreds to millions of years when glaciers cover much of Earth are known as Ice Age. Interglacials – the warm periods that occur during ice ages. Glaciers and ice sheets retreat.

Causes of Longer-Term Climate Cycles 1. The position of Earth’s tilt. When Earth’s orbit is more circular, Earth averages a greater distance from the sun which results in a below-average temperatures. Changes in the angle of Earth’s tilt affect the range of temperatures throughout the years.

Long-Term Cycles Long-Term Cycles that don’t last as long. Seasonal changes include regular changes in temperature and the number of hours of day and night.

Solstices and Equinoxes Solstices and Equinoxes occur four times throughout the year: summer solstice, fall equinox, winter solstice, and spring equinox.

Solstices Solstices mark the beginning of summer and the winter. During the summer solstice the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun. In the southern hemisphere, this day marks the beginning of winter.

Equinoxes Equinoxes are days when Earth is positioned so that neither the northern or the southern hemisphere are tilted toward or away from the Sun. Beginning of spring and fall.

Severe Weather Severe weather such droughts, heat waves, and cold waves can also change the climate.

Severe Weather 1. A drought is a period with below-average precipitation. Often accompanies by a heat wave – period of unusually high temperature. 2. Cold waves are long period of unusually cold temperatures.

Recent Changes in Climate Global warming: is the rise in Earth’s surface temperature during the past 100 years. Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb Earth’s outgoing infrared radiation. These gases keep temperature on Earth warm enough for living things to survive.

Recent Changes in Climate Deforestation is the large-scale cutting and/or burning of forests. Increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere