Chapter 6 CLIMATE, TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY, & AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY

5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

1. Uneven Heating of the Earth

5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

2. Seasons

5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

3. Rotation of Earth

5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

4. Variations in solar output

Sun Spots

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5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

5. Properties of air and land

Valley (in-land) cities

5. Properties of air and land Coastal cities

5 factors that determine global air circulation patterns What causes it?How does it affect air circulation? 1. Uneven heating of Earth 2. Seasons 3. Earth’s rotation 4. Variation of sun’s output 5. Properties of air and water

How do ocean currents affect regional climates?

28,000 rubber duckies lost at sea

Other items lost at sea 1992 – 80,000 Nike sneakers 1994 – 34,000 hockey gloves 1997 – 5 million LEGO pieces 2002 – 33,000 Nike sneakers

Ocean Currents In which direction is the warm water flowing? How does that affect the climate?

Ocean Upwellings When have you experienced upwellings before?

Ocean Upwelling

El Niño is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the Tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather and climate around the globe. El Niño - “The Christ Child”

Normal Conditions Wind blows from east to west (right to left) Pushes water to western Pacific Causes LOTS of rain (monsoons & snow in Himalaya Mts.) Water flows along bottom & up at South America

The Normal Pacific

Normal Conditions Strong east to west winds, rain in west, cold water east coast Thermocline - boundary between cold and warm water

El Niño

Note the change in wind and ocean currents during El Niño

El Niño Weak east to west winds, rain in middle, warm water east coast

Trade winds push warm ocean water west, cool water rises behind it Trade winds ease and switch directions, warmest water moves east

Earth’s warmest ocean water in the far western Pacific energizes huge thunderstorms Warm water, thunderstorms move eastward Thunderstorms disrupt jet stream patterns

El Niño Conditions Water warms (+1º C average) Winds weaken Upwelling stops Climate changes We do not know why this happens

Note the lower catch levels during El Niño

How does the chemical make-up of the atmosphere lead to the greenhouse effect?

What are greenhouse gases? Atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation, which warms the air Examples: –CO 2 –H2O–H2O–H2O–H2O –CH 4 –NO 2 –CFCs

Are greenhouse gases GOOD or BAD? THEY’RE BOTH GOOD - without greenhouse gases, the Earth would be too cold for life BAD - too many greenhouse gases may lead to global warming

Where do greenhouse gases come from? ALL OF US!!! Burning fossil fuels releases: –CO 2 –H2O–H2O–H2O–H2O –NO 2 Cows release methane (CH 4 ) Various refrigerants use CFCs

Ozone Depletion Is this what the hole in the ozone layer looks like?

Ozone Videos gIdr8 gIdr8 wqsNM&feature=related wqsNM&feature=related

Rain Shadow Effect

Molokai, Hawaii wind

What’s the difference between a climate and a biome? Climate: physical properties (temperature and precipitation) of an area over a long period of time Biome: areas on Earth that are inhabited by certain types of organisms

Desert Biomes

Characteristics typically < 25 cm (10 in) annual precipitation cover 30% of the world’s land surface especially found at 30° N and 30° S latitude largest deserts on interiors of continents © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

30º N 30º S

Deserts

Desert Biomes Desert Organisms sparse, widely spaced, mostly low vegetation plants typically deep–rooted shrubs with small leaves, succulents, or short–lived species that flourish after rain animals typically nocturnal & have physical adaptations for conserving water & dealing with heat.

Grassland Biomes Figs. 6–14 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Grassland Biomes Characteristics sufficient rainfall to support grass, but too dry for forests mostly found on interiors of continents maintained by seasonal drought, grazing, & periodic fires that prevent shrubs & trees invasion © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Grassland Biomes Characteristics – –plants include high diversity of grasses & herbaceous plants; typically have resistance to drought, grazing, & fire – –animals include large & small herbivores, along with predators adapted to feed on these herbivores

Forest Biomes Fig. 6–17 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Forest Biomes Characteristics: sufficient rainfall to support trees types: -Tropical – typically broadleaf evergreen trees with high diversity -Temperate – typically deciduous broadleaf tree with moderate diversity -Boreal – typically conifers with low diversity © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Forest Biomes Characteristics: various layers: -Emergent – tree tops that break through the canopy -Canopy – “roof” of forest of full grown trees. -Understory – dark and composed of tree saplings -Forest Floor – dark, not crowded

Precipitation TemperatureWetModerateDry Hot Temperate Cold

Precipitation TemperatureWetModerateDry Hot Tropical Forest Tropical Grassland Tropical Desert Temperate Temperate Forest Temperate Grassland Temperate Desert Cold Polar Forest Polar Grassland Polar Desert

Mountain Biomes Characteristics – –diversity of habitat because of diverse topography – –make up 20% of Earth's surface – –each 100 m (~300 ft) gain in elevation is about equal to 100 km (~62 mi) change in latitude – –mountain regions contain majority of world's forests – –timberline: elevation above which trees do not grow – –gradually release melting ice, snow, and water to streams

Important Biome Concepts everything is connected incoming solar radiation determines global temperature & precipitation patterns temperature & precipitation are major determinants of distribution of organisms