1. CLIMATE and CLIMATE CHANGES

2. Weather vs. Climate Weather represents conditions from moment to moment. Climate represents characteristic weather patterns occurring in an area over a long period of time.

3. Graphic factors that affect climate Latitude: The distance in degrees north or south of the equator. Altitude: The height above sea level. Presence or absence of large bodies of water. –Marine Climate: A climate influence by nearby ocean, with generally mild temperatures and steady precipitation. –Continental Climate: A climate that occurs in the interior of a continent, with large temperature differences between seasons. Ocean currents: A stream of water that flows through the ocean in regular patterns. Transfer energy between global regions.

4. Seasonal changes are part of climate Season: Period of the year associated with specific weather patterns. Seasons occur because Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemisphere receive different amounts of the Sun’s energy over the course of a year.

5. Earth has a variety of climates Classification systems can help you patterns. Climate Zone: One of the major divisions in a system, for classifying the climates of different regions based on characteristics they have in common.

6. Scientists have identified 6 major climate zones 1.Humid tropical 2.Dry 3.Moist mid-latitude with mild winters 4.Moist mid-latitude with severe winters 5.Polar 6.Highland Using criteria of pattern of temperature and precipitation, scientists further subdivide climate zones into distinct sub climates.

7. Natural features and human activity can affect local climates Urban heat island: The warmer body of air over a city. The climate of smaller areas within a subclimate are called microclimates.

8. Natural features and human activity can affect local climates Rain shadow: The area on the downwind side of a mountain that gets less precipitation than the side that faces the wind. The climate of smaller areas within a subclimate are called microclimates.

9. Climates can change suddenly or slowly Climates cool when particles block sunlight: Particulates (tiny solid and liquid particles mixed in the air) can block sunlight and prevent the Sun’s energy from reaching Earth’s surface. Natural events, such as volcanoes and meteors, fill the atmosphere with clouds of dust or other particles on a huge or even global scale..

10. CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY Scientists believe that the Earth's continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea. Pangaea began to break apart about 200 million years ago and have been moving apart slowly ever since due to the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates.

12. Climates change as continents move: As continents move to different latitudes, their climates change. Such changes occur over many millions of years.

13. Some climate changes repeat over time Ice Ages: a period of time during which surface temperatures drop significantly and huge ice sheets spread out beyond the Polar Regions. These climate changes repeat in cycles of tens of thousands of years.

14. Some climate changes repeat over time El Nino: a disturbance of wind patterns and ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean that causes temporary climate changes in many parts of the world. This climate change occurs every three to seven years.