1. Global Climate Classification
2.6.1b Compare weather and climate.
2.6.1a Explain major climate categories (Köppen climate classification system - temperate, tropical, and polar).

2. Climate: What is it? Climatologist
Weather
Climate
The condition of the atmosphere at a given place and time
This may include:
Temperature
Precipitation
Air Pressure
Humidity
Wind Speed
Meteorologist
The average weather conditions over a long period of time (30 years)
These include:
Temperature
Precipitation
Number of sunny days
Air pressure
Humidity
Wind Speed
Climatologist

3. Climate: Who studies it?
Climatologist studies climate and uses a system to classify the climates around the world
A classification system based on mean(average)monthly precipitation and mean(average)monthly temperature created by climatologist and botanist Dr. Vladimir Köppen

4. Factors That Affect Climate
 Latitude
• As latitude increases, the intensity of solar energy decreases.
• The tropical zone is between 23.5o north (the tropic of Cancer) and 23.5o south (the tropic of Capricorn) of the equator. The sun’s rays are most intense and the temperatures are always warm.
• The temperate zones are between 23.5o and 66.5o north and between 23.5o and 66.5o south of the equator. The sun’s rays strike Earth at a smaller angle than near the equator.

5. Earth’s Major Climate Zones
Makes no sense without caption in book

6. Factors That Affect Climate
 Latitude
• Polar zones are between 66.5o north and south latitudes and the poles. The sun’s rays strike Earth at a very small angle in the polar zones.
 Elevation
• The higher the elevation is, the colder the climate.
 Topography
• Topographic features such as mountains play an important role in the amount of precipitation that falls over an area.

7. The Rain Shadow Effect
Makes no sense without caption in book

8. Factors That Affect Climate
 Water Bodies
• Large bodies of water such as lakes and oceans have an important effect on the temperature of an area because the temperature of the water body influences the temperature of the air above it.
 Atmospheric Circulation
• Global winds are another factor that influences climate because they distribute heat and moisture around Earth.

9. Factors That Affect Climate
 Vegetation
• Vegetation can affect both temperature and the precipitation patterns in an area.

11. Determinants Climate zones are largely determined by 2 factors:
Temperature
latitude, altitude, land-water, ocean currents, mountain barriers
Precipitation
Air pressure
Air mass influences
Prevailing winds

12. Climate Zone
Areas that have similar temperature and rainfall will share a similar climate zone.

13. Köppen Climate Classification System
The most widely used for classifying the world's climates.
Köppen divided the Earth's surface into climatic regions that generally coincided with world patterns of vegetation and soils.
The Köppen system recognizes five major climate types based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation.
Each type is designated by a capital letter. A, B, C, D, E

14. Climates: Koppen Classification System
Second Letter
First Letter
(A) Tropical rainy climates
Every month over 64.4 °F
(B) Dry climates
Evaporation exceeds precipitation
(C) Mild, humid climates
Coldest month below 64.4 °F but above 26.6 °F
(D) Snowy-forest climates
Coldest month below 26.6 °F but warmest month over 50 °F
(E) Polar climates
Warmest month below 50 °F
Second place letters (e.g., Af, Cs, or Dw) are assigned based upon monthly or seasonal amounts of precipitation
f - Moist, rain all year with no dry season
w - Dry season in winter
s - Dry season in the summer

15. Climates: Koppen Classification System
Third Place Letters
Third-place letters are assigned according to certain monthly or seasonal temperatures. Applies to C and D climates.
a. Hot summer. Warmest month over 72 °F
b. Warm summer. Warmest month below 72 °F
c. Cool, short summer. Less than four months above 50 °F
d. Very cold winter. Coldest month below -36 °F

16. 3 Basic Climate Groups Group I: Tropical Group II: Temperate
Low-latitude Climates
Group II: Temperate
Mid-latitude Climates
Group III: Polar
High-latitude climates

17. Group I Low-latitude Climates:
Tropical Moist Climates (Af) rainforest Wet-Dry Tropical Climates (Aw) savanna Dry Tropical Climate (BW) desert biome

18. Tropical Climates (A)

19. Tropical Humid Climates (Af)
1/3 of Earth’s total surface (about 20 ºN to 20 ºS)
Consistently warm (all months > 18ºC/64.4 ºF)
Annual precipitation exceeds evaporation
Daily temp range exceeds annual temp range
Subcategories based on rainfall (ITCZ influence)
Tropical rainforest
Tropical monsoon
Tropical savanna

20. Tropical Rainforest (Af)
High rainfall all year (>2” / month)
Straddles Equator by 5o - 10o

21. Savanna (Aw) – Tropical Grassland Climates
Region/Distribution: Subequatorial Africa, and South America, Southern India (25° N and S Latitude)

22. Dry / Semiarid Climates (B)
Occupy about 1/3 of Earth’s land area
(Most extensive climate over land surface)
Evaporation exceeds precipitation
(water deficit)
Subcategories
Desert (BW)
Steppe (BS)

23. Dry Arid / Semiarid Climates (B)

24. Deserts (BW): dry

25. Deserts (BW): Temperature: Precipitation: Desert Causation:
Widest range: up to 100oF/day!
Hot at low latitudes, wide variation at higher latitudes
Precipitation:
Scarce: <10 inches/year
Unreliable: wide variation from average
Intense: convective downpours
Desert Causation:
High Pressure Cells and resultant stability
Rainshadows

27. Anza-Borrego State Park, CA Winter 2004/2005

28. Group 2: Mid-latitude Climates:
Dry Midlatitude Climates (BS) steppe or grasslands
Mediterranean Climate (Cs) chaparral biome
Wet Midlatitude Climates (Cf) Decidous forest

29. Steppe (BS): temperate grasslands
more precipitation than BW
narrower temperature ranges
grasslands

31. Mesothermal Climates (C)
“Middle temperature”
True seasons (air mass conflict)
Subdivisions based on precipitation variation
humid subtropical
marine west coast
Mediterranean
Marine West Coast Temperate Rainforest Olympic Peninsula, Washington
Subtropical Forest Sarasota, Florida

32. Mesothermal Climates (C)
Humid Subtropical Marine West Coast Mediterranean

33. Humid Subtropical Midlatitude Forests (Deciduous)
Hot summer, substantial year-round precipitation
Low latitude east coasts (warm currents).
Summer max precipitation.
Cold spells
Region/Distribution: Western Europe, East Asia, Eastern U.S.. Between 30-50° north or south
Cfa - New Orleans, LA

35. Mediterranean Dry summers (shifting subtropical highs)
Surrounds Mediterranean
Also on west coasts near 30o N and S (Australia, S. Africa, Chile)
Wine regions

37. Group 3: High-latitude Climates:
Subarctic Climates (Df) Boreal or Taiga
Polar Climate (Et) Tundra
Polar Climate (Ef) Ice Caps

38. Microthermal Climates (D)
Virtually restricted to Northern Hemisphere.

39. Subarctic Climates (Boreal or Taiga)
50o-70o N latitude
long, bitterly cold winters
highest annual temp range: up to 100O F
Great annual temperature ranges (continentality, air mass conflicts)
Region/Distribution: Northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia, South So. America, much of Russia
Dw – Calgary, Canada

40. Fir Trees, Alaska
Spruce Needles
British Columbia

41. Polar Climates (E) - all months < 50OF

42. Polar Climates (E) - all months < 50OF
Tundra (ET)
warmest month 32-50F
Region/Distribution: North of the Boreal Forest, high latitudes of northern hemisphere in a belt around the Arctic Ocean, near the coast
Ice caps (EF)
warmest month below 32F
Both have very low precipitation

44. Highland Climates (H)
How are these like the poles? How different?

45. Highland Climates (H) How are these like the poles? How different?
Lower temperatures
More moisture available
More insolation
High winds in both