1. Chapter 7 Global Climates
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

2. Chapter Overview Keys to Climate Climate Classification
Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
High-Latitude Climates (Group III)
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

3. Describe how temperature and precipitation affect climate.
Objectives
Describe how temperature and precipitation affect climate.
Explain how climographs are related to climate groups.
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

4. Describe the features of low, mid, and high-latitude climates.
Objectives
Describe the features of low, mid, and high-latitude climates.
Discuss the climate groups found in low, mid, and high-latitude climates
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

5. What determines temperature?
Keys to Climate
Temperature Regimes
Climate: the annual cycle of prevailing weather conditions at a given place, based on statistics taken over a long period
What determines temperature?
1. LatitudeVariation in insolationTemperature
2. Location—maritime or continental—moderates that variation
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

6. Keys to Climate Global precipitation regions:
1. Wet equatorial belt 2. Trade-wind coasts
3. Tropical deserts and steppes 4. Midlatitude deserts
5. Moist subtropical regions 6. Midlatitude west coasts
7. Arctic and polar deserts
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

7. Seasonal precipitation patterns: Uniformly distributed
Keys to Climate
Global Precipitation
Seasonal precipitation patterns:
Uniformly distributed
Summer precipitation maximum
Winter precipitation maximum
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

8. Climate Classification
Air Mass Source Regions
Group I: Low-Latitude Climates
Group II: Midlatitude Climates
Group III: High-Latitude Climates
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

9. Climate Classification Dry and Moist Climates
Dry Climates: total annual evaporation>annual precipitation
Semiarid (steppe)
Arid
Moist Climates: enough rain to keep soil moist all year, sustain year- round flow of larger streams
Support forests or prairies
Wet-dry Climates: alternate wet and dry seasons
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

10. Climate Classification
Highland Climates
Usually cool
Temperatures decrease with altitude
Usually Moist
Orographic precipitation
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

11. Climate Classification
Climograph: graph on which two or more climate variables are plotted for each month of the year
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

12. Climate Classification
Seasonal Precipitation Patterns
Equatorial regions: wet all year
Trade winds bring rain to equatorial/tropical east coasts
Tropical deserts underlie subtropical high pressure cells
Eastern sides of midlatitude continents: warm moist air from western sides of subtropical highs
Midlatitude west coasts: subtropical highs block rainfall in summer
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

13. Climate Classification
Temperature Patterns
Latitude: temperatures drop from equator to poles
Location: continental interiors have greater range in temperature than coastal regions
Elevation: temperatures drop with elevation
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

14. Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
Four low-latitude climates:
Wet equatorial 2. Monsoon and trade-wind coastal
3. Wet-dry tropical 4. Dry tropical
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

15. Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
1.Wet Equatorial Climate: moist climate of the equatorial zone with a large annual water surplus and uniformly warm temperatures through the year
Controlled by ITCZ
Warm, moist mE and mT air masses
Heavy convectional rainfall
Uniform temperatures through the year
Low-latitude rainforests
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

16. Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
2. Monsoon and trade-wind coastal climate: moist climate of low latitudes showing a strong rainfall peak in summer and short period of reduced rainfall in low-sun season
Abundant rainfall
Strong seasonal pattern
Monsoon winds bring moist air to west coasts
Trade winds bring moist air to east coasts
Low-latitude rainforests
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

17. Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
3. Wet-dry tropical climate: climate of the tropical zone characterized by a very wet season alternating with a very dry season
Very dry season at low sun
ITCZ is far away
Very wet season at high sun
ITCZ is nearby
Savanna vegetation
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

18. Low-Latitude climates (Group I)
4. Dry Tropical Climate: climate of the tropical zone with high temperatures and low rainfall.
Center and east sides of subtropical high pressure cells
Extreme heat, large daily temperature range
Generally between 15º and 25º N and S
Arid deserts and semiarid steppes
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

19. Midlatitude Climates (Group II) Six midlatitude climates:
5. Dry Subtropical Moist Subtropical
7. Mediterranean Marine West-coast
9. Dry midlatitude Moist Continental
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

20. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
5. Dry Subtropical Climate: dry climate of the subtropical zone, transitional between the dry tropical climate and the dry midlatitude climate
Poleward extension of dry tropical climate
High annual temperature range
Arid and semiarid subtypes
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

21. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
6. Moist Subtropical Climate: moist climate of the subtropical zone, characterized by a moderate to large annual water surplus and a strong seasonal temperature cycle
Eastern sides of continents, between 20º and 35º N and S
mT air from western side of subtropical high pressure cells
Warm humid summers, abundant rainfall
Mild winters, ample rainfall
Forest vegetation
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

22. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
7. Mediterranean Climate: climate type of the subtropical zone, characterized by the alternation of a very dry summer and a mild, rainy winter
Wet winter, dry summer
West coast of continents
Located between 30º and 45º N and S
Vegetation: shrubs and trees with hard leaves to resist water loss (sclerophylls)
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

23. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
8. Marine West-Coast Climate: Cool, moist climate of west coasts in the midlatitude zone, usually with abundant precipitation and a distinct winter precipitation maximum
Abundant precipitation, winter maximum
Frequent cyclonic storms
Mild winters, low annual temperature range
West coasts, between 35º and 60º N and S
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

24. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
9. Dry Midlatitude Climate: dry climate of the midlatitude zone with a strong annual temperature cycle and cold winters
Interior of North America and Eurasia
Within the rainshadow of mountain ranges
Large annual temperature range
Arid and semiarid, desert and steppe
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

25. Midlatitude Climates (Group II)
10. Moist Continental Climate: moist climate of midlatitude zone with strongly defined winter and summer seasons and adequate precipitation throughout the year
Cold winters, warm summers
Located in the polar-front zone
Ample precipitation
Forests and tall grasslands
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26. High-Latitude Climates (Group III)
Three high-latitude climates: 11. Boreal Forest 12. Tundra 13. Ice Sheet
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

27. High-Latitude Climates (Group III)
11. Boreal Forest Climate: Cold climate of the subarctic zone in the northern hemisphere with long, extremely severe winters and several consecutive months of frozen ground
Long cold winters, short, cool summers
Source region for cP air masses
Greatest range of temperature
Boreal forests--needeleaf
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

28. High-Latitude Climates (Group III)
12. Tundra Climate: Cold climate of the arctic zone with eight or more months of frozen ground
Polar and arctic air masses
Permafrost below surface
Saturated soil in summer
Tundra vegetation—low herbs and shrubs
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.

29. High-Latitude Climates (Group III)
13. Ice sheet climate: Severely cold climate found on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets
Arctic and Antarctic air masses
Mean temperature below freezing all months
Low precipitation, high winds
Visualizing Physical Geography Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers Inc.