1. Climate and Climate Change

2. What Causes Climate?   Climate – The average, year-after-year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds, and clouds in an area.   Microclimate- climate of a small, specific place within a larger area

3.   Microclimate Examples   Shade under a tree   A hole in a log where mushrooms grow

4. What Causes Climate? - Vocabulary   Tropical Zone – The area near the equator, between about 23.5° north latitude and 23.5° south latitude.   Polar Zone – The areas near both poles, from about 66.5° to 90° north and 66.5° to 90° south latitudes.   Temperate Zone – The area between the tropical and polar zones, from about 23.5° to 66.5° north and 23.5° to 66.5° south latitudes.

6. What Causes Climate? – Main Ideas   The climate of a region is determined by its temperature and precipitation.   The main factors that influence temperature are   Latitude   Altitude   distance from large bodies of water   ocean currents.

7. Climate Regions – Main Ideas   Climates are classified according to temperature and precipitation.   There are five main climate regions:   tropical rainy   dry   temperate marine   temperate continental   polar

8. Long-Term Changes in the Climate   Ice Age   Cold time periods in Earth’s history, during which glaciers covered large parts of the surface.

9. Long-Term Changes in the Climate – Main Ideas   During each ice age, huge sheets of ice covered much of Earth’s surface.   Possible explanations for major climate changes include:   movement of continents   Position of the Earth and Sun   changes in the sun’s energy output.