Climate Notes for Earth Environmental Science.pptx

These notes are about the factors that influence climate and different climate regions of the world.

1. Climate Notes

2. What is climate? Climate is the long-term regional or global average of temperature , humidity and rainfall patterns over an extended period of time.

3. How is climate determined? The Köppen classification system is a classification system for climates that is based on the average monthly values of temperature and precipitation.   These graphs show temperature and precipitation for two different climates—a desert in Reno, Nevada, and a tropical rain forest in New Guinea.

4. What are the climate zones?

5. Characteristics of the 5 climate zones: Tropical -Year-round high temperatures; up to 600 cm of rainfall/year Dry - largest climatic zone (30% of Earth’s surface);precipitation low and vegetation scarce Temperate -  can be classified into three subtypes: humid subtropical climates, marine west-coast climates, and Mediterranean climates. Summers are generally warm and dry, winters cool and rainy.

6. Characteristics of the 5 climate zones: Continental - Continental climates are classified into three subtypes: warm summer climates, cool summer climates, and subarctic climates . This zone can experience rapid and sometimes violent changes in weather. Polar - The ice-cap polar climate, found at the highest latitudes in both hemispheres, does not have a single month in which average temperatures rise above 0°C. *A variation of the polar climate, called a highland climate, is found at high elevations.

7. Microclimate - A localized climate that differs from the main regional climate is called a microclimate. -Amount of hard surfaces and vegetation can create a microclimate.

8. Reasons that climate is variable: changes in the sun emissions from volcanoes variations in Earth's orbit levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 )

9. How do we know past climate? - Examining gases trapped in ice cores - Examining tree rings

10. Human-Induced Climate Change: Also known as “Global Warming” Caused by greenhouse gas emissions from gas powered vehicles, farming, deforestation . Greenhouse gases linked to humans- Carbon dioxide and Methane

11. Effects of Human-Induced Climate Change: -loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, coral reef bleaching, more forest fires, droughts, stronger hurricanes, and more intense heat waves