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Chapter 4 Guided Notes and presentations
Module 9: The Unequal Heating of Earth
Definitions
 Troposphere:

Stratosphere:

Albedo:

Ozone
Graph the following temperature data and
corresponding layers of the atmosphere
stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
layer).
Altitude (km)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
Temperature (oC)
32
0
-70
-80
-72
-50
-32
-20
-15
-12
-10
-22
-35
-51
-60
-75
-85
-92
-100
-95
-90
-62
-5
40
80
label the
(troposphere,
and ozone
Graph 1. Altitude and Temperature
Module 9 class discussion points:
 How does earth’s tilt cause seasonal changes in the climate? (figure 9.5)
 Which surfaces would have high and low albedo? (figure 9.4)
Review Questions:
1. _______
2. _______
3. _________
4. _________
5._________
Module 10: Air Currents


How do the properties of air affect the way it moves in the atmosphere?
o Remember the phrases: “Hot and Humid” and “Cold and Crisp”
o Density
o Water vapor capacity
o Adiabatic heating/cooling
 Hint: the ideal gas law PV=nRT (when pressure
decreases, temp decreases and visa versa)
o Latent heat release
What factors drive atmospheric convection currents?
o Define the terms below and label the cell types (Polar,
Ferrell, Hadley) on the diagram to the right:
 atmospheric convection currents
 Hadley cell
 ITCZ
 The Coriolis effect
 Rain shadow
o After viewing the vegetation map on the website below, discuss the pattern/relationship for rainforest
location and Hadley cells. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/GlobalMaps/
Module 10 class discussion points:
 Is the ITCZ always at the equator? Why or Why not?
 How does altitude of a mountain range affect its rain shadow?
 How would main ranges effect the movement of air pollution?
Review Questions:
1. _______
2. _______
3. _________
4. _________
Module 11: Ocean Currents

Vocabulary:
o Gyre
o Upwelling
o Thermohaline circulation
o ENSO
 Compare and contrast ocean currents to atmospheric currents.
 How would you feel about swimming in an area where upwelling occurs? Why?
 Demo predictions – What do you think will happen to the red and blue colors?
 What are environmental problems associated with ENSO?
 Complete the table below
Normal conditions
El Nino conditions
Wind Direction
Wind Strength
Precipitation Location
Water temp in eastern Pacific
Water temp in western Pacific
Changes from normal conditions
Review Questions:
1. _______
2. _______
3. _________ 4. _________ 5._________
Module 12: Terrestrial Biomes

What characteristics are used to ID terrestrial biomes? Complete the table below:
Biome
Locations
Avg. annual
To C
Precip. Range
Indicator
Plants
Tundra
Boreal forest
Temperate rainforest
Temperate seasonal
forest
Woodland/shrubland
Temperate
grassland/cold desert
Tropical rainforest
Tropical seasonal
forest/savannah
Subtropical desert


Which biomes have the longest periods during which water demand exceeds supply?
How does global warming impacts the tundra’s growing season and permafrost?
Indicator
Animals




What characteristics of the tundra make it fragile and explain how those characteristics make the tundra
susceptible to damage from human impacts?
How do humans use grasslands? Why?
How do humans use rainforests?
Provide some examples of biomes and plant/animal adaptions that allow them to survive that biome.
Review Questions:
1. _______
2. _______
3. _________
4. _________
5._________
Module 13: Aquatic Biomes
1) Streams and Rivers
 Characterized by flowing fresh water that may originate from underground springs or as run off from rain
and melting snow.
 Streams: Typically narrow and have small amounts of water
 Rivers: typically, wider and carry larger amounts of water
 Most streams and rapidly flowing rivers have few plants or algae to act as producers.
 Inputs of organic matter such as leaves provide the base of the food web.
 Leaves are eaten by larvae and insects which provide food for secondary consumers
2) Lakes and Ponds
 Contains standing water where it is too deep to support emerging vegetation.
 Littoral zone: The shallow zone of
soil and water in lakes and ponds
where most algae and emergent
plants grow.
 Limnetic zone: Open waters in lakes
 Phytoplankton: Floating algae
 Profundal zone: A regional water
where sunlight does not reach
(deep water)
 Benthic zone: The muddy bottoms
of lakes
 Oligotrophic- Describes a lake with a low level of productivity
 Mesotrophic- Lakes with moderate level of production
 Eutrophic- Describes water with high level of productivity
3) Freshwater Wetlands
 An aquatic biome that is submerged or saturated by water for at least part of each year, but shallow enough
to support emergent vegetation
 It includes swamps, marshes and bogs.
 They are one of the most productive biomes on the planet and provide several critical ecosystem services,
such as filtrating polluted water, reducing drought and floods, and serving as home to many important and
sometimes endangered species.
4) Salt Marshes
 They are found along the coast in temperate climates and contain non-woody emergent vegetation.
 Two-thirds of marine fish and shellfish species spend larvae stages in estuaries.
 They are extremely productive places for plants and algae.
5) Mangrove Swamps
 Swamps that occur along tropical and subtropical coasts, and contains salt-tolerant trees with roots
submerged in water.
 They provide shelter for fish and shellfish.
6) Intertidal Zone
 The narrow band of coastline between the levels of high tide and low tides.
7) Coral Reef
 The most diverse marine biome on Earth, found in warm, shallow waters beyond the shoreline.
 The largest coral reef is the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
 Coral reef face a wide range of problems such as pollution, they also face coral bleaching where inside corals
die, and cause corals to
turn white.
8) The open Ocean
 The open ocean biome
is the largest of all the
biomes and consists of
many different
ecosystems that are
linked together.
Module 13 Class Discussion Points:
 Why are wetlands
disappearing? What is being
done? What are
consequences of diminishing
wetlands?
 What adaptations allow intertidal organisms to survive? What about adaptations for other parts of the ocean?
 Compare and contrast coral reefs to tropical rainforests.
 “The other CO2 problem” – Increase atm. CO2 leads to decreases in carbonate ions and the acidification of the
ocean. HOW??? What are the consequences to marine life?
 Match the following aquatic biomes to the data below: lake, marsh, open ocean, and river
Biome A
Biome B
Biome C
Biome D
pH
7.3
6.8
7.5
8.1
Flow rate (ft3/sec)
430
5
3
10
Salinity (ppt)
0.5
18
0.5
35
Surface temp (oC)
21
25
24
19
Review Questions:
1. _______
2. _______
3. _________
4. _________
5._________
Learning Objectives Revisited: Chapter 4
Module 9: Unequal Heating of the Atmosphere



There are five layers in the atmosphere: The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and
exosphere.
Many factors can cause unequal heating of the earth, including differences in the angle of sun rays, reflection of
solar energy, and thickness of atmosphere.
Seasonal differences in heat, which you have probably experienced, are caused by a 23.5 degree tilt of the
earth’s axis towards or away from the sun.
Module 10: Air Currents




Air has several unique properties that affect its atmospheric movement. Air rises when it is less dense and sinks
when it is more dense. Warm air is more saturated with water than cold air. Air pressure changes result in
adiabatic changes in temperature due to the fact that when water condenses it emits heat.
Factors that drive atmospheric convection currents:
o Intense sunlight hits the Earth’s surface
o The surface is warmed, causing moist air to rise, cool, and release water.
o This air rises until it reaches the troposphere, leading cold and dry air to the poles, where it descends to
the surface again.
Rotation and air currents:
o Based on the fact that the surface of Earth travels faster near the equator than the poles
o Coriolis Effect deflects convection currents traveling north and south, creating trade winds, westerlies,
and easterlies.
Mountain Ranges and Climates
o As moist air moves up a mountain, precipitation is released, leading to a moist environment on one side
of the mountain and a dry environment on the other.
Module 11: Ocean Currents



Ocean circulation patterns:
o Driven by temperature, gravity, prevailing winds, the Coriolis effect, and continent location.
o Distribute heat and precipitation
Thermohaline Circulation
o When water flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic, water evaporates or freezes leading to
a high salt concentration. This leads the dense water to sink to the bottom of the ocean until it
resurfaces at the equator.
El Nino Southern Oscillation
o Normal South American trade winds reverse or weaken, allowing equatorial currents to also reverse
direction. This affects climates all over the world.
Module 12: Terrestrial Biomes



Organized by dominant plant forms in the region.
Climate diagrams provide monthly patterns of temperature and precipitation. They also give growing seasons of
the biome.
Nine Biomes:
o Tundra
o Boreal Forest
o Temperate Rainforest
o Temperate Seasonal Forest
o Woodlands/Shrublands
o Temperate Grasslands/Cold Deserts
o Tropical Rainforests
o Tropical Seasonal Forests/Savannas
o Subtropical Deserts
Module 13: Aquatic Biomes

Major Freshwater Biomes:
o Streams and Rivers: Flowing fresh water
o Lakes and Ponds: Standing water too deep to grow vegetation

o Wetlands: Submerged or saturated, but shallow enough to sustain vegetation.
Major Marine Biomes:
o Salt Marshes (found along the coast)
o Mangrove Swamps (tropical and subtropical coasts, contain lots of trees)
o Intertidal zone (band of coastline between high and low tide)
o Coral reefs (found in warm shallow waters, most diverse biome)
o Open Ocean (deep water, no sunlight)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which statement about patterns of air convection is not correct:
a. The air in a Hadley cell rises where sunlight strikes the Earth most directly.
b. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs at the intertropical convergence zone.
c. The air in a Hadley cell descends near 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S, causing the formation of deserts.
d. The air of a polar cell rises near 60 degrees latitude.
e. Along Earth’s surface, the air of a Hadley cell moves away from the equator.
2. The high heat capacity of water causes what effect when combined with ocean circulation?
a. The high salinity of deep polar water in the thermohaline cycle.
b. Warm temperatures in continental coastal areas.
c. The suppression of upwelling during an ENSO event.
d. Increased elevation of warm tropical waters, driving surface currents.
e. The heat transfer between the ocean and atmosphere due to evaporation along the equator.
3. Which of the following processes is NOT characteristic of oceanic circulation?
a. Counterclockwise gyres in the northern hemisphere
b. Slow thermohaline circulation of surface and deep ocean waters
c. Unequal heating of tropical versus polar ocean waters
d. El Nino-Southern Oscillation
e. Coriolis Effect.
4. In which layer of Earth’s atmosphere does most weather occur?
a. Troposphere
b. Stratosphere
c. Mesosphere
d. Thermosphere
e. Lithosphere
5. Why do scientists use dominant plant growth forms to categorize terrestrial biomes?
a. Plants with similar growth forms are always closely related genetically.
b. Different plant growth forms indicate climate differences, wereas different animal forms do not.
c. Plants from similar climates evolve different adaptions.
d. Similar plant growth forms are found in climates with similar temperatures and amounts of
precipitation.
e. Similar plant growth forms exist in both terrestrial and aquatic biomes.
6. Which information is not found in climate diagrams?
a. Avg. annual temperature
b. Seasonal changes in temperature
c. Average annual humidity
d. The months when plant growth is limited by precipitation
e. The length of the growing season.
7. Which statement about tropical biomes is correct?
a. Tropical seasonal forests are characterized by evergreen trees.
b. Tropical rainforests have the highest precipitation due to the ITCZ
c. Savannas are characterized by the densest forests.
d. Tropical rainforests have the slowest rates of decomposition due to high rainfall.
e. Subtropical deserts have the highest species diversity.
8. Which statement about aquatic biomes is correct?
a. They are characterized by dominant plant growth forms.
b. They can be categorized by temperature and precipitation.
c. Lakes contain littoral zones and intertidal zones.
d. Freshwater wetlands have emergent plants in their deepest areas, whereas ponds and lakes do not.
e. Coral reefs have the lowest diversity of species.