Download Climate


Climate is the average weather
conditions for an area over a long period
of time

Climate can include information about
temperature, humidity, wind, and
precipitation

Climates are usually described by using
average temperatures and precipitation

TEMPERATURE= how hot or cold it is

PRECIPITATION=how much rain, sleet, or
snow (any form of water from the sky!
Different latitudes receive
different amounts of solar
energy
 Solar energy determines the temperature,
and wind patterns of an area which
influences the average yearly temperature
and precipitation

Areas of
cool, dense
air form at
the poles
Areas of
warm, less
dense air
form near the
equator
Differences in air pressure (density) cause wind.
Different areas absorb and release heat
differently
 LAND heats faster than WATER
 Land and water then influence the
amount of heat that the air above it
absorbs or releases

Affects the Pacific Ocean
 El Nino causes the surface-water
temperatures along the west coast to rise
 Causes typhoons, cyclones, and floods to
occur in the Pacific Ocean region

Check it out at:
http://video.nationalgeogr
aphic.com/video/environ
ment/environment-naturaldisasters/landslides-andmore/el-nino/
Droughts….
or Floods,
depending on
the season
Caused by temperature differences
between land and ocean causing winds
to shift
 This can lead to droughts or flooding



Check it out at:
http://youtu.be/uFilBJsu224
Topography is the features on the surface area of
the land like rivers, mountains and even
highways and railroads
 Certain topographical features of an area can
influence the climate there.
 In a mountainous area the land is elevated. The
air is colder the higher up the land is, which is
why mountains are often covered in snow at the
top


Use page 654 in your Earth Science book
to label and color the map I give you!
3 major climate zones on Earth:
1. Tropical
2. Middle latitude (temperate)
3. Polar
Look on page 654 in your Earth Science book for an
example of a climate map…
High temperatures
 Located in near the equator
 There are 3 types of tropical climates:

1. Tropical rain forest
2. Tropical desert
3. Savanna
Humid and warm
 Lots of different animals live here
 Plants are plentiful and dense
 (Central Africa, Amazon River, Central
America and Southeast Asia)

Very dry and have few plants
 (North Africa, Southwest Asia)

Grasslands that have plants that resist drought.
The summers are wet and the winters are dry
(Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, Northern
Australia)
1. Marine West Coast
2. Steppe
3. Humid Continental
4. Humid Subtropical
5. Mediterranean
Cooler yearly temperatures on average
 There are deciduous trees, dense forests,
mild winters & summers
 (Pacific Northwest)

Have a wider temperature range throughout the
year
 It is dryer here so the plants have adapted to this
dryer climate.
 Winters are cold and dry and summers are warm
and wet
 (Great Plains)

Have a bigger temperature range
 More precipitation than other areas
 Lots of plant-life and evergreen trees
 (Northeast America)

Get lots of precipitation and have broad
well as evergreen trees…very moist
environment
 (Southeast America….Think Florida)

Mild with a small temperature
range between winter and
summer.
 These areas have both
broadleaf and evergreen
trees
 (Areas around Mediterranean
Sea and Central/Southern
California)


Polar Climates are located near the
Earth’s North and South poles.
1. Subarctic
2. Tundra
3. Polar Icecaps

Have the largest temperature range

These areas have evergreen trees, brief,
cool summers and long, cold winters

Have a very low average temperature (4
degrees celcius)

Treeless plains with nine months of the
year below freezing temperatures (BRR!)
Have an average temperature below 0
degrees celsius
 There is little or no life in these areas
 Freezing temperatures and high winds

Scientists who study the climate are called
Climatologists.
 They gather info about past and present
climate patterns so that they can make
predictions about how climates may change
 Climatologists study ice cores, sea-floor
sediment, fossils, and tree rings to give them
clues


The amount of carbon
dioxide in ice cores
indicate that there
was once a warmer
climate in that area

If there is a higher
amount of
microorganism shells in
the sea-floor sediment
this indicates that
there was once a
cooler climate in that
area

Fossils show what kinds of animals once
lived in the area, indicating what the
climate was once like.

Thin tree rings
indicate cooler
weather and less
precipitation in
the past
Climatologists use computers to create
models to study climate
 They enter millions of pieces of data
 Climate models help predict many
factors of climate


Watch “The Day After Tomorrow” and
complete the scavenger hunt activity
that goes with the video!
1. Plate tectonics
Movement of land
masses and
continents
Polar Orbit
2. Orbital Changes
(changes in the
Earth’s orbit or axis
eccentric
orbit
low Earth
orbit
Geosynchronous
orbit
3. Human activity
4. Volcanic Activity
Global Warming—a gradual
increase in average global
temperature due to higher
concentration of greenhouse
gases
 Sea-Level Changes—if the polar
ice caps melt, sea levels could
rise, shifting the coastline miles
inward

Pass laws to reduce pollution
 Turn lights off when they are not in use
 Turn down the heat in the winter

Reduce air conditioning
use in summer
 Recycle
 Use public transportation
or fuel efficient vehicles
 Use more sustainable
resources for energy


RENEWABLE RESOURCES are resources that are
remade by the environment over somewhat
short periods of time. They can be used over
and over.

NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES are resources
that are not easily replaced by the
environment. The fuels we use to heat our
homes and drive our cars are non-renewable
resources.
Wind Energy--can be “harvested” by
wind turbines to generate electricity.
Solar Energy--has two main forms –
heat and photovoltaic. Heat energy
is the obvious one that can be used
to heat one’s house or
water. Photovoltaic is a little
different, because it is a process of
converting light (or photons) to
electricity (voltage).
Tidal And Wave Energy--Special buoys
and turbines capture the energy
generated by the waves and the
ocean tides and convert them into in
clean electricity.
Hydropower--Water flowing creates a
lot of energy, but it requires some sort
of dam.
Geothermal Energy--is still considered a
renewable energy source, even
though the heat from volcanoes will
decline with use and may not be
renewed for a long time.
Biofuels--can be distilled and extracted
from plants that are high in starch
and sugar. Ethanol is considered the
main biofuel today.
Biomass-- includes materials, such as
wood chips, agricultural waste and
plants. They can be burned like coal
and natural gas.
Nuclear Energy —made by splitting
the nucleus of a heavy atom.
Coal— dug up from coal mines. Made
from the remains of plants that
have been carbonized. (fossil fuel)
Petroleum& Natural Gas —made
when micro-organisms and plants
die in shallow prehistoric bodies of
water and were buried by
sediment. Millions of years of heat
and pressure cause chemical
changes to them. (fossil fuel)