Download Ecosystems Question Climate vs Weather

Ecosystems
4.1 The Role of Climate
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Question
• Can bananas grow everywhere?
– Banana are tropical plants and need an
abundance of water and heat to thrive
• Can cranberries grow everywhere?
– Cranberries need lots of water and a cool
area to grow.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Climate vs Weather
• Weather is the day to day
account of the Earth’s
atmospheric condition at a
certain time and place.
Varying.
• Climate is the account of the
“average, year after year
conditions of temperature and
precipitation in a particular
region. Constant.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
1
Climate
• Observed climate is caused by
a combination of many factors:
– Heat trapped by the atmosphere
– The latitude
– The transport of heat by winds
and ocean currents
– Precipitation
– Energy from incoming sunlight
drives earth’s weather and helps
to determine climate.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
The Greenhouse Effect
• Unlike other planets,
temperatures on Earth remain
within a suitable range due to
the existence of a small
blanket of atmosphere.
– This Blanket insulates the earth
keeping it at a fairly constant
temperature
– The atmospheric blanket also
shields us from dangerous
cosmic radiation.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
The Greenhouse Effect
• Carbon Dioxide, Methane, water vapor, and a few
other atmospheric gases trap heat energy and
maintain Earths temperature ranges.
• Light readily passes thru the greenhouse gasses
• Heat has a harder time, gets reflected.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
2
Is the greenhouse effect bad?
• No, it is necessary for the maintenance of our
comfortable temperature range.
• Too much will cause over heating of the Earth.
• To reiterate, Greenhouse gases cause the
greenhouse effect, which helps maintain the earth’s
temperatures ranges. Slows down the loss of heat
into space. W/O it Earth would be 30 degrees
cooler
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Latitude’s influence on climate
• As a results of
differences in
latitude and thus the
angle of heating,
Earth has three
main climate zones:
– Polar
– Temperate
– Tropical
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Polar Zones
• Cold areas where the
sun’s rays strike the earth
at a very shallow angle.
• Located in the areas
around the north and
south poles
– Between 66.5 degree and
90 degrees north and
south latitudes
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
3
Temperate Zones
• Between the polar
zones and the tropics.
• Temperatures range
from hot to cold as the
angel at which the sun
is hitting them
changes constantly,
depending on season.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Tropical Zones
• Receives almost direct sunlight.
• The areas near the equator between
23.5 north and south latitudes.
• Warm year around.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
Heat Transport in the
Biosphere
• Law of Diffusion
• Winds form because warm air tends to
rise and cool air tends to sink. Known
as convection currents.
• Similar patterns occur in the Earth’s
Oceans.
• Some of these paths are curved as a
result of the earth’s rotation.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
4
Section 4.1 Assessment
1. What is the Greenhouse Effect?
2. Describe Earth’s three main climate
zones
3. What are the main factors that
determine Earth’s climate?
4. Describe two ways in which heat is
transported in the biosphere.
The Nora School
955 Sligo Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Biology
Period _________
5