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What Causes
Climate?
Reid Pierce
Fulbright Jr. High
Bentonville, AR
• Weather: the outdoor conditions at a
particular time and place
• Climate: an average of weather conditions
in a given area over a period of years
The most important
factor affecting the
earth’s climates is
energy from the sun.
The temperature of a
place depends a lot on
the sun’s energy,
because some parts of
earth’s surface receive
more intense sunlight
than others.
Determining Climate
• Climate is determined by two main factors:
– Temperature and Precipitation
• Factors that Affect Temperature:
– Latitude
– Altitude
– Distance from
large bodies of water
– Ocean currents*
• Reported with a
Climate Graph
Determining Climate
Warm ocean currents off of the coast of England make
their beaches warm and their climate mild.
Determining Climate
Determining Climate
• A climate is determined by two factors:
– Temperature and Precipitation
• Factors that Affect Precipitation:
–
–
–
–
Prevailing Winds
Mountain Ranges*
Seasonal Winds
Reported with
a precipitation graph
Factors Affecting Climate
A mountain range can form a barrier to the
movement of air masses and influence where
precipitation falls.
Windward side
Wet
Leeward Side
Dry
Factors Affecting Climate
Below is the Sierra
Nevada's of California on
the windward side (west or
coastal side). Note how
green the vegetation.
Above is the leeward side
(Eastern side) of the
Sierra Nevada's. Note
how dry and desert like
the landscape is.
Reporting Climate
Climate Graphs show both the temperature and
precipitation for an area.
Factors Affecting Climate
Climate is affected by the tilt of the earth.
In general, the areas around
the equator receive more of
the sun’s energy, while the
North and South Poles
receive less.
Animation
Climate Types
These factors create five main climate regions:
1. Tropical Rainy
2. Temperate
3. Highlands
4. Polar
5. Dry
Climate Types
There are five main climate regions:
1. Tropical Rainy –
always hot, always
rainy or has rainy
season and dry
season
Climate Types
2. Temperate – hot summers and cold winters,
moderate precipitation
Climate Types
3. Highlands – cooler than nearby lowlands,
temperature decreases with increasing altitude
Climate Types
4. Polar – always cold
Climate Types
5. Dry – very little precipitation
Mapping World Climates
Shade your map to look like the one below
and label each zone accordingly.
Pg. 109
Reid Pierce
Fulbright Jr. High
Bentonville, AR
Studying Climate Change
• Rock Layers
• Pollen Layers
• Tree Rings
• Ice Cores
Climate and Climate Change
Temporary Climate Change Causes:
- Volcanoes – ash and gases are released into the
atmosphere where they can stay for long periods of time
and block the sun
Major Volcanic Eruptions
Climate and Climate Change
Temporary Climate Change Causes:
- Volcanoes – ash and gases are released into the
atmosphere where they can stay for long periods of time
and block the sun
- Drought – reduced amounts of precipitation
- Meteor Impact – can blast ash into the atmosphere where
it can stay for long periods of time and block the sun
- Human Activities – release gases (mainly CO2) into the
atmosphere which trap gases and gradually warm the
earth
Global Climate Change
Recall that gases
(mainly CO2) in
earth’s atmosphere
trap some of the
radiation from the
sun which heats the
earth.
This is referred to as
the greenhouse
effect.
• The Greenhouse Effect is beneficial to Earth!
•If there were no greenhouse effect the earth would be approximately 60°F cooler!
• Increased levels of greenhouse gases may be due to the increased burning of fossil
fuels.
• However, too much CO2 will cause too much of the greenhouse effect…
Global Climate Change
…too much greenhouse effect could lead to global
warming.
What is Global Warming?
• An increase in Earth's temperature caused by gases
(such as CO2) in the atmosphere that trap heat.
• What we know:
– Since the Industrial Revolution (around 1750), human
activities have substantially added to the amount of heattrapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
– The atmosphere also varies on its own so determining how
much of this change is due to human activities is hard.
Global Climate Change
Argument is that the warming of the globe is a natural cycle, which is
true but never before have humans been around to alter this cycle and it
has never been as warm as it is now.
Global Climate Change
What you need to know about
Global Warming
- The earth is warming up!
- We now burn a lot more fossil fuels than ever
before.
- Ice caps and glaciers are melting.
- Rising Sea levels (oceans have risen 6-8 in. in
last 100 years)
- The ozone hole does not cause global warming.
- Because of its high energy consumption, the US
has long emitted more carbon dioxide than any
other country
Video
How Do You Contribute to Global
Warming?
• Cars (burning gasoline releases CO2)
• Use electricity (burning coal releases CO2)
• Buy poorly packaged products and create
more trash (making those packages and
disposing of the trash releases CO2)
How Do You Help End Global
Warming?
• Use a more fuel efficient car (hybrids)
• Turn down the heat, or use a fan!
• Turn off and unplug items not in use
– Vampires
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle