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Chapter 3 – Climate, Environment, and
Resources
Section Notes
Video
Weather and Climate
World Climates
Natural Environments
Natural Resources
Impact of Weather
Close-up
A Forest Ecosystem
World Almanac
World Energy Production
Today
Quick Facts
Chapter 3 Visual Summary
Maps
Major Ocean Currents
World Climate Regions
Prevailing Winds
Images
Natural Resources
Global Wind Systems
Flood Rescuers
Rain Shadow Effect
Soil Layers
Weather and Climate
The Big Idea
The sun, location, wind, water, and mountains affect weather
and climate.
Main Ideas
• While weather is short term, climate is a region’s average
weather over a long period.
• The amount of sun at a given location is affected by
Earth’s tilt, movement, and shape.
• Wind and water move heat around Earth, affecting how
warm or wet a place is.
• Mountains influence temperature and precipitation.
Main Idea 1:
While weather is short term, climate is a
region’s average weather over a long period.
Weather
• The short-term changes in the air for a given place and time
• Temperature and precipitation from hour to hour or day to
day
Climate
• A region’s average weather conditions over a long period
• The expected weather for a place based on data and
experience
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Main Idea 3:
Wind and water move heat around Earth,
affecting how warm or wet a place is.
• Air and water warmed by the sun are constantly
on the move, making different areas of Earth
warmer or cooler.
• Wind, or the sideways movement of air, blows in
great streams around the planet.
• Prevailing winds are winds that blow in the
same direction over large areas of Earth.
Wind
• Weight of air
– Cold air is heavier than warm air.
– When air cools, it gets heavier and sinks.
– When air warms, it gets lighter and rises.
– As warm air rises, cooler air moves in to take its place, creating
wind.
• The rising, sinking, and flowing of air creates Earth’s prevailing
wind patterns.
– At the equator, hot air rises and flows toward the poles.
– At the poles, cold air sinks and flows toward the equator.
– Earth’s rotation causes prevailing winds to curve east or west.
• Prevailing winds can make a region warmer or colder and drier
or wetter.
Water and Wind
• Ocean currents—large streams of surface seawater
driven by winds—move heat around Earth.
– Carry warm or cool water to different areas
– Water’s temperature affects air temperature near it.
• Large bodies of water, such as an ocean or sea, also affect
climate.
– Water heats and cools more slowly than land does.
– Large bodies of water make the temperature of the land
nearby milder.
• The place where two air masses of different temperatures or
moisture content meet is a front.
– Can produce rain, snow, thunderstorms, and blizzards
Storms
Thunderstorms
Blizzards
•
Produce rain, lightning, and thunder
•
Most common in spring and summer
•
Produce strong winds and large amounts of snow
•
Most common during winter
•
Small, rapidly twisting funnel of air that touches
the ground
•
Can be destructive and deadly
•
Large, rotating storms that form over tropical
waters in the Atlantic Ocean (hurricanes) or Pacific
Ocean (typhoons).
•
Produce drenching rains, strong winds, and storm
surges
•
Largest, most destructive storms
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
and Typhoons
Main Idea 4:
Mountains influence temperature and
precipitation.
• Mountains can influence an area’s climate by affecting
both temperature and precipitation.
• Temperature decreases with elevation, the height on
Earth’s surface above sea level.
• Mountains also create wet and dry areas.
– Air blowing against mountains is forced to rise.
– As the air rises, it cools and precipitation falls.
– This effect produces a rain shadow, a dry area on the
mountainside facing away from the direction of the wind.
World Climates
The Big Idea
Earth’s five major climate zones are identified by
temperature, precipitation, and plant life.
Main Ideas
• Geographers use temperature, precipitation, and plant life
to identify climate zones.
• Tropical climates are wet and warm, while dry climates
receive little or no rain.
• Temperate climates have the most seasonal change.
• Polar climates are cold and dry, while highland climates
change with elevation.
Main Idea 1:
Geographers use temperature, precipitation,
and plant life to identify climate zones.
• Earth is divided into five general climate zones.
– Tropical—occur near the equator, in low latitudes
– Temperate—occur about halfway between the equator and
the poles, in the middle latitudes
– Polar—occur near the poles, in the high latitudes
– Dry—occurs at many different latitudes
– Highland—occurs at many different latitudes
Main Idea 2:
Tropical climates are wet and warm.
Humid Tropical Climate
• At the equator
• Warm, muggy and rainy yearround
• Temperatures average 80F.
• Rainfall ranges from 70 to 450
inches.
• Some areas have monsoons,
seasonal winds that bring either
dry or moist air.
• Can support lush tropical rain
forests that host a great
diversity of plant and animal life
Tropical Savanna Climate
• North and south away from the
equator
• Long, hot, dry season followed
by short periods of rain
• Temperatures are hot in the
summer, cooler in the winter.
• Can support savannas—areas of
tall grasses and scattered trees
and shrubs
Dry Climates receive little or no rain
Desert Climate
Steppe Climate
• Earth’s hottest and driest
climate
• Semidry grasslands or
prairies—called steppes
• Receive less than 10
inches of rain a year
• Often border deserts
• Temperatures can reach
as high as 130F.
• Only very hardy plants
and animals can live in
these conditions.
• Receive slightly more rain
than deserts
• Short grasses are most
common plants, but
shrubs and trees grow
along streams and rivers.
Main Idea 3:
Temperate climates have the most
seasonal change.
Temperate Climates
• Mild and tend to have four seasons
– Warm or hot summers
– Cool or cold winters
• Occur in the middle latitudes, the regions halfway between
the equator and the poles
Temperate Climates
Mediterranean
Humid
Subtropical
Marine
West Coast
Humid
Continental
•
Sunny, pleasant climate occurring mainly in coastal
areas
•
Summers hot, dry, and sunny; winters mild and
somewhat wet
•
Occurs along east coasts near the tropics
•
Summers are hot and muggy; winters are mild
•
Storms occur year-round.
•
Occurs on west coasts where winds carry moisture
in from the seas
•
Mild temperatures year-round
•
Occurs closer to the poles, in the upper-middle
latitudes
•
Four distinct seasons
Main Idea 4:
Polar climates are cold and dry, while
highland climates change with elevation.
Subarctic Climate
• Occurs mainly in Northern
hemisphere south of Arctic
Ocean
• Winters are long and bitterly
cold; summers short and cool
• Below freezing half the year
Ice Cap Climate
Tundra Climate
• Coastal areas along the Arctic
Ocean
• Long, bitterly cold winters
• In some parts is permafrost,
or permanently frozen layers of
soil
Highland Climate
• North and South poles
• Found on mountains
• Temperature lows of more than
-120F
• Includes polar climates plus
others; several climates in one
• Snow and ice remain yearround, but little precipitation
• As you go up a mountain,
temperatures drop and plant
life grows sparser.
Natural Resources
The Big Idea
Earth’s natural resources have many valuable uses, and their
availability affects people in many ways.
Main Ideas
• Earth provides valuable resources for our use.
• Energy resources provide fuel, heat, and electricity.
• Mineral resources include metals, rocks, and salt.
• Resources shape people’s lives and countries’ wealth.
Main Idea 1:
Earth provides valuable resources
for our use.
Using Natural
Resources
• A natural
resource is any
material in nature
that people use and
value.
• Some are used as
is.
• Some are changed
to make something
new.
Types of Natural
Resources
• Renewable
resources are
resources Earth
replaces naturally.
• Nonrenewable
resources are
resources that
cannot be replaced;
they will run out
one day.
Managing Natural
Resources
• People must
manage resources
to ensure they will
be available in the
future.
• Deforestation, the
clearing of trees, is
a result of lack of
management.
• Reforestation,
planting trees to
replace lost
forestland, works to
prevent resource
loss.
Main Idea 2:
Energy resources provide fuel, heat,
and electricity.
Nonrenewable Energy
Resources
• Most energy we use comes
from fossil fuels,
nonrenewable resources that
formed from the remains of
ancient plants and animals.
• Coal—pollutes the air; used
mainly to create electricity at
power plants
• Petroleum, or oil—used to
make fuels and other products
• Natural gas—cleanest-burning
fossil fuel; used mainly for
heating and cooking
Renewable Energy Resources
• Will not run out
• Generally better for the
environment
• Hydroelectric power—the
production of electricity from
waterpower—is the main
alternative to fossil fuels.
• Wind is used to power wind
turbines that create electricity.
• Solar power and geothermal
energy—heat from within
Earth—can heat water for
homes and be turned into
electricity.
Main Idea 4:
Resources shape people’s lives and
countries’ wealth.
• The natural resources available to people affect their lifestyles
and needs.
– People in areas with many natural resources sometimes have more
choices on ways to dress, eat, live, travel, and entertain themselves.
– People in areas with fewer natural resources will likely have fewer
choices and different needs.
• Availability of natural resources affects countries’ economies.
– The many resources available in the United States have helped it
become one of the world’s wealthiest economies.
– Countries with few natural resources often have weak economies.
– Some countries have only one or two valuable resources but few
others.
Nuclear Energy
• Obtained by splitting atoms, small particles of matter
• Uses the metal uranium, so some consider it a
nonrenewable resource
• Produces dangerous wastes that must be stored for
thousands of years before they are safe
• Accidents at nuclear power plants have terrible effects.
Main Idea 3:
Mineral resources include metals, rocks,
and salt.
Mineral resources include metals, salt, rocks, and gemstones.
Minerals fulfill countless needs.
Minerals are nonrenewable, and therefore need to be
conserved.
Recycling can make the supply of mineral resources last longer.