Transcript Chapter21
CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change 21.1 What Is Climate? 21.2 Climate Zones 21.3 Climate Change CHAPTER OUTLINE EXIT CHAPTER CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change VOCABULARY climate climate controls CHAPTER HOME 21.1 What Is Climate? The climate of a region is its long-term weather. The two main characteristics of climate are temperature and precipitation, which can be described by averages and ranges. Many other factors act together to determine Earth’s climate: latitude, elevation, distance from large bodies of water, ocean currents, topography, prevailing winds, and vegetation. SECTION OUTLINE CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change VOCABULARY climate climate controls SECTION OUTLINE CHAPTER HOME 21.1 What Is Climate? Some climate controls have a greater effect than others at different locations. Beijing, China and Valdivia, Chile had the same average temperature but different climates. CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change CHAPTER HOME 21.2 Climate Zones Earth has a great diversity of climates. Scientists categorize Earth’s many climates into zones: polar, dry, humid tropical, moist mid-latitude with mild winters, and moist mid-latitude with severe winters. click here to enlarge SECTION OUTLINE Most climate zones are further divided into subclimates. In mountainous regions, climates can vary greatly within a small area. CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change CHAPTER HOME 21.3 Climate Change Earth’s climate is constantly changing. Temperature difference (°C) compared to present Antarctic Temperatures for Past 420,000 Years Thousands of years ago SECTION OUTLINE CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change CHAPTER HOME 21.3 Climate Change Earth’s climate is constantly changing. Global climate changes can be caused by changes in Earth’s energy budget and by the interactions among Earth’s spheres. Causes for climate change include variations in Earth’s motions, the location of the continents, variations in sunspots, and gases and ash ejected into the atmosphere by volcanoes. SECTION OUTLINE CHAPTER 21 CHAPTER HOME Climate and Climate Change 21.3 Climate Change Human activities are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and there is evidence that the increase is contributing to current global warming. Temperature difference (°C) compared to average for 1951–1980 Global Surface Temperature Change SECTION OUTLINE Year CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change CHAPTER HOME 21.3 Climate Change Human activities are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and there is evidence that the increase is contributing to current global warming. The causes of climate change are complex, so predicting climate change is difficult. Scientists study past climate change by analyzing sea-floor sediments, glacier samples, tree rings, and other indirect evidence. SECTION OUTLINE CHAPTER 21 Climate and Climate Change CHAPTER HOME This is the end of the chapter presentation of lecture notes. Click the CHAPTER HOME button or exit the presentation.