Transcript CLIMATE - Home - Stone Bridge Middle School

CLIMATE
What is Climate
Climate: the average, year-after-year conditions of
temperature, precipitation, winds, and clouds in
an area
What is Microclimate?
Microclimate: climate conditions within a small
area that differ from those in the surrounding
area
• This is why is it cooler in a patch of trees than in
an open field
Factors that Affect Temperature
• The main factors that influence temperature are
latitude, altitude, distance from large bodies of
water, and ocean currents.
Climate zones categorized by Latitude
• Tropical zone: Near the equator, extends 23.5⁰ N
and S of the equator
• Polar zone: 66.5 ⁰ to 90 ⁰N and S latitudes
• Temperate zone: located between tropical and polar
zones
How can bodies of water affect
temperature?
Marine climates: mild winters & cool summers
(winds off the ocean prevent temperature
extremes)
Where in the United States does this happen?
Answer: West Coast areas
Continental climates: cold winters & hot summers
Where in the United States does this happen?
Answer: Mid-Central U.S.
The Seasons
• The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis as
Earth Travels around the sun
• The earth is tilted through the poles at an angle of 23.5
⁰
• The axis never changes – the location of the Earth
relative to the sun does; due to the rotation of the
Earth
http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?wcpre
fix=cfp&wcsuffix=5012&area=view&x=8&y=7
Web code: cfp-5012
Climate Regions
The six main climate regions are:
1. Tropical Rainy
2. Dry
3. Temperate Marine
4. Temperate Continental
5. Polar
6. Highlands
Tropical Rainy
Tropical wet: always hot and humid with heavy
rainfall
• Afternoon thunderstorms are common here
• Example: Tropical Rain Forests
• Tropical wet-and-dry: always hot, alternating
wet and dry seasons; heavy rainfall in wet
season
• Example: savannas (tropical grasslands)
Dry Climate
Arid – desert with little precipitation
Semiarid – dry, but receives about 25 to 50 cm
of precipitation per year
Temperate Marine Climate
Marine West Coast – mild winters and cool
summers and rainy winters
Humid Subtropical – hot summers, cool winters
Mediterranean – warm dry summers, rainy
winters
Temperate Continental
Humid Continental – hot, humid summers and
cold winters with moderate precipitation year
round
Subartic – short, cool summers and long cold
winters; light precipitation, mainly in the
summer
Polar
Tundra – always cold with a short, cool summer
Ice Cap – always cold, average temp at or below
freezing
Causes of Climate Change
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Earth’s position relative to the sun
Sun’s energy output (solar energy)
Volcanic eruptions
Continental drift – the movement of the continents
Possible Causes of Short Term
Climate Change (pages 642-647)
• El Nino – warm surface water from the western Pacific
moves east toward the coast of South America
• La Nina – surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean are
colder than normal
• Global Warming – gradual increase in the temperature of the
Earth’s atmosphere