Transcript climate - Science A 2 Z

CLIMATE
• Climate is a large region of the Earth’s
general weather or atmospheric pattern
over a long period of time.
• Weather is the short term atmospheric
conditions of a particular region.
“Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get”.
-Mark Twain
MAJOR FACTORS
LATITUDE AND
ELEVATION: Latitude
is the distance from
the equator and
elevation is the height
above sea level.
RAIN AND
TEMPERATURE:
Ecology.botany.ufl.edu/ecologyf03/biodiv.html
ANNUAL PERCIPITATION
LOCATION ON EARTH
TEMPERATURE
EARTH’S MAJOR
TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE ZONES
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Polar
Sub Arctic
Cool Temperate
Warm Temperate
Dry
Tropical
www.maps.com/ref_aspx?pid=12881
BIOMES
• Biomes are large regions that are
categorized by their similar climate, soil,
plant and animal life, no matter where they
are found on Earth.
• Biome types are mainly determined by
climate.
• Each climactic region of the planet is
home to a variety of biome types.
BIOME CATEGORIES
MOUNTAINS
FORESTS
SHRUBLANDS
GRASSLANDS
INCREASING PERCIPITATION
DESERTS
LITTLE TO NO PERCIPITATION
DESERTS
GRASSLANDS
SHRUBLANDS
FORESTS
MOUNTAINS
DESERT BIOMES
• Desert= evaporation
exceeds precipitation.
• Little vegetation.
What does grow and
thrive in desert
conditions, needs
very little water
• The closer to the
equator, the hotter the
desert.
CLIMATE AND DESERTS
• TROPICAL DESERTS: Very hot and dry
all year long. Located 30 degrees north or
south of the equator.
• TEMPERATE DESERTS: Warm daytime
hours in the summer, and cold winters.
More precipitation than tropical deserts.
• POLAR DESERTS: Cold winters- goes
below freezing. Warm summers. Same
precipitation as temperate deserts.
GRASSLANDS AND
SHRUBLANDS
• Grasslands are too
wet to be deserts and
to dry to be forests.
• They occur mostly in
the middle of
continents.
www.worldbiomes.com
CLIMATE AND GRASSLANDS
• SAVANNAHS: Tropical grasslands that have alternating
dry and wet seasons. They are scattered with shrubs,
and are warm year round.
• TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS: Very cold winters and hot
summers. Sporadic rain, extremely fertile soil.
Overused for cattle grazing.
• CHAPARRALS: Temperate shrub lands. Mainly located
near the coasts that border deserts.
• ARCTIC TUNDRA: Polar grasslands are treeless plains
that are bitterly cold most of the year. Underneath its
layer of snow are many different low laying plant species
and mosses.
FOREST BIOMES
• There is enough
precipitation to
sustain large stands
of trees.
• Precipitation and
temperature
determine the type of
forest in a region.
www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9k.html
CLIMATE AND FORESTS
• TROPICAL RAIN FOREST: Hot with very heavy rainfall year round.
• DECIDUOUS FORESTS: Found in areas of high seasonal change
throughout the year.
• CONIFEROUS (BORREAL) FORESTS: Cold winters and wet
summers. Most of these forests are found in sub arctic regions.
However, some are found in moderate areas because of a very wet
climate.
• TEMPERATE RAINFORESTS: Found near temperate coasts where
rain and fog are plentiful most of the year. The winters are cold and
the summers are cool.
MOUNTAIN BIOMES
• Islands in the sky.
• Mountains happen in any region of the
planet.
• Affect climates by creating a rain shadow
on a region of land.
• A rain shadow can change a landscape
from a forest (on one side of the mountain)
to a desert (on the other side).
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS
library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00182/mountains.htm
DOES THE EARTH HAVE A
PATTERN?
• The farther away a region is from the equator,
the colder the region.
• Latitude at the equator = 0.
• The Earth is broken up into 180* on each side,
north and south of the equator.
• Between what latitudes would you most likely
find a rainforest?
WORK CITATIONS
• G. Tyler Miller. 2007. Chapter 5. Living
In The Environment, 15th Edition. Jack
Carey. Pages 100-124
• All other citations are throughout the
power point on specific slides.