Climate and Weather

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Climate and Weather

• SOL WG.2a

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Climate

• Climate is the condition of the atmosphere over a
  long period of time.

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Think!

• What is the difference between a desert and a
  tropical rainforest?
• What is the difference between Antarctica and a
  desert?

If you said temperature and rainfall
(precipitation) you are right!
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Climate

• Three characteristics of climate are
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Seasons

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Think!

• Why do some places get more or less rain?
• Why are some places hot and some places cold?
• Why do some places have seasons that are equal in
  length and some places dont?

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Climate

• Four factors or elements that affect climate are
• Latitude
• Wind Currents
• Proximity to Water
• Elevation

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Latitude

• Temperature is hotter or colder at different
  latitudes because the earth is tilted on its axis
  at 23.5 in relation to the sun and it revolves
  around the sun.
• The tilt of the earth causes different amounts of
  sunlight to hit the earth at different times so
  we have seasons.

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Latitude

• The Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn mark the
  farthest points north and south that receive the
  direct rays of the sun. This is why the area
  near the equator is very warm all year.

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Latitude

• When the direct rays of the sun hit the Tropic of
  Cancer or Capricorn it is called a solstice.
• When the direct rays of the sun hit the equator
  it is called an equinox.

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Wind Currents

• Wind and ocean currents distribute the suns heat
  through convection, the transfer of heat in the
  atmosphere through upward motion of the air.

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Proximity to Water

• Areas near the ocean tend to have a milder winter
  and a cooler summer.
• Ocean currents are like rivers in the ocean.
  Warm water flows away from the equator and cold
  water flows toward the equator.

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Proximity to Water

• Some important ocean currents are
• The North Atlantic Drift - This ocean current
  warms Western Europe.
• The East Australian Current
• The Gulf Stream

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Elevation

• Elevation influences temperature. As you go up
  in elevation the temperature becomes colder
  because the atmosphere is thinner. Areas with
  very high elevations can have vegetation similar
  to the arctic.

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Elevation

• Some areas with high elevations are
• The Plateau of Tibet in Asia
• Countries in the Andes Mountains such as Bolivia,
  Chile, and Peru
• Switzerland in the Alps

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Climate Zones

• Climate zones are classified by temperature and
  precipitation.
• Biome refers to the climate of an area and the
  types of animals and vegetation that are found in
  that area.

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Climate Zones

• Low Latitudes - Tropical Wet and Tropical Wet and
  Dry.
• Middle Latitudes - Mediterranean, Humid
  Subtropical, Humid Continental, Marine West
  Coast.
• High Latitudes - Subarctic, Tundra, Icecap
• Varies - Semiarid, Arid, Highland

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Vegetation Regions

• The types of plants that grow in an area are
  dependent on three things temperature,
  precipitation, and amount of sunlight.

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Deserts

• Deserts are based on precipitation. There are
  hot and cold deserts. Some hot deserts are The
  Sahara, The Namib, The Atacama, and The Gobi.
  Antarctica is actually a desert because it gets
  very little rainfall.

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Grasslands

• Grasslands are classified by temperature and
  precipitation. Grasslands dont receive enough
  rain for trees to grow but they can vary in
  temperature.

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Tropical Grasslands

• Savanna - Africa
• Llanos - Colombia and Venezuela
• Cerrados - Brazil

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Savanna in Africa
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Temperate Grasslands

• Prairie - The United States and Canada
• Pampas - Argentina
• Steppe - Central Asia

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Yurts, portable houses, on the Mongolian steppe.
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Cold Grasslands

• Tundra - The Tundra is a flat treeless plain
  located in the far north on the coast of Alaska,
  Canada, and Russia. The Tundra has short
  grasses, a few shrubs, mosses, and some flowers.
  Underneath the tundra there is permafrost,
  permanently frozen subsoil.

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Forests

• Forests near the equator have more broadleaf
  trees and the leaves are larger because the area
  receives more sunlight.
• Forests in the high latitudes have more
  coniferous trees because they grow better with
  less sunlight.

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Rainforests

• Rainforests are found in tropical wet climate
  zones in the low latitudes. What countries do
  you think have rainforests?

A. Brazil - Amazon Rainforest
B. Congo
C. Indonesia
D. Most of Central America
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Taiga

• The Taiga is a large coniferous forest that
  covers most of Siberia. In Canada and Alaska
  coniferous forests are called boreal forests.
  The Taiga is characterized by cold winters and
  short summers.

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Middle Latitude Forests

• Middle latitude forests have a mix of coniferous
  trees and deciduous trees. Deciduous trees are
  broadleaf trees that lose their leaves in the
  winter time.

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Climographs

• A climograph is a graphical representation of
  temperature and precipitation for a location. By
  comparing climographs we can understand
  differences in climate from one location to
  another.

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