2. What is Climate?
◊ Weather - short term; today
◊ Climate - general atmospheric or
weather conditions over time
Climate is what we expect;
weather is what we get.
3. Climate varies over the
surface of the earth
◊ 2 main factors:
• Wind - air circulation
• Ocean currents
◊ Move warm & cold
moisture from one
place to another, but
unevenly
4. Focus on AIR
◊ Air circulates
warmth &
moisture
from the
tropics to
other places
5. Focus on AIR
3 forces responsible:
1. Tilt of the earth - Earth is heated
unevenly
6. Focus on AIR
3 forces
responsible Earth on its axis
2. Rotation of the
◊
◊
equator spins faster than poles
Warm air rising over equator goes N
or S then deflected E or W
◊
creates “prevailing winds” - major
surface winds that blow almost
continuously
7. Quick Demo
◊ What happened to the line as you rotated the
whiteboard?
◊ What happens to the line as you get further
toward the edge?
8.
9.
10.
11. Focus on AIR
3 forces responsible
3. The water cycle
◊
heat from the sun
evaporates ocean water
and transfers it to air
◊
this creates convection
cells that circulate heat,
air, and moisture
15. Focus on OCEAN
CURRENTS
◊ Currents go clockwise in Northern
Hemisphere
◊ Currents go counterclockwise in
Southern Hemisphere
16. Focus on OCEAN
CURRENTS
◊ Also vertical mixing of water
• Cold water sinks - more dense, saltier
• Warm water rises - less dense, less salty
17. OCEAN CURRENTS + AIR
CURRENTS 4EVER
◊ Ocean currents
affected by wind
◊ Heat from ocean
affects air
circulation patterns
18. For Example
◊ El Niño Southern Oscillation
(ENSO)
◊ Changes global weather
over 2/3 of the planet due to
a relatively small change in
wind speed
19. So…
◊ Air circulation + winds
+ ocean currents +
continents in the way =
6 giant convection cells
that shape climate
◊ (3 in north, 3 in south)
◊ Warm wet air rises
◊ Cool dry air sinks
21. How they work
◊ Light from sun passes
through atmosphere
◊ Surface absorbs heat
◊ Heat radiates back up
◊ Some escapes to space
◊ Some absorbed by
greenhouse gases - its
good! :)
22. Climate Change (global warming)
◊ LOTS and LOTS of
evidence supports the
hypothesis that humans are
contributing excess
greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere - altering
earth’s climate
◊ 90-99% sure of this
◊ Why not 100%
◊ Precautionary Principle
23. Earth’s Surface Features also
affect climate
◊ Rain shadow effect
• Windward side wet
• Leeward side dry
24.
25. All of this creates BIOMES
High Mountains
Polar Ice
Arctic Tundra
Temperate
Grassland
Tropical
grassland
(savanna)
Chaparral
Temperate
Coniferous forest
Temperate
deciduous forest
Tropical rainforest
Tropical dry
forest
Tropical Desert
Temperate rain
forest
Temperate desert
Cold desert
Taiga
Tropical and
subtropical coniferous
forest
Pond
Inland wetlands
(swamps, marshes,
prarie potholes)
Mangrove forest
Riparian (rivers
and surrounding
area)
26. All of this creates BIOMES
High Mountains
Polar Ice
Arctic Tundra
Temperate
Grassland
Tropical
grassland
(savanna)
Chaparral
Temperate
Coniferous forest
Temperate
deciduous forest
Tropical rainforest
Tropical dry
forest
Tropical Desert
Temperate rain
forest
Temperate desert
Cold desert
Taiga
Tropical and
subtropical coniferous
forest
Pond
Littoral, intertidal
zone
Mangrove forest
Kelp forest
Coral reef
Neritic zone
(coastal waters)
Continental shelf
Pelagic zone (open
sea)
Benthic zone
(bottom of lakes
and oceans)
Hydrothermal vents
Cold seeps
Estuaries
Riparian (rivers and
surrounding area)
Inland wetlands
(swamps,
marshes, prarie
potholes)