Ch. 46-47 (Test 3) Flashcards
What is Climate?
Climate is the prevailing weather conditions in a particular region.
What is Climate dictated by and how are they influenced?
Temperature and rainfall- Influenced by variations in solar radiation du to the tilt of the Earth and topography/body of waters nearby
What are seasons caused by?
The tilt of the Earth on its axis as it rotates the sun
Because Earth is a sphere, how does this affect where sunlight hits?
Direct sunlight at equator but indirect sunlight at the poles
Why doesn’t the equator have seasons?
The tilt of the Earth
Rising air creates what?
Areas of lower air pressure
What is the flow of air modified by?
Continents, Ocean, Tilt, Rotation
Explain how global air circulation patterns are associated with temperature and rainfall patters.
Sun heats the air and evaporates water which rises; Cools and loses most of its moisture as rain; greatest amounts of rainfall near equator; rising air flows towards poles; cools before it get’s there and sinks; dry air descends and warms = high pressure (low rainfall)
Air flows towards poles and the equator; dry air moves across Earth ; moisture gets absorbed; warmed air rises and cools producing low-pressure area (high rainfall)
How is pressure linked to rainfall?
High pressure = low rainfall
What is the Vernal Equinox?
Sun aims directly at equator (March/Spring)
What is the Winter Solstice?
Northern Hemisphere tilts away from Sun (December)
What is the Summer solstice?
Northern Hemisphere tilts towards the Sun (June)
What is the Autumnal equinox?
Sun aims directly at equator (September)
Explain the global wind circulation.
Northern Hemisphere- Winds bend clockwise
Southern Hemisphere- Winds bend counterclockwise
Caused by Earth rotating eastward
What are doldrums?
Regions of calm (winds) accusing at the equator
What are trade winds?
Winds blowing from doldrums towards poles
What are the westerlies and easterlies?
Westerlies- blow from west to east, strong winds
easterlies- blow east to west, weak winds
What is topography?
Physical features of the land
Explain the affect of mountains on topography. (Include rain shadow)
Air blows up and over coastal mountain range causing it to rise and cool; coastal side of mountain (windward side) receives more rainfall than the other side; interior side (leeward side/ rain shadow) air depends, absorb moisture from the ground, and produces dry air and clear weather.
How does water affect temperature and why?
Stabilizes it- Land warms more quickly and the air above land rises pulling a sea breeze from ocean; night: reverse happens
What is a monsoon? How is it created?
Climate in which set ocean winds blow onshore for almost half the year- The land heats more rapidly than the waters of the Indian Ocean during the spring causing a difference in temperature between the land and the ocean which causes an enormous circulation of air (Warm air rises over the land, and cooler air comes in off the ocean to replace it and as the warm air rises, it loses its moisture)
What is a biome?
Major terrestrial ecosystems characterized by their climate and geography that has a particular mix of plants and animals that are adapted to living within a specific range of environmental conditions in a given region
N.B. Biome supports characteristic types of animals but many migrate from one region to another (Breeding?)
Describe biomes on a mountain.
From Top to bottom: (Ice), Alpine tundra, montane coniferous forest, deciduous forest, tropical forest, temperate deciduous forest, coniferous forest, tundra, (Ice)
Describe characteristics of the Arctic Tundra.
Cold and dark most of the year; long, harsh winters and short summers; Rainfall only 20cm (Considered a desert); located just south of ice covered polar seas in Northern Hemisphere
Life: No trees; Summer- ground is covered with short grasses; a few animals live in tundra year round (snowy owls)
What is permafrost?
In Arctic- layer that remains permanently frozen (results in minimal drainage)
Describe characteristics of Coniferous Forests.
Long, cold, snowy winters; warm humid summers; dominated by cone-bearing trees; can be found in the taiga, near mountaintops, and along the Pacific coast of North America.
Temperate Rain Forest
Located along west coast of Canada and US
Plentiful Rain and rich soil
Describe characteristics of Temperate deciduous forests
Moderate climate, high rainfall, well defined seasons, trees have broad leaves has a canopy an understory (stratification); enormous diversity; most animals live in trees
Describe Characteristics of Tropical Rain Forests.
Always warm; plentiful rainfall; 12 hours of sunlight every day; riches land biomes on Earth
Describe the structure of a Tropical Rain Forest.
Forest floor- Vegetation tends to be sparse
Understory- consists of smaller plants
Canopy- most productive level (Many animals and plants spend entire lives here)
What are Epiphytes?
Plants that grow on other plants
Describe Characteristics of Shrublands.
Dry summers and receive most of their rainfall in the winter
Located- cape of South Africa, the western coast of North America and the southwestern and southern shores of Australia, as well as around the Mediterranean Sea and in central Chile
What is a chaparral?
Type of shrubland that lacks an understory and ground litter and is highly flammable
Located- California
What is a chaparral?
Type of shrubland that lacks an understory and ground litter and is highly flammable
Located- California