Chapter 7 Quiz Flashcards
What is the atmosphere?
Layer of gases that surround a planet or moon that protect from extreme temperatures
What is the most important factor that affects climate on earth?
Energy from the sun
What are 3 types of movement changes?
Eccentricity- change in orbit
Tilt - angle changes
Wobble - wobbles as it rotates on axis (precession)
How do the sun’s rays strike earth?
Perpendicular to the earth’s surface
What is the atmosphere mainly composed of?
Nitrogen and oxygen
What is the greenhouse effect?
Natural warming caused by when gases in atmosphere absorb thermal energy
Keeps earth temp. in check
What is wind?
Movement of air from high to low pressure
Result in uneven heating of earth surface
What are prevailing winds?
What are jet streams?
Prevailing - blow in constant direction
Jet stream - high altitude winds, travel fast at high speeds
What is the hydrosphere?
The collective mass of water found anywhere on earth in liquid gas or solid form
What can the ocean do better than the atmosphere?
Oceans can hold more heat, known as heat reservoirs
What is specific heat capacity?
The amount of heat required to raise the temp of one gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius
What is the albedo effect?
Which colours have a greater albedo?
How efficient is water at reflecting sun?
Albedo - fraction of energy reflected by a surface
Lighter colours reflect heat, don’t absorb
Water is 7% efficient, ice and snow 80-90
What are tectonic plates?
How many does earth have?
Piece of earth’s outer shell (lithosphere) moves around underlying rock (asthenosphere)
12 plates
Thai results in continent shapes changing
What do volcanic eruptions spew?
What affect do aerosols have on climate?
Ash and aerosols
Aerosols reflect solar radiation and thus have a cooling affect on global climate
Definition of anthropogenic?
Caused by humans, ex. the Industrial revolution that begun in the 1700s and required fossil fuel powered technologies
What are climate zones?
Regions that share similar weather conditions
Aristotle identified 3 major climate zones based on distance from the equator. What were they?
Tropical zone - between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn
Polar zone - between north and south pole
North and south temperate zone - between tropical zones and polar zones (either very warm or very cold)
What are climatographs?
Graphs that display information about monthly precip. and temp. based on 30 years of observations
The Koppen Climate Classification system identifies how many diff. zones based on what three factors?
5 zones! Depends on monthly temp. and precip. and annual precip.
TM Tropical moist
D Dry
MMM Moist, mid-latitude with mild winters
MMC Moist, mid-latitude with cold winters ONTARIO!
P Polar
What are biomes?
Regions classified by climate and plant/animal species
What are the 8 major biomes (excluding one) ?
P permanent ice (graph stuck to dotted line)
B boreal forest (the perfect graph)
T tundra (low temp., low precip.)
TD temperate deciduous forest (high temps. high precip.)
TR temperate rainforest (high temps. dip in precip. in summer)
G grassland (line at peak of temp.)
D desert (high temp. almost no precip.)
Which biome is not found in Canada?
Tropical rainforest
What are bioclimate profiles?
Graphs of climactic conditions (probability of frost, median temperature, water surplus)
Compare to an interview
What are ecozones?
Regions separated by geological features (ocean, mountain, desert)
What are ecoregions?
Subdivisions of ecotones characterized by smaller landforms (lake)
Which climate zone is Ontario found in? (Note there is 5!)
North temperate zone
Which Koppen climate category is Southern Ontario found in?
Moist, mid-latitude with cold winters
What is global warming?
Increase in average global temperature
What do changes in polar and glacial ice cause?
Rising sea levels
pH levels or acidity in the oceans are dropping. what is causing this?
Non-metal oxides (CO2 and SO2 dissolve in water)
How does changing climate affect health?
Smog causes respiratory issues
In higher temps. disease and infections spread quickly
What causes more precip. in hotter climates?
Water evaporates, and condenses as rainfall
How do humans district forests?
Logging for urban sprawl and clearing for agriculture
Reduces CO2 removed through photosynthesis
Why are wetlands crucial for life?
Supply water and habitats
