Climate and Biomes Flashcards
Climate:
- Long-term weather patterns of an area (30+ years).
- Climate describes an area’s temperature, precipitation, and vegetation.
- The Koeppen Classification Scale
Factors that Determine Climate:
- Latitude (Tropical, temperate, and polar zones)
- Topography
- Air Masses
- Ocean currents
Tropical Climate:
- temperatures
- precipitation levels
- vegetation
- Constant high temperature
- Up to 600 cm. of rain
- Dramatic vegetation and High Biodiversity
Dry (arid or semi-arid) Climate:
- air mass
- precipitation levels
- vegetation
- cT air mass dominates
- Low precipitation
- Vegetation is scarce
Subarctic and Tundra
- Subarctic is a subclass of continental climates
- Tundra is a subclass of polar climates
Microclimate
A localized climate that differs from the main regional climate.
Heat Island
A place in which the climate is warmer than the area around it – lots of buildings and little vegetation.
Biome
Biomes are large geographic regions which have similar climate; and plants and animals with similar adaptations.
Tundra
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome where avg. temp. are extremely low (long, cold winters).
- Low precipitation, very few plants (grasses)
- Polar Bears
- cP and A air masses
- Soil is permanetly frozen
Taiga
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome where avg. temp. are low most of the year. (Long winters)
- Little precipitation (mostly snow!); Evergreen trees (needle-like trees that conserve water)
- Grizzly bears, elk, moose
- cP and A
Deciduous Forest
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome of warm, humid summers and dry, cold winters; 4 seasons!
- Moderate precipitation, seasonal forests (drop leaves in winter)
- Black bears, foxes, deer
- Maritime and Continental Air masses
- Rich, thick soil
Desert
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome where temp. is really high at day, cold at night
- Very low precipitation; cactuses (store water
- Coyote, javelina, mountain lions
- cT air mass
- Light-colored, salty, thin soil (no water)
Grasslands
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome where summer and winter temp. can be extreme!
- Low to moderate precipitation; 4 seasons and lost of grasses
- Bison, wolves, Prairie dogs
- mT and cP air masses
- Temperate grasslands can be rich
Rainforest
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Air masses
- Soil
- A biome where avg. temp. is high; lots of rain
- Forest, lots of plants and trees
- Jaguar, tapirs, primates, many living in trees, insects, etc…
- mT air mass
- Soil is intensely weathered
Ice Age and Interglacial Interval:
- An ice age is a period of extensive glacial coverage of the Earth.
- An interglacial interval is a warm period.
El Niño:
- Place
- Flow direction/trade winds
- Weather effects
- Warming of a current in the Pacific that is usually cold.
- Trade winds allow warm water from the Pacific Islands to flow East (to South America)
- Occurs along the South American coast every 2-7 years.
- California and the Gulf Coast can experience severe weather, and floods.
- Fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic
Climate Change and Global Warming:
- People are contributing to this by burning fossil fuels
- Carbon Dioxide emissions are released by burning fossil fuels
- A solution includes using alternatives and Go-green sources.
Biosphere
All life on Earth!
Biodiversity
The amount (number) and variety of species on Earth.
- Rainforest have the most biodiversity
- Deserts (or tundras) have the least biodiversity
La Niña
- Trade winds
- Direction of water
- Abnormal cooling of Earth’s ocean surface in the Pacific.
- Caused when temperatures drop in the Pacific, blows east.
- Strong trade winds blow surface water towards the west (SE Asia), creating colder surface temperatures off South American coast. We get strong upwelling.
- Dry and mild conditions in the south. Severe droughts in the southeast. Cold temperatures along the Pacific coast.
Upwelling
Brings up cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface.
- Encourages seaweed growth and support blooms of phytoplankton.
- This happens along the coast, and when this happens it creates animal diversity.
Deep Ocean Currents
Currents controlled by water density - temperature and salinity (90% of ocean water moves here).
Factors which Reduce Biodiversity:
- Human population growth
- Habitat Alteration
- Monoculture
- Deforestation
- Urban Development
- Invasive Species
- Pollution
- Overharvesting
Rain-Shadow Effect
One side of a mountain has lots of vegetation because rain is able to occur there, but the other side of the mountain has little vegetation, since it is blocked off from precipitation
https://images.app.goo.gl/2pceiJsaTHADyz7p7
Regulation of Climate:
In coastal areas, climate is regulated by the ocean nearby (due to convection currents).
- Ocean cools and heats faster than land
- This means in inland areas, seasons are more extreme.
Natural causes of Climate change:
- Very low sunspot activity
- Change in Earth’s orbit (more elliptical!)
- A change in Earth’s tilt (nutation)
- Earth’s wobble on its axis (precession)
