Climate and Distribution of Communities Flashcards
What is responsible for seasons?
earth’s tilt on its axis
What does summer mean?
earth is tilted towards the sun
What does winter mean?
earth is tilted away from the sun
How much of the energy that is coming to the sun is absorbed by the atmosphere?
1/2
What layer absorbs most of sun’s UV radiation?
ozone
What is the greenhouse effect?
when atmospheric gases (like CO2) trap heat and radiate it towards the earths surface
Why does the equator get more heat?
because equatorial heat is more direct and there is less atmosphere to pass through
Why do poles get less light/heat?
because the poles are tilted and the heat has more distance to cover, and more atmosphere to pass through
What two things determine how much heat is radiated onto the earth?
curvature of earth and atmosphere
Does hot air rise or sink?
rise
Does cool air rise or sink?
sink
What type of air holds more moisture?
hot air
How does global air circulation work?
- at the equator, the warm air rises and picks up moisture
- as it rises it cools and dumps water on the equator
- then, the cool air finally comes back around 30o and the heats up/sucks up moisture to 60o
What is the coroiolis effect?
because of the earths rotation, wind is deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere
What are upwellings?
movement of deep, cold, nutrient rich water to the surface
What is a gyre and what does it do?
closed open circuit, it allows lands close by the (hot or cold) gyres to have the same temperature
What is the rain shadow effect?
- water is picked up by warm air and dropped on left side of a mountain (windward)
- as the air cools and becomes warmer (when it travels down a mountain), it sucks up moisture and the climate becomes dry and humid (leeward)
What happens when we increase 1000M in elevation isn both latitudes and mountains?
we decrease by 6 degrees
What does a higher temperature and rainfall indicate about a biome?
that there’s higher productivity
What biome has low precipitation, high temperatures, and high evaporation rates?
desert
What biome has low precipitation, cold climate, and short growing seasons?
tundra
What types of plants are found in the tundra?
perennial plants
What biome has hot climate, moderate precipitation, has lots of fires, and has few trees?
savannahs
What biome has cooler climate, moderate precipitation, only grass, and lots of fires?
temperate grasslands
What biome has high diversity of trees, winter dormancy, and seasonal temperature change?
deciduous forests
What biome has lots of rain, summer droughts, and large similar trees?
evergreen forest
What biome has conifers, lakes and bogs, and low diversity?
taiga
What is the continental shelf?
basically the coral reef, and i has high productivity
What are open oceans?
part of the ocean with low productivity
What are upwelling regions?
regions with a lot of phytoplankton
What is the deep sea region?
largest habitat on earth
What is an oligotrophic lake?
lake with little to no nutrients (hence low algae)
What is a eutrophic lake?
lake with high nutrients and productivity, but it has depleted O2 levels the deeper you get
What winds carry hot surface water westward?
strong trade winds
What is el nino?
when hot water is not moved by strong trade winds, and so this decreases upwellings in Peru because there’s so cold air (so no new nutrients)
