Climate Change Flashcards
What is weather?
Weather is the environmental conditions (temperature, precipitation, etc.) occuring at a particular place at a particular time.
What is climate?
Climate is the average weather conditions over a long period of time (years).
What are factors that influence climate?
Latitude
Elevation
Air masses that flow over the area
Nearness to large bodies of water
How does latitude affect climate?
Since the Earth is round, the sunlight can directly travel to the equator and areas farther away, like the poles, the area of solar energy is more spread apart and not direct.
The equator is warmer than the poles.
How does elevation affect climate?
At a higher elevation, there were be colder temperatures and more precipitation.
At a lower elevation, there were be warmer temperatures and less precipitation.
How does air masses that flow over the area affect climate?
There are tropical and arctic air masses, and as they flow over an area, the air can change to be either moist, dry, hot, or cold. If an air mass flows over a mountain, one side will be wet and one side will be dry.
How does nearness to bodies of water affect climate?
Water absorbs heat and cools the area around it, making areas close to large bodies of water colder than inland.
How can you describe weather?
- precipitation type (snow, rain, etc)
- humidity
- fog, cloud, or mist
- pressure
- wind speed
- temperature
What is the atmosphere?
The gases surround Earth
What is the hydrosphere?
The water on Earth, in all its forms (ice glaciers, water vapour, oceans, lakes, etc)
What is the lithosphere?
The rock on Earth (Earth’s crust, land surfaces)
What is the cryosphere?
The solid water on earth (ice, glaciers, permafrost)
What are the layers of the atmosphere?
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
