Lecture 2: Environmental Heterogeneity

Question 1

Describe Climate

Answer 1

The long term average pattern of weather, on a local, regional, or global scale

Question 2

Describe weather

Answer 2

weather is the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, etc. at a specific place and time

Question 3

What powers the climate system?

Answer 3

Solar radiation

Question 4

The differences in climate across the earth are primarily driven by what

Answer 4

Solar radiation

Question 5

The ability to sustain life on our planet is due to what

Answer 5

The sun

Question 6

What is the main source of energy

Answer 6

the sun

Question 7

How much of the suns energy reaches the surface and is absorbed

Answer 7

51%

Question 8

What happens to the energy from the sun that is not absorbed

Answer 8

reflected, scattered or absorbed by the atmosphere

Question 9

What is crucial in maintaining the surface warmth

Answer 9

The greenhouse effect

Question 10

The amount of solar energy intercepted by the earth varies by

Answer 10

Latitude
Angle
Depth of atmosphere

Question 11

The amount of solar energy intercepted by the earth ______ towards the poles and _____ towards the equator

Answer 11

Decreases

Increases

Question 12

Describe Uplift

Answer 12

1) Warm air rises in the tropics that creates a low pressure system
2) Condenses into clouds and precipitates
3) Cooling air forced North and South
4) Cooling air from the tropics eventually meets air moving southward from the poles

Question 13

Describe Subsidence

Answer 13

1) Air moves back to the Earth’s surface when temperature gradient equalizes
2) Areas where this occurs are often very dry (Deserts) or at the poles where the air is very dry

Question 14

What three cells (describe them too) determines the general levels of precipitation

Answer 14

1) Hadley cell
- 0 to 30 degree latitude (Tropical)
- Formed from the uplift at the equator

2) Polar Cell
- 60 to 90 degrees latitude (Polar)
- Formed from subsidence of air at the poles

3) Ferrell Cell
- 30 to 60 degrees latitude (Temperate)
- Circulates air between and closes off the other cells

Question 15

Describe Winnipeg’s weather in terms of distinct cell formation

Answer 15

At 55 degrees but we often feel the polar jet because were that close to 60 degrees latitude

Question 16

Atmospheric circulation is linked to what

Answer 16

Wind currents

Question 17

Describe the Corliolis Effect

Answer 17

IT is the apparent deflection of wind currents from the Earth’s perceptive
Moves to the right in the northern hemisphere
Moves to the left in the southern hemispher

Question 18

Give an example of the Corliolis effect

Answer 18

When flushing a toilet in the northern hemisphere the water will circle to the right and left in the southern hemisphere
if there are no jets

Question 19

If looking at wind from space, what direction would it go

Answer 19

Directly North to south

Question 20

What creates ocean currents

Answer 20

Global winds

Question 21

Describe the way currents tend to move in the two hemispheres

Answer 21

Clockwise in the northern hemisphere

Counterclockwise in southern hemisphere

Question 22

What are the main thermal conveyors of the planet

Answer 22

Ocean currents

Question 23

Why and what hemisphere typically has more precipitation

Answer 23

Southern over northern because there is much more water

Question 24

What are the three major influences that alter global temperatures pattern and why

Answer 24

1) Distribution of land and water
- Water is a better heat sink than land cause it retains heat longer
- Type of vegetation cover influences heat uptake
- Topography can create rain shadows
2) Elevation
- Air temperature decreases with elevation
3) Earths orbit around the sun

Question 25

Describe Albedo

Answer 25

the amount of solar radiation that a surface reflects

Question 26

Internal or external continental areas are less affected by the heating and cooling of ocean currents

Answer 26

internal

Question 27

Higher speeds of air pressure create what kind of temperatures

Answer 27

Warmer

Question 28

What causes the seasonal temperature differences as the earth orbits around the sun

Answer 28

The tilt of Earth’s axis

Question 29

Seasons are restricted to what

Answer 29

Temperate zones

Question 30

Describe the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Answer 30

• tropic areas experience wet and dry cycles but not real seasons

Question 31

Weather patterns differ at different spatial scales with include

Answer 31

Micro –> Local –> Regional –> Global

Question 32

True or False; Local climatic conditions always match the general climate profiles of the larger region

Answer 32

False because local patterns of microclimate are the actual environment conditions experienced by organisms