monsoon and mediterranean

Question 1

how many seasons does the Mediterranean climate have and what are they?

Answer 1

2 seasons, winter and summer

Question 2

Where are Mediterranean regions found?

Answer 2

warm coastal regions between 30-40 degrees latitude

Question 3

What are some examples of Mediterranean places?

Answer 3

central Chile, western cape (South Africa), California and northern Baja California, southwest and south Australia

Question 4

What are the temperatures of the summer and winter seasons?

Answer 4

Summers are warm to hot (over 26 degrees average)

Winters are mild to cool (6 degrees average)

Question 5

How much rainfall is produced per year?

Answer 5

approx 50cm of precipitation a year

Question 6

Causes of the Mediterranean climate?

Answer 6

summer (may to august)- high pressure belts of the subtropic drift northwards in the northern hemisphere
winter (November to February) - they drift southwards in the southern hemisphere
- The stable atmosphere creates cloudless conditions resulting in hot sunny days but cool nights due to heat loss and very little rainfall

Question 7

What is the vegetation called in ?

Answer 7

sclerophyll

Question 8

Examples of some vegetation in the mediterranean?

Answer 8

Evergreeens: such as Pine and Cypress
trees

Deciduous trees: such as some Oaks.

Scrub - shrubs, thorny bushes,
grasses, and herbs (e.g wild olive,
cork, thyme, eucalypyus, cedar,
lauren and myrtle)

Question 9

How are the plants adapted to living in Mediterranean conditions?

Answer 9

Plants living in a Mediterranean climate must be able to survive long dry
summers.

Thick waxy leaves to conserve moisture

Sunken stomata to conserve moisture

Needles are small and thin, reducing the surface area available for evaporation.

Question 10

What agriculture is in the Mediterranean?

Answer 10

Viticulture - Grape cultivation for wine, sherry and port industries

Citrus fruits, olives and figs grow well due to their long roots, sparse foliage and waxy skins

Pastoral farming is not appropriate as grass has shallow roots

Question 11

What are the main threats to agriculture in the Mediterranean?

Answer 11

Over-development of tourism and agriculture putting pressure on water supplies and fertile soil

Climate change - A warming of just 2 degrees could led to arid and semi-arid belts encroaching on the Mediterranean basin resulting in a drier climate

Over-irrigation - Winter rainfall has been falling resulting in groundwater aquifers (rocks below ground holding rainwater) not being recharged so less water is available during the summer months and increasing irrigation is needed

Wildfires