Topic 2 -Environmental Heterogeneity Flashcards

1
Q

Climate

A

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

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2
Q

Weather

A

is the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and cloudiness at a specific place and time

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3
Q

All the differences in climate across the earth are driven primarily by

A

solar radiation

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4
Q

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

A

sun

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5
Q

The sun is our main source of _______ with only ____reaching the surface and being absorbed

A

energy, 51%

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6
Q

Absorbed energy is remitted as

A

heat

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7
Q

Green house effect

A

is crucial to maintaining the surface warmth

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8
Q

Solar energy intercepted by the earth decreases toward the_______ and increases towards _______

A

poles, equator

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9
Q

Uplift

A

warm air rises in the tropics, condenses into clouds and precipitates, cooling air forced North and South

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10
Q

cooling air from the tropics meets air moving southward from the poles resulting in

A

subsidence which is when air moves back to the earths surface when temperature gradient equalizes

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11
Q

where does subsidence occur

A

at the poles where air is dry or between the hadley and ferrell cells 30 degrees of latitude

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12
Q

Hadley Cell

A

0-30 degrees tropical

formed from uplift at the equator

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13
Q

Polar Cell

A

60-90 degrees polar

formed by subsidence at the poles

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14
Q

Ferrell cell

A

30-60 degrees temperate

circulates air between and closes off the other cells

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15
Q

Atmospheric circulation is linked to

A

wind currents

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16
Q

Corliolis Effect

A

apparent deflection of wind currents from earths perspective
right in northern hemisphere
left in southern hemisphere
viewed from space wind would move north-south

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17
Q

Global winds create

A

ocean currents, continents obstruct

18
Q

Currents tend to move clockwise in the__________and counter clockwise in the___________

A

Northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere

19
Q

warm currents tend to move from the_____ outwards while cool currents originate from the _____ regions

A

tropics, polar

20
Q

ocean currents are the main

A

thermal conveyors of the planet

21
Q

3 major influences that alter global temperature

A

Distribution of land and water
Elevation
Earths orbit around the sun

22
Q

true or false

water is a better heat sink than land and retains heat longer

23
Q

True or false

type of Vegetation cover of land does not influence heat uptake

24
Q

Albedo

A

amount of solar radiation that a surface reflects

25
True or false | Internal continental areas are less affected by the heating and cooling of ocean currents
True
26
Precipitation tends to be _____ in the southern hemisphere relative to the north because__________
Higher, larger surface area of water
27
topography (mountains) can create
rain shadows, the air cools before getting over the mountain
28
deep continental areas become very dry due to long distances from
water bodies
29
air temperature decreases with
elevation
30
warming effect of earths surface decreases with
elevation
31
greater air pressure at the surface causes molecules to move
faster (higher speed= higher temp)
32
Tilts of the earths axis results in
seasonal temperature differences as it orbits the sun
33
May to august the northern hemisphere is tilted
toward the sun, increased solar radiation results in winter, opposite in southern hemisphere
34
Nov to Feb the northern hemisphere is tilted
away from the sun resulting in winter, opposite in southern hemisphere
35
because of tilt, seasons are restricted to
temperate zones
36
because of the tilt away from the sun, polar areas experience extreme
day night cycles
37
because of tilt, tropical areas experience a shift in the _________ and experience ___________
Intertropical convergence zones (ITCZ), wet dry cycles
38
weather patterns have different spatial scales which are
Global Regional Local Micro
39
Global and regional climate patterns determine the
large scale distribution of plants and animals
40
do local climate conditions match the general climate profiles of the larger region?
No
41
local patterns of microclimate are the actual environmental conditions experienced by
organisms