Topic 2 -Environmental Heterogeneity Flashcards
Climate
long term average patterns of weather on a local, regional or global scale
Weather
is the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind and cloudiness at a specific place and time
All the differences in climate across the earth are driven primarily by
solar radiation
The ability to sustain life on our planet is due to the
sun
The sun is our main source of _______ with only ____reaching the surface and being absorbed
energy, 51%
Absorbed energy is remitted as
heat
Green house effect
is crucial to maintaining the surface warmth
Solar energy intercepted by the earth decreases toward the_______ and increases towards _______
poles, equator
Uplift
warm air rises in the tropics, condenses into clouds and precipitates, cooling air forced North and South
cooling air from the tropics meets air moving southward from the poles resulting in
subsidence which is when air moves back to the earths surface when temperature gradient equalizes
where does subsidence occur
at the poles where air is dry or between the hadley and ferrell cells 30 degrees of latitude
Hadley Cell
0-30 degrees tropical
formed from uplift at the equator
Polar Cell
60-90 degrees polar
formed by subsidence at the poles
Ferrell cell
30-60 degrees temperate
circulates air between and closes off the other cells
Atmospheric circulation is linked to
wind currents
Corliolis Effect
apparent deflection of wind currents from earths perspective
right in northern hemisphere
left in southern hemisphere
viewed from space wind would move north-south
Global winds create
ocean currents, continents obstruct
Currents tend to move clockwise in the__________and counter clockwise in the___________
Northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere
warm currents tend to move from the_____ outwards while cool currents originate from the _____ regions
tropics, polar
ocean currents are the main
thermal conveyors of the planet
3 major influences that alter global temperature
Distribution of land and water
Elevation
Earths orbit around the sun
true or false
water is a better heat sink than land and retains heat longer
True
True or false
type of Vegetation cover of land does not influence heat uptake
False
Albedo
amount of solar radiation that a surface reflects
True or false
Internal continental areas are less affected by the heating and cooling of ocean currents
True
Precipitation tends to be _____ in the southern hemisphere relative to the north because__________
Higher, larger surface area of water
topography (mountains) can create
rain shadows, the air cools before getting over the mountain
deep continental areas become very dry due to long distances from
water bodies
air temperature decreases with
elevation
warming effect of earths surface decreases with
elevation
greater air pressure at the surface causes molecules to move
faster (higher speed= higher temp)
Tilts of the earths axis results in
seasonal temperature differences as it orbits the sun
May to august the northern hemisphere is tilted
toward the sun, increased solar radiation results in winter, opposite in southern hemisphere
Nov to Feb the northern hemisphere is tilted
away from the sun resulting in winter, opposite in southern hemisphere
because of tilt, seasons are restricted to
temperate zones
because of the tilt away from the sun, polar areas experience extreme
day night cycles
because of tilt, tropical areas experience a shift in the _________ and experience ___________
Intertropical convergence zones (ITCZ), wet dry cycles
weather patterns have different spatial scales which are
Global
Regional
Local
Micro
Global and regional climate patterns determine the
large scale distribution of plants and animals
do local climate conditions match the general climate profiles of the larger region?
No
local patterns of microclimate are the actual environmental conditions experienced by
organisms
