Earth Science Chapter 8 CLIMATE ONLY
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- what two characteristics of the temperatures of a region are most important?
-
1. average temp. over the year
2. range of average monthly temp(average difference between the average temp of the hottest month and average temp of the coldest month) - what does arid mean
- dry
- when is a climate arid?
- when the P is less than Ep
- what is Ep largely determined by?
- temp.
- what is humid
- wet
- when is aclimte humid?
- when the P is greater than Ep
- what are factors that determine climate?
-
-latitude
-planetary wind and pressure belts
-oceans and other large bodies of water
-ocean currents
-mountains
-elevation
-amount of cloud coer
-vegetation - what does air do in areas of low press?
- air rises and forms clouds, much precipitation, and humid climates
- what does air do in areas of high press?
- sinks, warms the air, and results in arid or desert climates
- as distance from the equator increases, the annual temperature RANGE...
- increases
- WHY?
- they have a greater amount of change in duration of insolation during the year
- why will a land mass near a large body of water's climate be affected by the water?
- water heats and cools off slowly
- marine climate
- an area with temps moderated by proximity to a body of water
- how does the climate of an area near the water compare to inland areas?
- it has cooler summers and warmer winters; a smaller annual range of temps
- how do the areas inland compare to the coastal areas?
- cooler winters and warmer summer and a wider annual range of temps
- what is this kind of climate called?
- continental
- what are prevailing winds (planetary winds) caused by?
- the pressure differences and the effects of earths rotation (the coriolis effect)
- in what windbelt is most of the contiguous US located
- prevailing southwesterly wind belt
- in what direction does weather move in the US?
-
southwest to northeast
(more generally west to east) - why does the west coast of the US have much more of a marine climate the the esast coast?
- bc the west coast has prevailing winds blowing fromthe ocean and the east coast has them blowing from the middle of the US
- monsoons
- weather changes caused by the seasonal shifts in the direction of prevailing winds
- what are monsoon usually associated w/?
- the wet summers and dry winters of southeast asia
- what does a cool ocean current cause
- cooler temps and less precipitation
- why is there less precipitation?
- cool water results in cool air, which cannot hold much water vapor
- what does a warm ocean current cause?
- warmer temps and more precipitation
- which way do warm current flow?
- away from the equator towards the higher latitudes
- which way do cool currents flow?
- toward the equator to the lower latitudes
- 2 reasons why does elevation affect climate
-
1. as air rises, it expands and cools
2. lower amounts of greenhouse gases at higher altitudes, which means less absoprtion of radiation from the sun and earths surface - how does elevation affect climate?
- higher=colder
- how does elevation affect precipitation?
- higher elevations ahve more precipitation
- which way is the air going on the winward side?
- the air rises
- desribe the windward side
-
cooler, more himud climate
precipitation
cooling when air expands - in which direction are the prevailing winds going?
- from the windward to the leeward side
- describe the leeward side
-
warmer, dry climate
warming when air compresses - which way is the air going on the leeward side?
- the air descends
- why does the leeward side have less precipitation?
- the air has lost much of its moisture and its water vapor capacity rises as its temp increases
- why can opposite sides of a mountain have different temp patterns?
- bc mountains act as barriers to moving air masses, preventing cold air or warm air from corssing the mountain to the other side
- how does vegetation affect climate?
- when rainforests are cut down and converted into farms or grazing land, the climate often becomes hotter and less humid
- high percentage of cloud coverage=
- less sun reaching earth, less heat
- stream discharge
- the volume of river water
- when does stream discharge decrease?
- when we are in usage
- usage
- when water comes from storage
- high ep relationship w/ temperature
- high temp
- low Ep relationship w/ temp
- low temp
- what is the #1 factor that determines the temp?
- latitude
-
when the
P
------
Ep
relationship is over 1, the climate is... - humid
- when is is under 1, the climate is
- arid
- what 2 things determine climate?
-
1. rainfall
2. temp - where does europe get the warm currents from?
- the gulf stream..gulf of mexico
- what causes ocean currents?
- winds
- why does water change temp slowly?
- it has a high specific heat
- El Nino
-
random warm water current in the pacific
has major effects on global climates