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Climate and Ecosystems

Climate and Ecosystems. Climate. Affected by Latitude Prevailing Winds Continental Position Ocean Currents Altitude. Latitude. Low latitude = high solar energy Equator Sun directly overhead; equal night and day High latitude = low solar energy Poles

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Climate and Ecosystems

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  1. Climate and Ecosystems

  2. Climate • Affected by • Latitude • Prevailing Winds • Continental Position • Ocean Currents • Altitude

  3. Latitude • Low latitude = high solar energy • Equator • Sun directly overhead; equal night and day • High latitude = low solar energy • Poles • Sun at low angle; long days, long nights

  4. Prevailing Winds • Global wind belts create H and L zones • H  Dry • Cold air descending causes evaporation • L  Wet • Warm air rising and losing its water

  5. Continental Position • Water regulates air temperature • Higher specific heat than land • Coastal climates are less extreme than inland climates

  6. Ocean Currents • Surface and deep water currents affect air temperatures along the coast • Cold water moves towards the equator • California current cools Southern California • Warm water moves towards the poles • Gulf stream warms Northern Europe

  7. Altitude • Mountains affect climate by • Lowering temperature • Temperature decreases with altitude in the troposphere • Rainshadow • Air is dry after it has been forced over mountains  no precipitation • e.g. California compared to Nevada

  8. Climate Zones and Biomes • Climate zone: areas with similar temperatures, humidity, precipitation, and seasons • Biome: climate zone plus native plants and animals • Found in bands of similar latitude N or S • 30° deserts; 90-75°polar tundra

  9. Climate Zones • Tropic wet (tropical moist) • Dry • Humid mid-latitude (moist mid-latitude) • Continental • Cold • Sub-polar • Polar

  10. Tropical Wet • ~25° N to 25° S (near equator) • High temperatures and lots of rainfall • Tropical wet • Tropical monsoon • Tropical wet dry

  11. Arid (Dry) • ~25-35° N and S • Hadley convection cell drops cool dry air • Hot days, cold nights; very little precipitaion • Deserts • Steppe

  12. Humid Mid-latitude • ~30-40° N and S • Higher along the coast • 4 separate seasons; plenty of precipitation • Mediterranean • Humid subtropical (Southeast US) • Marine West Coast

  13. Continental • ~40-70° N • No continental climates in Southern Hemisphere; land is too narrow • Humid but colder than humid mid-latitude • Not warmed by ocean currents • Cold winters; hot summers • Affected by surrounding land

  14. Cold • 70-90° N and S • Very little precipitation • Subpolar • Taiga; many coniferous forests;meltwater streams • Tundra • Mosses and ferns; frozen most of the year • Ice Cap • Permanently frozen ground

  15. Climate Change • Climate is constantly changing • Usually stays within 5°C • Current interglacial period began 10,000 years ago

  16. Short Term Cycles • Mainly controlled by ocean currents • El Niño or La Niña depending on direction of Southern Pacific currents

  17. Long Term Cycles • Milankovitch Cycles • Shape of orbit • Timing of orbit • Degree of axis tilt • Create 100,000 year cycles of climate change

  18. Long Term Cycles • Plate tectonics • More land near the poles means more ice and more solar reflection (high albedo) • Less land near the poles means less ice and more solar absorption (low albedo) • Greenhouse Effect • More greenhouse gasses means more solar energy is trapped (warmer)

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