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CHAPTER 3 WIND, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

CHAPTER 3 WIND, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. Section 2 “Earth’s Climate and Vegetation”. Objectives: Students will be able to:. 1) Describe what is included in the study of weather. 2) Identify the major climate types, and describe the types of plants that live in each. Weather.

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CHAPTER 3 WIND, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS

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  1. CHAPTER 3WIND, CLIMATE, AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS Section 2 “Earth’s Climate and Vegetation”

  2. Objectives:Students will be able to: • 1) Describe what is included in the study of weather. • 2) Identify the major climate types, and describe the types of plants that live in each.

  3. Weather • Weather is a general term • Can describe temperature, amount of sunlight, air pressure, wind, humidity, clouds, and moisture

  4. Weather (cont.) • Warm air masses come together with cool air masses and form fronts • Warm air rises (is pushed up) and cools • Cooling of moist air causes clouds to form • Precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail) falls

  5. Weather (cont.) • Another type of lifting occurs when warm, moist air is blown up against a mountain and is forced to rise • Air cools as is rises • Clouds form • Precipitation falls • WINDWARD SIDE: (side facing the wind) gets heavy rain

  6. Weather (cont.) • LEEWARD SIDE: (side of mountain opposite the wind) is often dry because it has already lost its moisture • RAIN SHADOW: dry area on leeward side of mountain • Remember: • Windward - wet • Leeward - dry

  7. Low-Latitude Climates • CLIMATE: the average weather of an area over a long period of time • Climates regions are classified mainly on temperature, precipitation, & natural vegetation (also closely related to its latitude)

  8. Low-Latitude ClimatesHumid Tropical Climate • Warm & rainy all year long • Not much difference between summer & winter • Found in tropics • Lots of evaporation - daily rainstorms • Tropical rain forests • Brazil, Indonesia, Central Africa

  9. Monsoon • MONSOON: seasonal shift of air flow and rainfall, which brings alternating wet & dry seasons • Very important in southern & southeastern Asia • Wet summers • Dry winters

  10. Tropical Savanna Climate • Warm all year • Distinct rainy & dry seasons (at least 20 inches of rain during summer) • Wet season - soon after warmest months • Dry season - soon after coolest months • Total rainfall is fairly low • Vegetation is grass with scattered trees and shrubs • Found between humid tropics & deserts

  11. Dry Climates • ARID: (dry) receives little rain • Arid regions usually have few streams & plants • Desert Climate • Steppe Climate

  12. Desert Climate • Arid - less than 10 inches of rain a year • Hot daytime temperatures, rapid cooling at night • Most deserts lie near tropics • Some deserts located in the interiors of continents, and in rain shadows of mountains

  13. Desert Climate (cont.) • Few plants survive (must be drought resistant) • Many barren, rocky or sandy regions

  14. Steppe Climate • Semiarid (about 10-20 inches of rain per year) • Hot summers and cooler winters, with wide temperature ranges during the day • Found between desert and wet climate regions • Grasses grow, and few trees • Farmers grow crops but need irrigation

  15. Steppe Climate (cont.) • Occur in Africa, Australia, Central Asia, eastern Europe, Great Plains of US & Canada

  16. Middle-Latitude Climates • 23.5 degrees North - 66.5 degrees North • 23.5 degrees South - 66.5 degrees South • Have cool or cold winters • Have warm or hot summers

  17. Mediterranean Climate • Hot, dry summers • Cooler, wet winters • 15-20 inches of rain per year • Found in west coasts in middle latitudes • Southern Europe, coastal North Africa, parts of California, Australia, South Africa, and Chile • Plants: scrub woodland & grassland

  18. Humid Subtropical Climate • Hot, humid summers • Mild, humid winters • Rain year-round • Coastal areas are in paths of HURRICANES and TYPHOONS (tropical storms that bring violent winds, heavy rain, and high seas)

  19. Humid Subtropical Climate (cont.) • Found in Southeastern United States • Also found on east coasts in middle latitudes • Vegetation: mixed forests (deciduous and coniferous forests blend)

  20. Marine West Coast Climate • Cloudy, mild summers • Cool, rainy winters • Strong ocean influence & westerly winds • 20-60 inches of rain per year • Found in west coasts in upper-middle latitudes • Coastal areas of North America • Western Europe

  21. Marine West Coast Climate (cont.) • Evergreen forests grow because of rain

  22. Humid Continental Climate • Have four distinct seasons • Influenced by polar fronts • Long, cold winters • Short, warm summers • Amounts of precipitation a year vary • Found on East coasts and interiors of upper-middle latitude continents

  23. Humid Continental Climate (cont.) • Found in Midwestern US, Northeastern US, Southeastern Canada, and Russia • Support mixed forest vegetation

  24. High-Latitude Climates • Found closer to the poles • Cold temperatures and little precipitation • Subarctic Climate • Tundra Climate • Ice Cap Climate

  25. Subarctic Climate • Extremes of temperature • Long, cold winters • Short, warm summers • Little precipitation all year • Found in higher latitudes of the interior and east coasts of continents: • North America, Europe, Asia

  26. Subarctic Climate (cont.) • Far from moderating influence of oceans • No Subarctic Climate Zone in Southern Hemisphere • Support boreal forests (northern evergreen forest)

  27. Tundra Climate • Very long, cold winters • Temperatures are cold all year • Rainfall is low • Summers are very short and cool • Layer of soil stays frozen all year • PERMAFROST: layer of soil that stays frozen all year long in the tundra

  28. Tundra Climate (cont.) • Found in high-latitude coasts • Located far north • Supports only hardy plants: • Mosses • Lichens • Shrubs • Permafrost marshes

  29. Ice Cap Climate • Polar regions have ice cap climate • Freezing cold • Snow and ice year-round • Little precipitation (less than 10 inches) • No vegetation here • Animals like walruses, penguins, whales, are found here

  30. Highland Climate • As you go uphill, temperatures drop • Mountains usually have several different climates in small area • High mountains have a tundra zone and an icy summit • Temperatures and precipitation very greatly as elevation changes

  31. Highland Climate (cont.) • Found in high mountain regions • Vegetation varies from forest (or desert) to tundra depending on elevation • Windward side gets more rainfall and snow

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