What Causes Climate? Reid Pierce Fulbright Jr. High Bentonville, AR

Transcription

1 What Causes Climate? Reid Pierce Fulbright Jr. High Bentonville, AR

2 Weather: the outdoor conditions at a particular time and place Climate: an average of weather conditions in a given area over a period of years

3 The most important factor affecting the earth s climates is energy from the sun. The temperature of a place depends a lot on the sun s energy, because some parts of earth s surface receive more intense sunlight than others.

4 Determining Climate Climate is determined by two main factors: Temperature and Precipitation Factors that Affect Temperature: Latitude Altitude Distance from large bodies of water Ocean currents* Reported with a Climate Graph

5 Determining Climate Warm ocean currents off of the coast of England make their beaches warm and their climate mild.

6 Determining Climate

7 Determining Climate A climate is determined by two factors: Temperature and Precipitation Factors that Affect Precipitation: Prevailing Winds Mountain Ranges* Seasonal Winds Reported with a precipitation graph

8 Factors Affecting Climate A mountain range can form a barrier to the movement of air masses and influence where precipitation falls. Windward side Wet Leeward Side Dry

9 Factors Affecting Climate Below is the Sierra Nevada's of California on the windward side (west or coastal side). Note how green the vegetation. Above is the leeward side (Eastern side) of the Sierra Nevada's. Note how dry and desert like the landscape is.

10 Reporting Climate Climate Graphs show both the temperature and precipitation for an area.

11 Factors Affecting Climate Climate is affected by the tilt of the earth. In general, the areas around the equator receive more of the sun s energy, while the North and South Poles receive less. Animation

12 Climate Types These factors create five main climate regions: 1. Tropical Rainy 2. Temperate 3. Highlands 4. Polar 5. Dry

13 Climate Types There are five main climate regions: 1. Tropical Rainy always hot, always rainy or has rainy season and dry season

14 Climate Types 2. Temperate hot summers and cold winters, moderate precipitation

15 Climate Types 3. Highlands cooler than nearby lowlands, temperature decreases with increasing altitude

16 Climate Types 4. Polar always cold

17 Climate Types 5. Dry very little precipitation

18 Mapping World Climates Shade your map to look like the one below and label each zone accordingly. Pg. 109

19

20 Reid Pierce Fulbright Jr. High Bentonville, AR

21 Studying Climate Change Rock Layers Pollen Layers Tree Rings Ice Cores

22 Climate and Climate Change Temporary Climate Change Causes: - Volcanoes ash and gases are released into the atmosphere where they can stay for long periods of time and block the sun

23 Major Volcanic Eruptions

24 Climate and Climate Change Temporary Climate Change Causes: - Volcanoes ash and gases are released into the atmosphere where they can stay for long periods of time and block the sun - Drought reduced amounts of precipitation - Meteor Impact can blast ash into the atmosphere where it can stay for long periods of time and block the sun - Human Activities release gases (mainly CO 2 ) into the atmosphere which trap gases and gradually warm the earth

25 Global Climate Change Recall that gases (mainly CO 2 ) in earth s atmosphere trap some of the radiation from the sun which heats the earth. This is referred to as the greenhouse effect. The Greenhouse Effect is beneficial to Earth! If there were no greenhouse effect the earth would be approximately 60 F cooler! Increased levels of greenhouse gases may be due to the increased burning of fossil fuels. However, too much CO 2 will cause too much of the greenhouse effect

26 Global Climate Change too much greenhouse effect could lead to global warming. What is Global Warming? An increase in Earth's temperature caused by gases (such as CO 2 ) in the atmosphere that trap heat. What we know: Since the Industrial Revolution (around 1750), human activities have substantially added to the amount of heattrapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The atmosphere also varies on its own so determining how much of this change is due to human activities is hard.

27 Global Climate Change Argument is that the warming of the globe is a natural cycle, which is true but never before have humans been around to alter this cycle and it has never been as warm as it is now.

28 Global Climate Change

29

30 What you need to know about Global Warming - The earth is warming up! - We now burn a lot more fossil fuels than ever before. - Ice caps and glaciers are melting. - Rising Sea levels (oceans have risen 6-8 in. in last 100 years) - The ozone hole does not cause global warming. - Because of its high energy consumption, the US has long emitted more carbon dioxide than any other country Video

31 How Do You Contribute to Global Warming? Cars (burning gasoline releases CO 2 ) Use electricity (burning coal releases CO 2 ) Buy poorly packaged products and create more trash (making those packages and disposing of the trash releases CO 2 )

32 How Do You Help End Global Warming? Use a more fuel efficient car (hybrids) Turn down the heat, or use a fan! Turn off and unplug items not in use Vampires Reduce, Reuse, Recycle