Ch. 24.7: Climate

Climate =______________________

Depends on_________________________Climate Regions:Tropical: Hot & wet or Hot w/ wet & dry seasonsDry: DesertTemperate marine: humid w/ mild wintersTemperate continental: cold, snowy wintersHighlands: mt. regions, cool & wetPolar: tundra & ice cap

Factors Affecting Temperature

• Altitude:________________________

• Latitude: – _________________________________ – ________________________________

• Distance from bodies of water: – ______________________________– ______________________________

Factors Affecting Precipitation• Latitude

__________________________________• Distribution of air pressure systems &

global winds

• Mt. Barriers

Mt. Barriers

•Warm air is pushed up by mt.

•Condenses

•Precip

•Dry Air on opposite side

•Desert - like

SHORT TERM Climate Change: El Nino___________________________________

El Nino: __________________________________

Ocean currents in Pacific______________

Result: Abnormal weather

When: Every ______ yrs

El Nino year

Climate Change: Ice AgeNaturally Occuring & Long Term Change

Ice Age: __________________________________________________

When:

4 major ice ages in last 2 million years

Last one ended 10 000 yrs ago

Why:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ice/chill.html

Icehouse vs. Greenhouse

9

ICE HOUSE = Ice present @ poles

GREEN HOUSE= NO ice present @ poles

HIGH 18O:16O

LOW18O:16O

www.atmo.arizona.edu/.../sec5/robust.html

Causes of Ice Ages1.

2. Changes in Solar Radiation (solar cycles)

11

12

Causes of Ice Ages continued3. Volcanic Activity

Ice Ages - Cause

55 Ma: Uplift of the Himalayas4.

Ice Ages: Cause

5. Change in OCEAN Circulation

6. Biology Driven Ice Age = Snowball Earth

Ancient Ice Age: Snow Ball EarthIce covered Earth ~ 2.4 bya (end of Precambrian Time)

Global temps: ~ - 74 F

Global Warming

Debate: How much is natural? How much is due to burning fossil fuels?

Reducing CO2 levels could limit global warming

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/Climate.html