Climate

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Climate
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• Ecosystems
• - made of abiotic and biotic
• Abiotic Factors
• Temperature usually a function of the ability
  of an organism to maintain homeostasis in the
  optimal range of its enzymes
• Water precipitation, bodies of water
• Sunlight base energy source for all trophic
  levels
• Provides energy for heat ? warmth, weather
  cycles, water cycle, ocean currents
• Wind moves air, moisture, pollution, seeds,
  animals
• Rocks and Soils affects plant distribution
  which determines animal populations
• Climate Prevailing weather conditions in the
  environments mainly determined by temperature,
  water, sunlight and wind

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• Factors Affecting Climate
• 1. Sunlight amount and intensity is determined
  by latitude and tilt of earths axis - determines
  how directly the suns rays strike the earth
  more direct higher amounts of energy Pg 96
  97
• Changes with Latitude Sunlight becomes less
  direct moving away from the equator ? rays are
  spread out more due to curvature of the earth
  less concentrated rays less energy
• - also, a greater angle of entry causes the
  sunlight to travel through more of the atmosphere
  more scattering and reflection (less direct
  light)

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• Albedo Effect reflected sunlight
• - clouds ? 30 of sunlight
• - glaciers and ice ? 80 90
• - asphalt ? 10 15
• - oceans and forests ? 5
• Non Reflected light energy for hydrologic
  cycle, wind and ocean currents, photosynthesis
  and thermal energy for planet
• - UPS trucks and School Bus tops

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• 2. Global Air Circulation Page 99
• Vertical Movement of Air
• Moist air near the ground is heated causing it
  to rise
• Ascending moist air cools resulting in
  condensation of the water
• High, cool, dry air descends drying out the land
  it hits
• Result of pattern areas of wet and dry
• Areas of descending air deserts
• Areas of rising air Rain fall
• Other Results Dispersion of hot and cold air
• - heat from the equator is moved away and cool
  air from the poles is moved down helps regulate
  global temperatures

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• Wind horizontal movement of air
• generated from different air pressures that
  result from temperature differentials and the
  Earths rotation
• Air Pressure based on altitude, water content
  (humidity), air temperature
• Altitude go up, pressure goes down
• Humidity go up, pressure goes up
• Temperature go up, pressure goes up
• Changes in these factors causes the pressure of
  the air to change differences in the air
  pressures results in wind wind blows from high
  pressure to low pressure greater the difference
  the stronger the wind
• Mount Washington Video

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• Coriolis Effect influence of the Earths
  rotation on the movement of the wind (inertia of
  the wind)
• Rotation West to East
• changes the direction of the wind
• In Northern Hemisphere wind swirls to the
  right
• In Southern Hemisphere wind swirls to the left

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Earths Rotation
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• Global Wind Patterns (Prevailing Winds)
• Polar Easterlies Originate from the North and
  South poles
• Northern Hemisphere move from north east
• Southern Hemisphere move from south east
• Westerlies Originate in the mid-latitudes
  move from the west
• Tradewinds Tropical winds movement in 23.5
  degree Latitude
• NH move from the northeast
• SH move from the southeast

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Effects of Wind on Climate

• Evaporative Cooling and Drying
• Wind Force on Plant Growth ? Flagging

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• 3. Bodies of Water
• High specific heat of water allows for climate
  regulation
• Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than
  land keeping areas near large bodies of water
  more moderate
• Convection Cell

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• Oceans currents pg 102
• Produced by
• 1) the prevailing winds which produce gyres
  (swirling masses of water)
• 2) influenced by the Coriolis Effect
• 3) Density of water in ocean
• - cold, salty water is more dense than warm,
  less salty water
• - water is densest at 4 oC
• - deeper colder water moves at a different rate
  than the warmer surface water due to Coriolis
  effect

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• move warm and cool water which then heats and
  cools the air causing wind patterns and climate
  differentials
• Warm water from tropics flows and heats the air
  and land changing the climate
• Ex England is farther north than New England
  but the UK is warmer because of warm ocean
  currents that pass by it. New England is brushed
  by a cold ocean current from Greenland making its
  climate cooler.
• - water then cools, sinks and returns to the
  tropics to reheat
• moves nutrients from place to place causing
  plankton blooms when the water rises from the
  ocean floor
• - Ocean currents can change causing severe
  climate changes in different regions

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• 4. Mountains Increase in altitude causes for
  cooler temperatures and greater wind - 6oC for
  every 1000 m - matches the decline in
  temperature as you move north by 880 km
• South sides receive more sun.

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• Windward sides receive more moisture than the
  leeward side wind causes air to rise up and
  cool its moisture is lost as it passes over the
  top of the mountain, the eastern side is hit by
  dry air ? Rain Shadow (deserts)
• - deserts are often found on the leeward side of
  very high mountain ranges

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Rain Shadow
Windward
Leeward
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• 5. Seasonality changes in the angle of the sun
  on the earth due to the rotation of the earth
  around the sun and the tilt of the earth of its
  axis pg 97
• changes in solar intensity cause for cooler and
  warmer seasons changes in temperature alter
  ocean currents and thus wind currents
• changes the distribution of nutrients in the
  water which affects life cycles of organisms in
  the oceans
• can also result in changes in weather patterns
  (Ex Hurricanes)

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http//physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/SunAndSeason
s.html
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• 6. Weather
• Precipitation
• Average Precipitation, Seasonal Distribution,
  Variation
• Rain - determines the plant life of the area
• Snow helps replenish water supplies
• Fog Distributes moisture
• Temperature
• Temp and Precipitation ? Main two factors that
  determine plant communities
• Lightning Can start fires

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• 7. Natural Disturbances Tornados, Hurricanes,
  Earthquakes, Fires
• Fire Ecology Removes standing biomass
• Rapid recycling of nutrients
• Plant life adapted to areas with periodic fires
• - seeds need fire to crack seed coat to
  germinate
• - smoke and heat to open cones of some pine
  trees
• - some have protective coatings
• Firestick Farming

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• 8. Microclimates protected areas in a larger
  climate that make for different smaller climates
  Ex Shade of a tree, under a log ? specialize
  niches
• Variations in the abiotic factors result in
  different types of regions called biomes. Each
  biome has a specific type of climate which
  results in a particular type of organismal
  community.

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• Seasonal Changes on Lake Stratification ? Turn
  Over Pg 131
• - Based on Thermal Stratification of Water
  Layers
• Winter Coldest at Top of Water decomposition
  of detritus in the benthic layer occurs
  nutrient levels increase on the bottom of the
  lake

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• Spring Surface Heats to 4oC becomes more dense
  than the slightly cooler layers and all the water
  mixes causing the loss of thermal stratification
  Wind also causes the water to move and mix
  Oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake and
  nutrients at the bottom are brought to the top
  increased solar radiation gives energy to the
  producers (algae and plants) that use the
  nutrients to grow

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• Summer Thermal Stratification is reestablished
  by the heating of the surface of the water -
  cooler water sinks to the bottom of the lake
  establishes a thermocline layer between the
  warm and cold water lots of growth in the photic
  layer of the lake dead things move to the
  benthic layer
• Autumn water cools to the same temperature so
  the thermal stratification is once again removed
  until the winter profile is reestablished
  oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake
  more decomposition can occur

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Seasonal Changes in a Lake
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• Autumn water cools to the same temperature so
  the thermal stratification is once again removed
  until the winter profile is reestablished
  oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake
  more decomposition can occur

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