What Causes Climate?

Reid Pierce

Fulbright Jr. High

Bentonville, AR

• 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

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.

• 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

Determining Climate

Warm ocean currents off of the coast of England make

their beaches warm and their climate mild.

Determining Climate

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

Determining Climate

A mountain range can form a barrier to the

movement of air masses and influence where

precipitation falls.

Windward side Leeward Side

Wet Dry

Factors Affecting Climate

Above is the leeward side

(Eastern side) of the

Sierra Nevada's. Note

how dry and desert like

the landscape is.

Below is the Sierra

Nevada's of California on

the windward side (west or

coastal side). Note how

green the vegetation.

Factors Affecting Climate

Climate Graphs show both the temperature and

precipitation for an area.

Reporting Climate

Climate is affected by the tilt of the earth.

Animation

Factors Affecting Climate

In general, the areas around

the equator receive more of

the sun’s energy, while the

North and South Poles

receive less.

These factors create five main climate regions: 1. Tropical Rainy

2. Temperate

3. Highlands

4. Polar

5. Dry

Climate Types

1. Tropical Rainy –

always hot, always

rainy or has rainy

season and dry

season

Climate Types

There are five main climate regions:

2. Temperate – hot summers and cold winters,

moderate precipitation

Climate Types

3. Highlands – cooler than nearby lowlands,

temperature decreases with increasing altitude

Climate Types

4. Polar – always cold

Climate Types

5. Dry – very little precipitation

Climate Types

Shade your map to look like the one below

and label each zone accordingly.

Pg. 109

Mapping World Climates

Reid Pierce

Fulbright Jr. High

Bentonville, AR

Studying Climate Change

• Rock Layers

• Pollen Layers

• Tree Rings

• Ice Cores

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

Major Volcanic Eruptions

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 CO2) into the

atmosphere which trap gases and gradually warm the

earth

Global Climate Change

Recall that gases

(mainly CO2) 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 CO2 will cause too much of the greenhouse effect…

…too much greenhouse effect could lead to global

warming.

What is Global Warming?

• An increase in Earth's temperature caused by gases

(such as CO2) in the atmosphere that trap heat.

• What we know:

– Since the Industrial Revolution (around 1750), human

activities have substantially added to the amount of heat-

trapping 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.

Global Climate Change

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.

Global Climate Change

- 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

What you need to know about

Global Warming

Video

How Do You Contribute to Global

Warming?

• Cars (burning gasoline releases CO2)

• Use electricity (burning coal releases CO2)

• Buy poorly packaged products and create

more trash (making those packages and

disposing of the trash releases CO2)

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