Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
31 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
What are the six types of climate and their subdivisions?
|
TROPICAL: Tropical Wet and Tropical Wet And Dry
MILD: Mediterranean, Humid Subtropical, and Marine West Coast DRY: Arid and Semiarid CONTINENTAL: Warm Summer, Cool Summer, and Subarctic POLAR: Ice Cap and Tundra HIGHLANDS: No Subgroup |
|
|
What is a classification system that is based on the average monthly values of temperature and precipitation? The system also takes into account the distinct vegetation found in different climates.
|
Koppen Classification System
|
|
|
Climate is affected by several factors including _________ and ___________.
|
Elevation and Latitude affects climate, as do other factors.
|
|
|
What is the study of earth's climate and the factors that affect past, present, and future climatic changes?
|
climatology
|
|
|
What are the standard values for a location?
|
normals
|
|
|
Why must normals be used with caution?
|
Normals must be used with caution because weather conditions may vary widely from normals.
|
|
|
What are long term weather patterns for an area?
|
climate
|
|
|
Climate is based on a period of how many years?
|
30 years
|
|
|
What is the difference between the tropics, temperate zones and polar zones?
|
The tropics recieve the most solar radiation. The temperate zones recieve moderate solar radiation, and the polar zones recieve solar radiation at a low angle.
|
|
|
What are some causes of climate?
|
Latitude, Topographic Effects, and Air Masses.
|
|
|
What is the usual climate on the leeward side of a mountain?
|
On the leeward side of a mountain, the climate is usually warm and dry with minimal vegetation because of it.
|
|
|
What climate is the usual on the windward side of a mountain?
|
ON the windward side of a mountain, the climate is usually wet and cool with vegetation.
|
|
|
Climates are categorized according to the ___________ and _______________.
|
Climates are categorized according to the average temperatures and precipitation amounts.
|
|
|
What is a microclimate?
|
A microclimate is a localized climate that differs from the main regional climate.
|
|
|
What is a heat island?
|
A heat island is where the climate is warmer than in surrounding rural areas.
|
|
|
What is an example of a long-term climatic change?
|
An ice age
|
|
|
What is an ice age with alternate warm periods called?
|
interglacial interval
|
|
|
What are some examples of short-term climatic changes?
|
Season, El Nino/La Nina
|
|
|
What is a season?
|
A season is a short term period with specific weather conditions caused by regular variations in daylight, weather patterns, and temperature.
|
|
|
Seasons are short-term periods with specific weather conditions caused by regular variations in ______, ______, and __________?
|
Seasons are caused by regular variations in daylight, temperature, and weather patterns.
|
|
|
What is El Nino?
|
El Nino is a short term climate change that is a band of anomalously warm ocean temps that occasionally develops off the western coast of South America. For reasons that are not fully known, the trade winds that are usually strong become weak and they allow the warm water of the pacific ocean to surge toward South America. This El Nino effect causes South America to become warmer and wetter; it also makes California and the Gulf Coast stormy.
|
|
|
What is La Nina?
|
La Nina is when the trade winds blow stronger than normal and warm water is pulled across the Pacific toward Australia. The coast of South America becomes unusually cold and chilly.
|
|
|
What are some natural causes of climatic changes?
|
Solar activity, Earth's orbit, Earth's tilt, Earth's Wobble, and Volcanic Activity.
|
|
|
What is the Maunder Minimum?
|
The maunder minimum is the term used to describe the period the low numbers of sunspots. This period closely corresponds to an unusually cold climatic episode called the Little Ice Age.
|
|
|
What would be the result if the Earth orbited in an elliptical manner?
|
If earth orbited in an elliptical manner, then there are extreme temperatures during the warm and cold seasons because the Earth would have to be closer and farther away from the sun in the elliptical motion.
|
|
|
Explain why the dry climates are located between 15 and 30 north and south latitudes.
|
they are the dry climates because those areas have high solar radiation, which, in turn, results in high evaporation rates, which makes it dry
|
|
|
How does volcanic activity affect climate?Are these long or short term changes?
|
They are short term changes and they affect climate because the immense quantities of dust-sized particles that block the solar radiation.
|
|
|
What are some human activities that might have an impact on Earth's climate?
|
Fossil Fuel burning and deforestation.
|
|
|
Explain the greenhouse effect.
|
The greenhouse effect is a natural heating of Earth's surface caused by certain atmospheric gases.. greenhouse gases.
|
|
|
What is global warming?
|
Global warming is a rise in global temps.
|
|
|
What are some consequences of global warming?
|
Global warming can result in melting ice caps, flooding of coastal cities, and the spread of desert into fertile regions.
|
