GEOG1710 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Previous Lecture I Ocean Circulation II Ocean Structure III Ocean and the Atmosphere IV Currents Outline of Current Lecture I II III IV What is climate Current Climates Five types of climate How climate affects ecosystems Current Lecture What is it Climate does NOT equal weather It is the long term behavior of weather including variations and extremes Weather is a snapshot one day while climate is a minimum of 30 years This is an example of climate This is an example of weather These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Past Paleo Climates past is the key to the present Paleo older or ancient especially in relation to the geography Principle of superposition rocks and sediment always arranged o Youngest layer on top o Oldest layer on bottom Climate Proxies natural records of climate history Tree rings ice cores etc Tree rings can also track climate Vegetation tells us about the climate oak pollen tropical pollen Bubble so f Ancient Atmosphere CO2 CH4 and N2O greenhouse gasses all move together and when the dip ice age Goes from peak in ice age or higher heat in a quick amount of time Bubbles are trapped in ice giving us a glimpse of the climate 80 000 years ago Current Climates Koppen Climate Classification Empirical classification systems Developed by a German climatologist botanist interested in the distribution vegetation Based on precipitation and temperature Developed a set of letters which have specific characteristics of temperature and precipitation associated with them 5 Types of Climate A tropical climates 23 5 degrees N to 23 5 degrees S o Winterless no seasons o Warm with small annual temperature range o Rainy to seasonally rainy B dry climates permanent water deficit o Water demand water supply o At global scale deserts associated with high pressure C temperate mesothermal mid latitude mild winters o 23 5 degrees to 66 5 degrees N and S o Hot summers mild winters cold outbursts o Weather variability D Continental microthermal mid and high latitude o High latitude 66 5 degrees to 90 degrees N and S o Cold and snowy winters o Weather variability o Temperature varies with latitude and continentally E Polar and Highland Climates high latitude high altitude o No true summer o Average monthly temperatures 10 degrees Celsius o No tree growth too cold o Tundra high latitude and high altitude o Ice caps sheets frozen Climate affects Ecosystems Climate governs the distribution of ecosystems plants animals humans 8 different temperature zones 11 rainfall zones Why does climate vary across space o Latitude location of high and low pressure centers ocean currents distribution of land and sea landforms and vegetation
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