Chapter 2 Climates and Ecosystems
Section 1 – Weather and Climate
Learning about: Factors Effecting Climate
•How weather and climate are affected by the position of
the earth and sun
•Wind patterns & ocean currents
•How Temperature & precipitation help describe climates
•Other factors that control climate around the world.
•Why climate change and global warming are cause for
concern
What is weather?
 Weather is …
 Usually this description includes …
 Weather in one location may be …
What is Climate?
 Climate is ….
 Works with weather, but is not the same- the
difference between weather and climate is….
 Weather changes______________,
 climate changes ________________________.
 Many factors effect climate
o _________________________
o ______________________
o ______________________
Latitude
• Latitude determines how _______________strike that
part of the Earth
• Bands of latitude generally can be used to describe
certain _________________________
• The __________________around the sun causes the rays
to hit latitude bands in a regular pattern
•____________________of the Year, created by the
tilt of the Earth also affect climate
• This causes different climates in different regions,
according to ___________________________
Low Latitudes
• The latitudes between the Tropic of _____________and
the Tropic of ________________are the “Low Latitudes”
• These “Tropic” areas receive _________________all
year long.
• The direct rays give places in these regions very warm to
very hot climates.
Polar Regions
• The northern polar region is above the
_________________________66.5% N latitude
• The Southern polar region is below the 66.5% S latitude,
known as the _____________________________
• When the North or South Pole is pointed at the sun, that
polar region has________________________. When
pointed away they have continuous darkness, and receive
little heat from the sun.
• The Polar Regions are also known as
___________________
• Places in the high latitudes receive
___________________________rays of the sun, and
have a generally cold climate
Middle Latitudes
• The region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic
Circle, and the Tropic of Capricorn & the Antarctic
Circle are the ___________________latitude regions
• Places in the middle latitudes have
a______________________.
• The climate varies due to _______________masses
moving in during the summer from the tropics, and
___________________masses moving in from the high
latitudes in the winter
• This causes dramatic weather changes for most places in
the middle latitudes from season to season
Elevation
• Temperature of a place also is affected by
the___________________ of the place.
• The ___________the elevation, the _______________the
atmosphere
• For every 1,000ft you rise in elevation, the temperature
changes ~ 3.5 degrees
• Bright sunshine is very common on high mountains, due
to the thinner atmosphere
Wind Currents
• Air moving across the Earth’s surface is _____________.
• What causes wind?
– Wind occurs when …………..
–
near sea level, gravity pulls atmospheric gases together
which_____________________________.
– ___________________in the atmosphere create winds
Wind Patterns
• ___________________winds- winds that blow in fairly
constant patterns
• Prevailing winds are divided into different winds
according to belts of latitude
• _______________________- prevailing winds in the low
latitudes- these blow toward the equator in a westward
direction- called northeasterly and south easterly trade
winds
• (pg 66)-more on wind currents
• The area near the equator is relatively calm and is known
as the “____________________________”
• In the middle latitudes, above the 30 degree line, the
winds are called “_________________________.”
• At the polar regions, we have polar _______________
Ocean Currents
• Ocean “currents” are cold and warm rivers of seawater
flowing through the oceans.
• Usually these flow in circular patterns, which move
clockwise in the N. hemisphere and counterclockwise in
the S. hemisphere
• Three Causes of currents
1.
2.
3.
Warm and Cold currents
• Cold water moves from Polar Regions _____________
the Equator causing warm currents as the existing warm
water moves toward the poles.
• Warm water moving away from ________________then
cools, causing cool currents.
• These currents affect climates of coastal lands where they
flow past.
Water & wind interaction
• Water and Wind combine with temperature to
cause_______________________, or the falling of
moisture to the earth.
Landforms effect on Climate
• Coastal regions-Large bodies of water may cause the
climate of that region to be much different than climates
of other regions in the same latitude.
• Because water temp do not change easily, the climates
are more stable in these regions
• Many interior regions have a drastic change in temp with
seasons
• ______________,________________, &
_____________ features interact with wind and affect a
regions climate
• Winds blowing over an ocean, and then meet a mountain
range, are pushed over the mountain from the windward
side and the air cools as it rises.
– Moisture is then dropped that was gathered
through__________________.
– When the air reaches the leeward side of the mountain,
it is dry and becomes warm as it falls. This hot dry air
results in a dry area called a ___________________.
EX- western Kansas/e. Colorado
Greenhouse Effect- the atmosphere acts like a glass wall,
trapping in radiation from the sun. This allows life to exist
on earth. The atmosphere also acts as a shield to so we
don’t become too warm.
Global Warming is _____________________________,
some believe damaging the atmosphere with the gases
factories and automobiles emit, has led to global warming.
Review
• What are things that influence climate on the earth?
• Latitude
• Elevation
• Wind and Ocean Currents
• Landforms
• Global Warming
Water cycle
World Climate Regions
Tropical
Dry
Moderate
Continental
Polar
Highlands-each of these also has subheadings