Study Guide for Climate Quiz
Causes of Climate
 Climate vs. Weather
 Factors Affecting Temperature
o latitude and zones
o altitude
o water (marine vs. continental)
o ocean currents
 Factors Affecting Precipitation
o prevailing winds
o mountains (windward vs. leeward side)
 Air Masses
o Maritime tropical
o Maritime polar
o continental tropical
o continental polar
 Energy from the Sun
o UV, IR, visible
o can be absorbed, scattered, reflected
o greenhouse effect
 why necessary for us
 gases involved
 how it’s currently changing
Climate Change (Inconvenient Truth, Taking Earth’s Temperature, and Global Climate Change
Research Program card sort)
1. Taking Earth’s Temperature - There are natural archives of temperature and
atmospheric content
 Lake bed sediment
 tree rings
 coral rings
 ice layers
o All of these from all over the world take us back 1000 years.
2. Inconvenient Truth & Global Climate Change Research Program card sort
 CO2 rate of increase
 greenhouse gases
 glaciers, ocean currents & sea-levels
 human impact on climate vs. natural causes
3. USGCCRP Sector Reports
 Water
 Human Health
 Society
 Transportation
Energy Supply
Ecosystems
Agriculture