Climographs Assignment
Introduction:
Large ecosystems can be described in terms of their climate, of long term
weather patterns. The climate of an ecosystem results from the interaction of
several factors: radiant energy, temperature, wind, precipitation, humidity and
evaporation. It is difficult to map a climate as a while, because climatic factors
overlap and interact with one another in complex ways. The overlap of the factors
makes it difficult to measure climates. To simplify this task, scientists frequently
use climographs. Climographs are graphs that summarize only two of the factors:
monthly measurements of temperature and precipitation. Of course, other factors
affect climate, but a climograph gives a rough idea of the climate in a particular
area.
In each major kind of climate, a characteristic type of vegetation develops
and maintains itself. For example, warm, arid climates –with little rainfall – are
associated with desert vegetation. Semiarid climates usually support grasslands.
Moist climates support forests. Each kind of plant in turn, supports a
characteristic variety of animal life. The resulting ecological community of plans
and animals is called a biome.
Objective:
-To create climographs of 10 identified regions of the globe (biomes)
-To classify these areas based on the First letter of the Koppen climate classification scale
-To focus attention on the relationship between climatic factors and biota
Procedure:
1.Using the graph paper provided, construct climographs of the 8 regions in
group #2
-label the y-axis on the left side of the graph: Cm
-label the y-axis on the right side of the graph: *C
-label the title (1-8)
-use a line graph to indicate the temperature
-mark off each Cm box beginning with 0 at the bottom and
continuing to 36 at the top
-use a bar graph for the precipitation
-mark off each *C box beginning with -36 at the bottom and
continuing to 36 at the top
-use a different color for the line and bar graphs
-staple you climographs to this package before you hand it in
2. Answer the following questions:
-What are the factors that determine the climate of an ecosystem? (6
marks)
-Why is mapping the climate of an entire area difficult to do? (2 marks)
-What is a climograph? (1 mark)
-What eventually happens within each major climate region? (think about
what happens and what is the result of this happening) (4 marks)
-Use your climographs, the Koppen classification table on pg 134, and the graph
of the Earth’s major biomes on pg 220 to:
a) label the first letter of Koppen’s climate classification that you think
corresponds to the climograph (don’t worry about identifying it past the first letter)
b) label the type of biome that you think the climograph corresponds to (if it is
difficult to tell, then use your best judgment)
Climographs: (2 marks for each)
1. a)
b)
2. a)
b)
3. a)
b)
4. a)
b)
5. a)
b)
6. a)
b)
7. a)
b)
8. a)
b)
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