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Earth Science Climate System

The document discusses the climate system and different climate classifications. It describes the five major components of the climate system - atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. It then explains the Koppen climate classification system which divides the world into five main climate zones (tropical wet/dry, dry, humid middle latitude with mild/severe winters, polar) based on temperature and precipitation. Each climate zone is characterized in 1-2 sentences. The document provides details on the climatic conditions and locations of each zone.

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Maria Nova Ortiz
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5 views

Earth Science Climate System

The document discusses the climate system and different climate classifications. It describes the five major components of the climate system - atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. It then explains the Koppen climate classification system which divides the world into five main climate zones (tropical wet/dry, dry, humid middle latitude with mild/severe winters, polar) based on temperature and precipitation. Each climate zone is characterized in 1-2 sentences. The document provides details on the climatic conditions and locations of each zone.

Uploaded by

Maria Nova Ortiz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 20

WORLD
CLIMATES AND GLOBAL
CLIMATE CHANGE
20.1 THE CLIMATE SYSTEM
EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM

Schematic view showing several components of Earth’s


climate system. Many interactions occur among the various
components on a wide range of space and time scales,
making the system extremely complex.
FIVE PARTS OF CLIMATE SYSTEM
• Atmosphere • Hydrosphere
• Cryosphere
• Biosphere •
Lithosphere
ATMOSPHERE
Is a mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth. It
helps make life possible by providing us with air to
breathe, shielding us from the harmful ultra violet
(UV) radiation coming from the Sun, trapping heat
to warm the planet, and preventing extreme
temperature differences between day and night.
HYDROSPHERE

Is the total amount of water on a planet. The


hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface of
planet, underground, and in the air.
CRYOSPHERE
Is an all encompassing term for those portions of
Earth’s surface where water is in solid form,
including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover,
glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground
(which includes permafrost).
BIOSPHERE
Is made up of the parts of Earth where life exist.
The biosphere extends from the deepest root system
of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches,
to lush rain forest and high mountaintops the
biosphere which includes the ground and the air, is
characterized as the region of the planet where
organism live.
LITHOSPHERE
The lithosphere is the solid, outer part or earth. The
lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the
mantle and crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s
structure. It is bounded by the atmosphere above
and the asthenosphere (another part of the upper
mantle) below.
20.2 WORLD CLIMATES

.
CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION
The worldwide distribution of temperature, precipitation,
pressure, and wind is to say the least, complex. Because
of the many differences from place to place and time to
time, it is unlikely that any two places that are more than
a very short distance apart can experience identical
weather. The virtually infinite variety of places on Earth
makes it apparent that the number of different climates
must be extremely large.
THE KOPPEN CLASSIFICATION
The koppen classification system categorized climate
zones throughout the world based on the local vegetation.
Wladimir Koppen , a German botanist and climatologist ,
first developed this system at the end of the 19th century,
basing it on the earlier biome research conducted by
scientists. These scientists learned that vegetation and
climate are intricately linked. The vegetation that grows in
a region is dependent on the temperature and precipitation
there, which are two key factors of climate.
The koppen climate classification system has been
enhanced and modified several times since it was
first published. The system divides the world in to
five climate zone based on the criteria, usually
temperature, which allows for different vegetation
growth. Koppen map used different colors and
shapes to represent the different climate zone of the
world.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
20.3 HUMID TROPICAL (A) CLIMATES
THE WET TROPICS

The constantly high temperatures and year-round


rainfall in the wet tropics combine to produced the
most luxuriant vegetation found in any climate
realm: the tropical rain forest. The environment of
the wet tropics characterized almost 10% of Earth’s
land area.
TROPICAL WET AND DRY

In the latitude zone poleward of the wet tropics and


equatorward of the subtropical deserts lies the
transitional tropical wet and dry climate.
20.4 DRY (B) CLIMATES
LOW-LATITUDE DESSERTS AND
STEPPES
The heart of low latitude dry climates lies in the
vicinities of the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Low latitudes, arid desserts are found between 15%
to 30% N and S latitudes. This is where warm and
dry air sinks at high pressure zones. True desserts
make up around 12% of the world’s land.
MIDDLE-LATITUDE DESSERT AND
STEPPES
Unlike their low-latitude counterparts, middle-latitude dessert
and steppes are not controlled by the subsiding air masses
associated with high pressure. Instead, these dry lands exist
principally because of their position in the deep interiors of
large landmasses far removed from the oceans, which are the
ultimate result source of moisture for cloud formation and
precipitation. In addition, the presence of high mountain
across the path prevailing winds further acts to separate these
areas from water bearing maritime air masses.
20.5 HUMID MIDDLE-LATITUDE
CLIMATES (C AND D CLIMATES)
HUMID MIDDLE-LATITUDE CLIMATES
WITH MILD WINTERS (C CLIMATES)
Although the term subtropical is often used for the
C climates, it can be misleading. Although many
areas with C climates do indeed posses some near
tropical characteristics, other regions do not.
HUMID MIDDLE-LATITUDE CLIMATES
WITH MILD WINTERS (C CLIMATES)
Although the term subtropical is often used for the
C climates, it can be misleading. Although many
areas with C climates do indeed posses some near
tropical characteristics, other regions do not.
HUMID SUBTROPICS

Located on the eastern sides of the continents, in


the 25⁰ to 40⁰ latitude range, the humid subtropical
climate dominates the southeastern United States,
as well as other similarly situated areas around the
world.
DRY-SUMMER SUBTROPICS

The dry-summer subtropical climate is typically


located along the west sides of continents between
latitude 30⁰ to 45⁰. Situated between the marine
west coast climate on the poleward side and the
subtropical steppes on the equatorward side, this
climate is best described as transitional in character.
It is unique because it is the only humid climate that
has a strong winter rainfall maximum.
MARINE WEST COAST

Situated on the western (windward)side of


continents, from about 40⁰ to 65⁰ north and south
latitude, is a climate region dominated by the
onshore flow of oceanic air. In North America , the
marine west coast climate extends from near the
U.S.-Canadian border northward as a narrow belt
into southern Alaska.
HUMID MIDDLE-LATITUDE CLIMATES
WITH SEVERE WINTERS (D CLIMATES)

The C climates that were just described


characteristically have mild winters. By contrast, D
climates experience severe winters. Two types of D
are recognized: the humid continental and the
subarctic climates.
SUBARCTIC

Situated north of the humid continental climate and


south of the polar tundra is the extensive subarctic
climate region covering broad, uninterrupted
expanses from western Alaska to Newfoundland in
North America and from Norway to the Pacific
coast of Russia in Eurasia .
HUMID CONTINENTAL
The humid continental climate is confined to the central
and eastern portions of North America an Eurasia in the
latitude range between approximately 40⁰ and 50⁰ north
latitude. It may at first seem unusual that a continental
climate should extend eastward to the margins of the
ocean. However, because the prevailing atmospheric
circulation is from the west, deep and persistent incursions
of maritime air from the east are not likely to occur.
20.6 POLAR (E) CLIMATES
Polar climates are those in which the mean temperature
of the warmest month in below 10⁰C (50⁰F). Thus just
are the tropics are defined by their year-round warmth,
the polar is known for its enduring cold. As winters are
periods of perpetual nights, or nearly so, temperatures at
most polar locations are understandably bitter.
ICE CAP CLIMATE

Greenland and antarctica are the major examples of


this extreme climate. In this image, scientists are
conducting research on the Greenland ice sheet.
THANK YOU!!!

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