Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Earth's climate - Coggle Diagram
Earth's climate
Causes of climate change
Changes can be severe in transition zones, areas that lie between one type of climate and another.
Climate is also influenced by the amount of certain gases in the atmosphere. These three gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane) trap part of the heat generated by incoming sunlight. They prevent that heat from radiating back into outer space. This is known as the green house effect because the gases in the atmosphere act somewhat like a very large glass greenhouse. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be too cold to support like.
Global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels in homes, factories, and automobiles. These fuels release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when burned.
Destroying and cutting down trees, called deforestation, also negatively affects the amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Changes in the land and oceans are other possible causes of climatic change. Geologists have found evidence of shifts in Earth's crust. Continents have moved. And mountains have been built up and worn down. Such developments are thought to change temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns. A difference in the strength or direction of ocean currents could also be a factor in widespread changes of climate.
Climate
-
Climate not only affects world patterns of vegetation, soils, and water resources, but also directly and indirectly influences every human endeavor.
Climate determines an area's suitability for settlement and for agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and other economic activities.
Scientists learn about the climate of a place by studying its weather patterns and the types of plants that grow there.
Climate zones
In each zone, there are differences in the geography and the amount of precipitation. Because of the various climates in each zone, there are different biomes in each zone., types of plant and animal communities.
Tropical zone
-
-
Most places in the tropical zone have warm to hot temperatures all year around, except at high elevations.
Places near sea level are hot because every day the Sun's rays shine almost straight down at noon. Such direct rays produce higher temperatures than do slanted ray.
The temperature does not change much in the tropics because the amount of daylight differs little from season to season.
At the equator, the Sun shines about 12 hours a day.
-
Most places near the equator get much rain during all seasons and are covered by tropical rain forests. Farther to the north and south, one or two short dry seasons occur yearly.
Polar zones
-
-
Solar radiation hits the polar zones at a low angle, spreading energy over a large area.
During winter, polar zones receive little to no solar radiation.
The large amount of ice and snow reflects a large part of what little sunlight the Polar Regions receive, contributing to the cold.
-
Temperate zones
The temperate zones are located between 30o and 60o latitudes. This is between the tropical and polar zones.
-
In the areas of the temperate zones farther from the equator,snow is common in the winter.
In the areas of the temperate zones closer to the equator, rain normally falls all year round. But the average amount of precipitation is about the same throughout the temperate zones.
In the temperate zone, the weather changes with the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Seasons are short periods of climate changes caused by changes in the amount of solar radiation an area receives. Because the Earth is tilted at 23.5o, different areas receive changing amount of radiation throughout the year.
-