Lecture 12: Global Climate

Question 1

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Answer 1

weather consists of the short-term (minutes to months) changes in the atmosphere

Question 2

What elements does weather include?

Answer 2

temperature, humidity, pressure, clouds, precipitation and wind

Question 3

_____ is the consistent, long-term behaviour of weather over time, including its variability; in contrast to weather, which is the condition of the atmosphere at any given place and time.

Answer 3

Climate

Question 4

_____ is a climate classification that uses causative factors to determine climatic regions; for example, an analysis of the effect of interacting air masses

Answer 4

Genetic classification

Question 5

_____ is a climate classification based on weather statistics or other data; used to determine general climate categories

Answer 5

Empirical classifcication

Question 6

In the climate system, what distribution of factors can observed to see the influence of climate in a area?

Answer 6

Soils, Vegetation, Water (hydrology), Landforms (geomorphology)

Question 7

What are the 6 characteristics to influence climate?

Answer 7

Insolation
Continentality
Air pressure belts
Wind patterns
Orographic effects
Ocean currents

Question 8

_____ is the exposure to the sun’s rays.

Answer 8

Insolation

Question 9

_____ is a measure of how a climate is influenced by remoteness from oceans and maritime air masses

Answer 9

Continentality

Question 10

______ are areas that are influenced by persistent high air pressure will have lower relative humidities and less precipitation (e.g., subtropical highs). Areas that are influenced by persistent low air pressure will have high amounts of precipitation (e.g. ITCZ).

Answer 10

Air pressure belts

Question 11

_____ is the general circulation is controlled by the distribution of air pressure.

Answer 11

Wind patterns

Question 12

____ is the change in atmospheric conditions caused by change in elevation

Answer 12

orographic effect

Question 13

______ is the pattern of warm and cold currents that can influence temperature and precipitation on adjacent land areas.

Answer 13

Ocean currents

Question 14

_____ is a wet area generally within 10 degrees of the equator.

Answer 14

Wet equatorial belt

Question 15

What influences the wet equatorial belt?

Answer 15

Area is influenced by

mE air masses, and has high amounts of precipitation

Question 16

What are the high amount of precipitation caused by in the wet equatorial belt?

Answer 16

Proximity to the ITCZ air pressure belt and a predominance of ME air masses.

Question 17

______ are moist windward tropical coasts (between 5 and 25 degrees N and S) where the flow of air is east to west (trade winds) bringing mT air masses onto the land areas (e.g.
SE Brazil).

Answer 17

Trade Wind Coasts

Question 18

____ happen in many tropical regions and have a pronounced we t season and dry season.

Answer 18

Tropical Wet and Dry (monsoon and savanna region)

Question 19

In tropical wet and dry seasons, ______ areas corresponds with the summer period when the migration of the
ITCZ pressure belt brings in mT and mE air masses.

Answer 19

wet

Question 20

In _______ areas such as northern India, low pressure tends to develop over land areas in summer and the prevailing winds bring mT air masses onshore with much precipitation.

Answer 20

Monsoon

Question 21

There are two zones of _______ centred on the tropics Cancer and Capricorn (e.g.
north Africa, western Australia)

Answer 21

Tropical desserts

Question 22

What influences tropical deserts?

Answer 22

the subtropical High pressure belt and also in some areas continental air (cT).

Question 23

______ are dry regions in the mid latitudes (e.g. central Asia).

Answer 23

Mid Latitude Deserts (Steppe)

Question 24

What causes mid latitude desert?

Answer 24

Interiors of
continents (cT, cP air masses) where dryness is largely a function of continentality, although in some areas they are in the rain shadows of large mountain belts.

Question 25

______ are e interiors and coasts of the SE sides of continents mainly between 25 and 45
degrees N and S.

Answer 25

Moist subtropical

Question 26

What influences moist subtropical regions?

Answer 26

By mT air masses moving ashore along the west sides of persistent anticyclones (high pressure systems). Include SE US, SE Australia.

Question 27

_______ are influenced by the westerlies wind
belt and are influenced by mP air masses brought to the land areas by the westerly winds (e.g. coastal BC and Alaska). In some areas the precipitation amounts are enhanced by
orographic effects.

Answer 27

Midlatitude west coast

Question 28

______ are dominated by high air pressure and cold dense air masses with very low equilibrium vapour pressures (cA, cP), thus very little precipitation.

Answer 28

Arctic and polar deserts