Exam 2 Flashcards
(138 cards)
El Niño
Warm ocean current come down to North to replace cold ocean current; Bad due to no fish = no birds = no fertilizer = no wind = no rain
Most energy reradiate by Earth in this wave. Wavelengths range from 5.0 to 30 microns.
Longwave Energy
Used in South America
Vertical Climate Zones
Desert Climate (Bw)
Receives <250 mm/yr of rain.
Tierra Fria
(6000-10000ft) Cooler: potatoes, cereals, and vegetables.
Winters cold, summers very warm. Precipitation year-round, but harvest in summer. Winter precipitation is mostly snow.
Humid Continental (Dfa)
June 20 or 21 where the sun is directly overhead at noon.
Summer Solstice
On the western margins of continents. Precipitation is seasonal and caused by northward and southward movement of the subtropical high pressure zones.
Mediterranean (Cs)
Tropic of Capricorn
23.5º South Latitude
Warm Front
Warm air slides on top of cold air causing warm air to lose pressure and forming clouds. (Causes days of precipitation).
Vertical Climate Zones
Used in South America
Humid Tropical (Af)
Lie mostly withing 20º N and S of the equator. Rainy ITCZ, around 1600 mm/yr.
Plates that were separated from a very early supercontinent that moved around the continents that we know today.
Tectonic Plates
Longwave Energy
Most energy reradiate by Earth in this wave. Wavelengths range from 5.0 to 30 microns.
Tierra Helada
(Above 14000ft) Above the snow line: ice caps.
Mid Latitude Warm (C)
Variation season influences temperature. In Winter, life becomes restricted to organisms that can tolerate freezing conditions. Annual precipitation and evapotranspiration are generally less than mid-latitude climates. Influenced by the polar font.
Has enough moisture to support such vegetation and typically lies in transitional areas between desert and more humid regions.
Semiarid Climate (BS)
Orographic Precipitation
Wind forces air up and over mountains.
Most energy arriving front the Sun is shortwave. Wavelengths range from 0.2 to 5.0 microns.
Shortwave Energy (Insolation)
The angle at which solar radiation strikes a particular place at any point in time.
Angle of Incidence
Variation season influences temperature. In Winter, life becomes restricted to organisms that can tolerate freezing conditions. Annual precipitation and evapotranspiration are generally less than mid-latitude climates. Influenced by the polar font.
Mid Latitude Warm (C)
23.5º North Latitude
Tropic of Cancer
Summer temps are warm because long days and high solar angles cause more radiation in a day than tropical locations receive.
Mid Latitude Cold (D)
Wind forces air up and over mountains.
Orographic Precipitation