Geography 131 Exam 4 UTK Matthew Kerr

Koppen Classification System

Characterized by temperature, precipitation, and seasonality

Af

Tropical Rainforest, high net productivity

Green house gas

gas that absorbs radiation, EX:Carbon Dioxide

Tropical Rainforests & Greenhouse gases

The forest sequesters carbon dioxide and if forests are cut down, the CO2 lingers causing the planet to become warmer and drier

Buttress roots

-help tress acquire nutrients

-found in Tropical Rainforests (Af)

ITCZ migration

creates Aw Climates

(a=Tropical, w=dry winter)

B-climates

created by subtropical high pressure, rain shadow, and continentally (there are arid and desert climates)

Grasslands

found between forest and deserts

US Great Plains

largest continuous prayer in the world

C-Climates

-humid continental climate has high seasonality

-Temperate

-Mediterranean

Knoxville, TN(Cfa)

-humid subtropical climate

-(Broadleaf Deciduous forest)

-rain all year from convective thunderstorms and mid-latitude cyclones

Kudzu

rapidly growing plant that is invasive to the S.E United States

D-Climates

Dfd&Dwd(EX:taiga)(Needle leaf Evergreen Forest:Boreal Forest)

E-Climates

Tundra and Polar Ice Caps (Little to no vegetation)

Elevation

Precipitation increases with height

Temperature decreases with height

Climate Change

may be making certain species move to different areas.

Species are moving to higher altitudes and latitudes

Urban Heat Islands

Urban centers have higher daytime&nighttime temperatures than the surrounding areas due to manmade materials that absorb heat and have very low albedos

Trees and Heat/Cooling

fewer tress cause more warming

if no trees than cooling by evapotranspiration will not occur

Acid Rain

water in the air can mix with pollutants (SO2) from cities and factories

Volcanoes & Cooling

volcanoes can cause cooling because the ejecta has high albedos

The Clean Air Act

helps improve the air quality across the country

Examples of Greenhouse Gases

Water Vapor, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide (absorbs radiation)

Disrupting the Carbon Cycle

we disrupt the carbon cycle by extracting buried carbon and inputting it into the atmosphere at alarming rates (Fossil Fuel Industry)

Milankovitch Cycles (Orbital Theory)

Tilt Decreases:Less Seasonality& cooler temperatures

Tilt Increases:More seasonality& warmer temperatures

El Nino

weaker trade impact ocean-atmosphere circulation. this warming event causes worldwide weather pattern changes

IPCC

an international body on climate change

Proxy Records

Pollen, Charcoal, and macroscopic fossils can tell us about past climates, vegetation, and animals

So can tree rings, ice cores, and speleothems

Tropical

A-type

Arid

B-Type

Temperate Mid-Latitude

C-type

Harsh Mid-Latitude

D-type

Polar

E-type

The Americas

-arid in west

-complex in andes

-polar climates at high lats

-temperate climate in east

-tropical around equator

Africa

-straddles equator

-many climate in latitudinal

-arid climates in Arabian Peninsula (SW Asia)

Europe and Western Asia

-Temperate climates in W Europe (partly due to gulf stream

-Mediterranean climate

-Harsh mis-latitude climates in continental locations

Western Pacific

-Himalayas affect climate patterns

-Tropical around equator (SE Asia and islands)

-Arid in most of Australia; tropical in north

Climograph

Lines=Temperature

Bars=Precipitation

Net Primary Productivity

total amount of energy available for consumers

Tropical Monsoon

Am

Tropical Savanna

Aw

Epiphytes

plants that are supported physically by other plants

roots don't hit the ground

EX: Orchids, Bromeliads, Ferns

Causes of Dry Climate

-Descending Air in Subtropics

-Cold ocean currents

-rain shadow of mountains

-distance from ocean

Hot desert climate

BWh

Cold Desert Climate

BWk

Taproots

plants with deep roots (up to 20m) can out compete other species

Hot Steppe Climate

BSh

Cold Steppe Climate

BSk

Humid Subtropical

Cfa

Temperate Monsoon

Cwa

Mediterranean Climate

Csa

Marine West Coast

Cfb, Cfc

Humid Continental

Dfa, Dfb

Continental Monsoon

Dwa, Dwb

Dfa, Dwa

-Temperate forest("northern hardwood")

-Prarie (central U.S)

Dfb, Dwb

Temperate forests (including "temperate needleleaf") transitioning to boreal forest

Controls on temperature in cold climates

-Low Sun Angle

-High albedo of snow/ice

-Extreme variation of daylight hours

Subartic Climates

Dfc, Dfd

Biomes of Subartic Climates

Boreal Forest (southern)

Taiga(northern)

Tundra Climate

ET

Ice Cap Climate

EF

Types of Air Pollution

Gases, aerosols, solid particles(dust and soot),

Nitrogen Oxides

-formed when nitrogen combines with oxygen

-Natural Sources:volcanoes, decay, lightening strikes

-Impacts:Acid Rain, smog, etc.

SO2

-Sulfur dioxide:pollution from burning fossil fuels (coal) and from metal smelters

-Impacts:also contribute to acid rain and respiratory issues

Secondary Pollutants

-Sunlight can form some types of air pollution such as ozone

-Acid rain

Clean Air Act(1970)

Goal:Stay below hazardous threshold

Urban Canyon

"Canyon" between buildings

increases surface area for absorption of radiation

increases wind speed

Reasons for Climate Change in the Past

1. Milankovitch Cycles

2. Volcanic Eruptions

3. Solar Radiation Variability

4. Tectonics

5. Ocean Circulation

Milankovitch Cycles

change the amount of insolation received on Earth

Milankovitch Cycles: Eccentricity

-Orbit shape:round-> elliptical

-100,000yr cycle

Milankovitch Cycles: Obliquity

Axial tilt:~22-24

40,000yr cycle

less seasonality

Milankovitch Cycles: Precession

axis wobbles

23,000yr cycle

Year Without a summer (1815)

snow in June, May slated below freezing,

one of the coldest years in last two centuries

Examples of GHG

water vapor

CO2

Mathane

Great Oxygenation Event

~2.4BYA

Cyanobacteria began photosynthesizing

oxygen sinks filled

free O2 accumulated in atmosphere

new opportunity of living organisms

2008 Coal-ash spill

covered land with up to 6ft of sludge

Humans and the carbon cycle

deforestation

removes carbon sink

Methane (CH4)

stronger greenhouse gas

livestock produce 37% of all anthropogenic methane

Global Temperatures

Scientific consensus: warmer than average temperatures are occurring

Near-Consensus: recent climatic change is anthropogenic

2 Types of Proxy Records

Human archives

Natural Archives

Human Archives of Climate

Diaries, Letters, Personal accounts, Newspapers, Almanacs, Publishes sources, Ship logs, Naval records, Wine/Grape harvests, agricultural sources

Natural Archives of Past Climate

Tree Rings

Lake Sediments

Ice Cores

Ocean Cores