Studied by 1 person
orographic rainfall
wind pushes rain onto one side of mountains and the other side receives no rain so a dry climate is created (rain shadow)
first step in orographic rainfall
prevailing westerly wind condenses water across the tasman sea towards the central north island
second step in orographic rainfall
warm moist air is forced to rise over the mountains, as it rises it condenses and forms clouds to the west of ruapehu
third step in orographic rainfall
second step leads to an increased amount of rain on the west while the east sits in a rainshadow and receives less rain
fourth step in orographic rainfall
as all the moisture leaves the air on the west side, the east side of ruapehu receives a warm dry wind wich results in the rangipo desert
microclimate
small variations in climate in a localised area
north facing slopes are _______ than south facing slopes
sunnier
the bottom of a slope is more _________ from the wind so has warmer temperatures
sheltered
vegetation _______ heat so vegetated slopes have a warmer temperature than a bare slope
absorbs
the top layer of vegetation receices ____ sun than the bottom layers and therefore has a higher temperature
more
during the day the wind flows ____ a slope
up
during the night the wind flows ____ a slope
down
aeolian erosion
warm dry wind from the west over ruapehu causes erosion on the east side
natural feature formed by aeolian erosion
rangipo desert
first step of vegetation succession
after a volcanic eruption the environment changes so there are different types of vegetation because of the change in conditions
second step of vegetation succession
mosses and lichens grow on the ash laden soil
third step of vegetation succession
over time mosses and lichens decay and form compost in the soil allowing things like tussock and shrub to grow e.g. hebe
fourth step of vegetation succession
as more soil is created from decaying shrubs and tussock, plants like beech trees can grow and create forests
Note
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