APES Weather, Climate, Biomes

Unit of weather

Biomes

A large land region defined by its climate and the plants (and animals) adapted to it. *what sets climate temperature and precipitation patterns

Weather

Current atmospheric conditions(temp, clouds, wind, humidity, pressure). Senegal might be cold like once but thats just its weather its climate will always be hot

Climate

average weather over _> 30 years for a region like senagls climate is hot because for a long period of time its been hot and stayed that way for over 30 years

Nitrogen

78% of the air. Its the biggest part of the atmosphere but doesn't react much, mostly stable

Oxygen

21% of the atmosphere, and humans and animals breathe this (21% for 8 billion people? HUH)

Argon

about 0.93% A tiny amount, but its a noble gas that doesn't do much chemically.

Carbon dioxide

About 0.04%, % very small amount, but super important for trapping heat (greenhouse gas) and for photosynthesis in plants.

Trace gases

tiny bits of others (like methane, neon, helium, ozone, etc.)

Water vapor

The amount of water vapor in the air varies from 0 to 4% and changes constantly. 1. Dry air: like in deserts or the poles, 0% water vapor 2.Humid air: like near the ocean or in the tropics) up to 4% water vapor. Water vapor creates weather and traps heat

Troposphere

The lowest layer, where weather and most greenhouse gases (CO2, H2O, N2O, CH4, CFCs) are found, gets colder as you go higher, dropping to 6.5 °C per km. Its top boundary is the tropopause lid that stops air from rising higher

Stratosphere

15-50 km up and contains the ozone layer (O3), sometimes called Earth's sunscreen, because it absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Temperature tends to increase with height because it absorbs UV radiation. Has a huge job in helping protect humans and animals from severe burns, cancers, and DNA damage. Near the bottom of the layer is where airplanes fly because it's calmer

Mesosphere (burning)

50-85km, and is where meteors burn up when entering Earth's atmosphere. The streaks of light we see as shooting stars are caused by friction with these layers' air molecules. Temp gets colder as you go up, and it's the COLDEST LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE mesopause is the coldest part of the atmosphere

Thermosphere (Space glow)

85-600 km air is extremely thin, but particles absorb very strong solar radiation. Temp increases sharply, like 2,700 degrees, and doesn't have a top boundary

Exosphere (edge of space)

600 km air is extremely thin and atoms and molecules are so far apart they can travel hundreds of kilometers without colliding. where some satellites orbit, and it's the transition zone into outer space

Why weather exists

Uneven heating by the sun angle + day length + surface properties)- pressure differences-wind + clouds +storms

Cold front (advancing cold air)

A cold air mass moves into a warm one; cold air is denser, so it wedges underneath the warm air and forces it up quickly. As warm air rises, it expands and cools rapidly.

Air mass

A large body of air with uniform temperature and humidity.

Fronts

boundaries between two air masses with different temperature

Warm Fronts

A warm air mass moves into a cold one; it rises slowly and steadily after slow lifting, with layered clouds (stratus or nimbostratus) forming ahead of the front. Light to moderate rain or drizzle lasts for hours or even days after the air becomes warmer and more humid

Atmospheric pressure

how air moves on a large scale, they control whether you have clear skies or storms caused by air molecules striking things and measured with a barometer, also uneven heating of the Earth's surface leads to air pressure differences, which cause weather

Low pressure systems (lows)

Air is warm and rising, counterclockwise and northern hemisphere. Rising air expands and cools= water vapor condenses= clouds + rain, because the earth spins, the air flows inward and counterclockwise leaves cloudy, wet,and unstable weather

High pressure systems

Air is cold and sinking. Sinking air compresses and warms, which prevents clouds from forming. Air spirals outward and clockwise in the northern hemisphere. Results into clear, calm, and dry weather

Humidity

A measure of the amount of moisture in the air. Effects human comfort tells how much water vapor is in the air

Relative humidity

The percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maxiumum it can hold at that temperature. warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air so when TEMP UP(rises) RH DOWN (drops air feels drier)

Dew point

best measure of how sticky or comfortable it feels outside the closer the tempand dew point air the more humid it feels (look at it through this lens

Climate why it differs from place to place

average pattern of weather over 30+ years so why climate differs means why some places are hot and rainy, while others are cold or dry

Solar angle and curvature

Earth is round, so sunlight doesn't hit evenly

Equator

direct sunlight hotter

Poles

sunlight spread out- cooler. This uneven heating drives global circulation and defines climate zone

Tilt = seasons

Earths tilt makes sunlight move north or south during the year

June

Summer solstice Northern hemisphere tilted toward the sun- long days, direct rays - summer

December

Winter solstice: NH tilted away- short days- winter

Equinoxes

equal day and night for everyone

Coriolis effect

Because Earth rotates, moving air and water curve instead of going straight, right in the northern hemisphere and left southern hemisphere

Three major circulation cells per hemisphere

1. Hadley 0-30 Degrees air rises at the equator, sinks at 30 degrees

2. Ferrel 30-60 Degrees Air rises at 60 degrees, sinks at 30 degrees

Polar 60-90 degrees air rises at 60 degrees, sinks at poles

Ocean currents

Distribute heat, help mix and distribute nutrients. Warm current like gulf stream make nearby coasts warmer. Cold currents make coasts cooler and direr

Upwelling

Where wind pushes surface water away) brings cold nutrient-rich water-up feeding fish and plankton

El Nino

every 3-5 years trades weaken/ reverse- warm east, reduced upwelling, fisheries crash, wetter southern U.S drier Austriala/indonesia global waether shifts bad fishing

La Nina

Trades strengthen even more the upwelling East Pacific cooler, more hurricanes in the Atlantic opposite percipation patterns

Microclimates

small ecosystems/environments, such as under a log or your backyard.

Rain shadow effect

Moist air from the oceans hits the mountains causes it to cool and water to condense making wet conditions on windward side. On far side of the mountain dry air sinks on leeward side and has less moisture available and is considered dryer which is how some dessets are formed

Urban heat islan

Cities absorb and trap heat because of the materials used to build them so, they are warmer than the outlying countryside

Moderation by water

Water has very high specefic heat, meaning it must gains or lose large amounts of heat energy to change temperature so in everyday terms it is slow to warm up or cool down. Weather and climate areas near water are influenced by it.

Mountain slopes

In the northern hemisphere, the southern side of a mountain gets more sun and therefore warmer and drier

Precipitation

Location

near 30 N and 30 S sinking hadley air and rain-shadow interiors

Vegetation

Sparse/short reduced leaves, waxy cuticle, deep/widespread roots, thorns/toxins; man us photosynthesis at night.

Desserts are fragile

Slow growth, slow nutrients, low species biodiversity, low water supply slow recovery time

Human impact

Groundwater depletion, salinization fro irrigation, desertification, mining, solar farm, poor soil,

General grassland characteristics

Percipitation 10-40 in/yr, dominated by grass; fire, seasonal drought grazing herbivores, soils nutrient-rich temperate

Savanna Tropicalgrassland

Climate: warm to hot summers, cold waters, moderate rainfall.

Location: Central North America, Africa, and parts of Asia. 

Plants grasses and scattered trees

Tundra

Climate: very cold, dry, and windy; short summers

Location: Near the Arctic Circle (Alaska, Canada, Siberia) 

Vegetation: Mosses, lichens, short grasses

Animals: Caribou, arctic foxes, polar bears 

Soil: poor

Chaparral

Climate: Four seasons; moderate temperature wet winter long dry summer

Location: Eastern U.S., Europe, East Asia

Vegetation: shrubs

Animals: Deer, raccoons, foxes, birds. 

Fire + flooding: easily burn

Tropical rainforest

Climate: Hot and humid year-round with heavy rainfall precipitation >100

Location: Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia

Biodiversity: highestof any biome

Vegetation: tall trees, vines, fernet, dense canopy

Soil: poor in living things

Animals:Monkeys, toucans, Jaguars, frogs

Tropical deciduous forest

Climate: Warm all year

Location: Found near the tropics (India, parts of Africa, South America 

Temp: Hot to warm year-round

Precipitation: Moderate to high (has a dry season and a wet season

Soil: Rich soil, supports trees

Plants: Broad trees that shed leaves in dry season

Animals: Tigers elephants monkeys and deers

Taiga

Climate: cold with long winters and short summers; moderate precipitation

Location: Canada, Northern Europe, Russia

Plants: coniferous trees, evergreen

Soil: acidic, poor

Animals: moose, lynx, wolves, and bears

Latitude

Distance from the equator affects temp (further = colder)

Altitude

Higher elevation = colder temperature (air is thiner Altitude and latitude both affect biodiversity and vegetation types

Tropics 23.5 N Degrees

Tropic of cancer

Tropic of 23.5 S Degrees

Tropic of Capricorn warm all year

Temperate zones

30 degrees - 60 degrees N/S. moderate climate four seasons.

Polar zones

60 degrees - 90 degrees N/S. cold and dry year-round