10&11.GlobalClimates&ClimateChange_Web - Copy

## Page 1: Overview of Global Climates
- Focus areas this week include:
- Global PowerPoint Presentation (PPT)
- Climate Classification
- Climate Types
- Global Warming and Climate Change

## Page 2: Climate Classification
- **Climate Definition:** Average weather in a region over a long time.
- **Key Climate Components:**
- Insolation
- Temperature (T)
- Pressure
- Air Masses
- Precipitation (PPT)
- **Primary Climate Variables:** T and PPT are crucial for describing climate and influence:
- Vegetation cover
- Human usage of the area

## Page 3: Classification of Climatic Types
- **Classification Process:** Grouping data into related categories.
- **Genetic Classification:** Based on causative factors affecting climate.
- **Empirical Classification:** Based on statistical data like temperature and precipitation.

## Page 4: Global Precipitation Patterns
- Overview of global precipitation distribution illustrated with a map indicating varying precipitations by latitude.
- Regions categorized by annual precipitation in centimeters:
- Over 200 cm
- 150-199 cm
- 100-149 cm
- 50-99 cm
- 25-49 cm
- Under 25 cm

## Page 5: Climate Groups
- **6 Broad Climate Groups** subdivided into **13 General Climate Types:**
- Tropical (23.5°N–23.5°S)
- Mesothermal (midlatitudes, mild winter)
- Microthermal (cold winters)
- Polar (high latitudes)
- Highland (high elevations)
- Dry (moisture deficits)
- **Principal Components Influencing Climate Types:**
1. Insolation
2. Temperature
3. Humidity
4. Seasonal precipitation
5. Atmospheric pressure & winds
6. Air masses
7. Weather disturbances
8. Cloud coverage

## Page 6: World Climate Map
- **Visualizations include:**
- Global climate maps showing various climates across the world and their characteristics including:
- Arctic and maritime influences
- Different climatic regimes leading to diverse vegetation types

## Page 7: Climographs
- **Climographs:**
- Depict temperature and precipitation patterns over time.
- Essential for understanding seasonal climate variations including:
- Extremes of temperature
- Annual total precipitation.

## Page 8: Tropical Climates
- Most extensive climate types covering **36%** of the earth’s surface. Key characteristics include:
- Located between 20°N and 20°S
- Influences from:
- Daylength
- Insolation
- ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone)
- **3 Regimes:**
- Tropical Rain Forest: Rainy year-round.
- Tropical Monsoon: Seasonal rainfall, mostly in summer.
- Tropical Savanna: Less than 6 months of rainy season.

## Page 9: Tropical Rainforest Climate
- Dominated by:
- Maritime Equatorial (mE) & Maritime Tropical (mT) air masses.
- Characteristics:
- Uniform temperatures throughout the year.
- Heavy convectional rainfall (over 250 cm annually).

## Page 10: Tropical Monsoon Climate
- Characterized by high annual rainfall but with a strong seasonal variation (mostly summer).
- Affected by the ITCZ, which brings moisture from mT and mE air masses and includes orographic precipitation.

## Page 11: Tropical Savanna Climate
- Distinguished by:
- Very dry winters and very wet summers.
- Temperature shows high during summer and lower during winter.
- Vegetation known as savanna; grassy plains with scattered trees.

## Page 12: Mesothermal Climates
- Cover **55%** of the global population and **27%** of earth’s surface.
- Key elements include:
- Air masses
- Migrating cyclones and anticyclones.
- Four types identified:
1. Humid subtropical with hot summers
2. Humid subtropical with dry winters
3. Marine west-coast
4. Mediterranean.

## Page 13: Humid Subtropical Climate
- Experience either:
- Moist conditions year-round
- A pronounced dry winter period.
- Influences from subtropical air from oceans.
- Vegetation predominantly forests.

## Page 14: Marine West-Coast Climate
- Characterized by:
- Influence from prevailing westerlies and mP air masses.
- High annual precipitation and distinct winter maximum.
- Vegetation consists of dense forests and mosses.

## Page 15: Mediterranean Climate
- Very wet winters and very dry summers.
- Influenced by poleward migration of pressure zones.
- Less annual temperature range due to ocean currents.

## Page 16: Microthermal Climates
- Occur poleward of mesothermal climates.
- Characterized by:
- Seasonal temperature changes and cold winters.
- Key Regimes Include:
- Humid continental hot-summer
- Humid continental mild-summer
- Subarctic.

## Page 17: Humid Continental Climate
- Experienced in polar-front zones with significant precipitation.
- Very strong annual temperature range and highly variable weather.
- Dominant vegetation includes forests and prairies.

## Page 18: Subarctic Climate
- Large annual temperature range, very cold and dry.
- Summer precipitation from mT air masses.
- Dominant vegetation includes boreal forests (taiga).

## Page 19: Extreme Subarctic Cold-Winter Climate
- Station data from Verkhoyansk, Russia, (67° 35'N, 133° 27'E) with:
- Average annual temperature of -15°C
- Total annual precipitation of 15.5 cm.

## Page 20: Polar and Highland Climates
- Cover **19%** of the Earth’s surface and **17%** of its land area.
- Temperatures characterized by extremes in daylength and low sun altitude.
- **3 Regimes Include:**
1. Tundra Climate
2. Ice Cap and Ice Sheet Climate
3. Polar Marine Climate

## Page 21: Tundra Climate
- Dominated by polar air masses with long, severe winters.
- Limited annual precipitation.
- Vegetation mainly consists of grasses, mosses, lichens, and peat bogs; permafrost is common.

## Page 22: Ice Cap & Ice Sheet Climate
- Dominated by cold air masses.
- Characterized by bitterly cold temperatures with no monthly average above freezing.
- High altitudes exacerbate cold (altitude effect).

## Page 23: Arid & Semi-arid Climates
- Covering **35%** of Earth’s land area with unique desert vegetation.
- Four regimes include:
1. Hot low-latitude desert
2. Cold midlatitude desert
3. Hot low-latitude steppe
4. Cold midlatitude steppe

## Page 24: Low Latitude Hot Desert
- Dominated by subtropical high pressure zones.
- Very hot summers with mild winters, large daily temperature ranges.
- Vegetation consists of drought-resistant plants.

## Page 25: Midlatitude Cold Desert
- Cover small areas with low T and PPT.
- Characterized by subtropical high pressure influence.

## Page 26: Low Latitude Hot Steppe
- Characterized by a short wet season when ITCZ influences the area.
- Very hot summers with mild winters, significant daily temperature ranges.

## Page 27: Midlatitude Cold Steppe
- Extends poleward from midlatitude deserts.
- Precipitation more frequent than desert areas due to midlatitude cyclones.

## Page 28: Climate Change and Global Warming
- Current global temperature trends impacting climatic and environmental systems.

## Page 29: Climate Change Evidence
- Notable changes include:
- Global warming trends
- Glacier melting and rising sea levels.
- Observational data from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

## Page 30: Impacts of Global Warming
- Consequences of 1°C increase in temperatures include:
- Increased weather extremes and rising sea levels.
- Need for action to limit warming to between 1.5ºC - 2ºC to avoid severe impacts.

## Page 31: The Greenhouse Effect
- Physics: Earth absorbs solar shortwave radiation and emits longwave radiation.
- Greenhouse gases trap this radiation, leading to increased temperatures.

## Page 32: CO2 Concentration Trends
- Significant rise in atmospheric CO2 observed, indicating long-term trend since the Industrial Revolution.
- Current levels recorded at over 400 ppm.

## Page 33: Methods for Understanding Past Climates
- **Proxy Data:** Techniques yielding long-term climate records from ice cores and ocean sediments.
- **Isotope Analysis:** Used to reveal past chemical compositions in oceans/ice.

## Page 34: Proxy Data Visualization
- Depicting significant paleoclimatic data with impressions from snowpits and ice cores revealing atmospheric conditions.

## Page 35: Short-Term Climate Reconstruction
- Tools include:
- Radiocarbon dating
- Growth ring analysis of trees, corals, and speleothems.

## Page 36: Proxy Data Implications
- Variations in oxygen isotopes indicate past climate changes, revealing periods of warmer and cooler temperatures.

## Page 37: Recent Climate History
- Historical temperature shifts documented, showing significant fluctuations over thousands of years.

## Page 38: Natural Climate Fluctuations
- Influencing factors include:
- Solar variability
- Earth’s orbital cycles
- Continental position and atmospheric gases.

## Page 39: Climate Feedbacks and Carbon Budget
- Climate feedbacks amplify or reduce warming.
- **Earth’s Carbon Budget:** Elements like water vapor and CO2 that influence climate.

## Page 40: Present Climate Change Evidence
- Indicators of change include:
- Rising temperatures
- Melting ice
- Increasing extreme weather events.

## Page 41: Human Impact on Climate
- Key factors in global warming include:
- Increased greenhouse gas concentrations (CO2, CH4, N2O).

## Page 42: Sources of Radiative Forcing
- Different sources explaining radiative forcing impacts categorized into:
- Natural
- Anthropogenic factors.

## Page 43: Climate Models and Forecasts
- General circulation models (GCMs) used for past trends and future forecasts in climate changes.

## Page 44: Climate Forcing Effects
- Tracking temperature changes due to both natural and anthropogenic forcing.

## Page 45: AOGCM Scenarios for Surface Warming
- Models predicting variations in global warming under different emission scenarios.

## Page 46: Actions Against Climate Change
- Discussion on potential actions individuals can take and references for further reading on climate science.