Earth Science Chapter 9 Climate and Climate Change

Earth Science Chapter 9 Climate and Climate Change

​Section 1: What Causes Climate

High-Use Academic Words

High-use academic words are words that are used frequently in academic reading, writing, and discussions.​

​major - Great in size, amount, number, or importance

ex: Hurricanes often cause MAJOR damage in Florida.

positive - Having a good or useful effect; hopeful​

ex: She received POSITIVE comments on her science project.

range - To extend or reach in a given direction

ex: The temperature in our nation's capital can RANGE from about -3 C to 32 C.

region - part of the surface of Earth; an area

ex: The southern REGION of the United States has the warmest weather. ​

Open Ended

Check What You Know

Think about how the weather changes with the seasons where you live. Is there a dry season and a rainy season?

Are certain months usually hotter than others? Write a paragraph describing how the weather changes over the course of a year where you live. Explain why you think these seasonal changes occur?

​An oasis in the Mojave Desert ----->

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Scientists use TWO main factors to describe the climate of a region:

PRECIPITATION

and

TEMPERATURE

A small area with climate conditions that differ from those around it may have its own MICROCLIMATE.​

​

The weather in an area changes everyday. At a given location, the weather may be cloudy and rainy one day and clear and sunny the next. CLIMATE, on the other hand, refers to the LONG-TERM, average conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds, and clouds in an area.

For example, California's Mojave Desert, shown below, has a hot, dry climate.​

A climate region is a large area that has similar climate conditions throughout.​

Factors Affecting Temperature

Why are some places warm and others cold?

***** The main factors that influence temperature are:

Latitude: distance from the equator, measured in degrees.

Altitude: elevation above sea level

Distance from large bodies of water

Ocean currents.​

Based on latitude, Earth's surface can be divided into three temperature zones:

TROPICAL ZONE: The area near the equator, between about 23.5 N latitude and 23.5 south latitude. ​ The tropical zone receives direct sunlight all year round, making climates there warm.

POLAR ZONES: The areas near both poles. The sun's rays always strike at a lower angle near the North and South poles. As a result, the poles have cold climates.​

​TEMPERATE ZONES: The areas between the tropical and polar zones. In summer, the sun's rays strike the temperate zones more directly, In winder, the sun's rays strike at a lower angle. As a result, the weather in the temperate zones ranges from warm or hot in summer to cool or cold in winter.

Fill in the Blank

In which temperature zone is most of the United States located?

Distance from Large Bodies of Water

​Oceans or large lakes can also affect temperatures. Oceans greatly moderate, or make less extreme, the temperatures of nearby land. Water heads up more slowly than land, it also cools down more slowly. Therefore, winds off the ocean often prevent extremes of hot and cold in coastal regions.

Much of the west coasts of North America, South America, and Europe have mild MARINE CLIMATES, with relatively mild winters and cool summers. ​

CONTINENTAL CLIMATES have more extreme temperatures than marine climates because they are too far inland to be warmed or cooled by the ocean.

In Continental Climate regions, the winters are cold, while summers are warm or hot.​

Fill in the Blank

What body of water moderates the temperatures of Coastal California?

OCEAN CURRENTS

Marine climates are influenced by OCEAN CURRENTS.

Ocean currents are streams of water within the oceans that move in regular patterns. ​

Happy teaching!

Factors Affecting Precipitation

The main factors that affect precipitation are:

​

Prevailing Winds: remember that weather patterns depend on the movement of huge air masses.

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Mountain Ranges: a mountain range in the path of prevailing winds can also influence where precipitation falls.

Seasonal Winds​: A seasonal change in wind patterns can affect precipitation. These seasonal winds are similar to land and sea breezes, but occur over a wider area.​

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Sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons are called MONSOONS. ​

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​The Seasons - Video on Syllabus

​The seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis as Earth travels around the sun.