| A | B |
|---|
| Climate | The average, year - to - year condition of temperature, precipitation, winds and clouds in an area. |
| Temperature factors | latitude, altitude, distance from large bodies of water, and ocean currents |
| Tropical zones | area near the equator that received direct or nearly direct sunlight all year round, making climates there warm. It is located between 23.5 north to 23.5 south. |
| Polar zones | area near both poles having col climates due to the lower angle of the sun's rays. Located from the poles to about 66.5 north and 66.5 to 90 south latitudes. |
| Temperate zones | Located between the tropical and polar zones, 23.5 to 66.5 north and 23.5 to 66.5 south. The weather ranges from hot in the summer to cold in the winter, because of the angle of the sun's rays. |
| Latitude | the distance. north or south, from the equator |
| Altitude | the distance above or below sea level, higher altitudes have cooler climates |
| Marine climates | the climate of areas located near oceans that stabilize their temperatures (land breeze and sea breeze) more warmth in the winters and more coolness in the summers |
| Continental climates | inland areas that do not have the stabilizing effect of oceans on their temperatures. Cold winters and hot summers |
| Ocean currents | streams of water in the oceans that move in regular patterns, greatly influencing the climate of the coastal land areas. |
| Gulf stream (ocean) | warm current that carries water from the equator in central America along the east coast to the New England states |
| North atlantic drift | Warm current that continues from the New England state coastline to northern Europe |
| California Current | Cold current from the artic region that flows down the California coast |
| Precipitation factors | the prevailing winds and the presence of mountains |
| Prevailing winds | cause by the convection of air and the coriolis effect, prevailing winds are the winds that move air masses from place to place |
| Mountain effect | Mountains can cause air masses to rise, cool, and drop their precipitation on the windward side of the range |
| Windward | The side of the mountains that receive the prevailing winds, often green and lush due to the high amount of rainfall |
| Leeward | The dry side of mountains, where air sinks without leaving precipitaion and causing desert conditions |
| Microclimate | A small area with specific climate conditions |
| Cause of seasons | The revolution of Earth around the sun and the steady tilt of the axis. |
| Tropical wet-dry climate | Always hot, with alternating wet and dry seasons and heavy rainfall in the wet seasons; west side of Costa Rica |
| Rain forests | Forest that thrive in the hot, humid, and wet conditions of a tropical rainy climate |
| Tropical wet | always hot and humid with heavy rainfall year round; east side of Costa Rica |
| Dry climates | occurs where evaporation is greater than precipitation, such as in the rainshadow of mountains |
| Mediterranean climate | warm, dry summers and rainy winters; Italy |
| Humid subtropical | hot summers and cool winters; Georgia |
| Marine west coast | mild winters and cool summers, with moderate precipitation year round; Washigton State |
| Arid | desert, with little precipitation; Nevada |
| Semiarid | dry, but recieves about 25 - 50 centimeters of precipitation a year;North and South Dakota |
| Humid continental | hot, humid summers and cold winters with moderate precipitation year round;Maine |
| Subarctic | Short, cool summers and long, cold winters light precipitation mainly in summer; Alaska |
| Tundra | ALWAYS cold with a short, cool summer; North Alaska, Northern Canada |
| Ice cap | ALWAYS cold, average temperature at or below freezing; Antartica and central Greenland |
| Permafrost | the perpetually frozen sub soil in the Tundra causing bogs in the summer because surface water cannot drain |
| Highlands | an area with tundra - like conditions, due to elevation and without regard to latitude |
| Uniformitarianism (p. 619) | If plants and animals today need certain conditions in which to live, then similar plants and animals in the past also needed those conditions |
| Ice age | long periods of time in wich ice sheets covered large parts of Earth's surface |
| Sunspots | sometimes thought to have caused short term changes in Earth's climate based on the 11 year solar sunspot cycle. |
| paleoclimate | climate of ancient earth |
| global warming | a gradual increase in the temperature of Earth's atmosphere |
| greenhouse gases | gases that help trap infrared energy from the Earth within the atmosphere: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane are some |
| greenhouse effect | gases in the atmopshere let sunlight in to warm Earth's surface, but do not let the heat back out |
| ozone depletion | destruction of the ozone layer that could result in letting more UV radiation in |
| chlorofluorocarbons | CFC's were used in spray cans and air conditioners and have been found to deplete the ozone layer |
