Overview: "Earth's Many Climates" deals with five major ideas: First, the energy from the sun is what drives all theprocesses in the atmosphere and in the oceans. Second, the temperature of the air and water result from the energy exchanges. Third (go to Unit 21 for this idea) human beings and all other organisms are affected by the climate that surrounds them, and live within a narrow range of viable conditions. Fourth, the various processes that create the weather and climate are described. Fifth, climate types can be described, and climate regions can be distinguished and identified. That is, there is a geography of climates.
Textbook Assignment: Read Units 5 - 21 (pages 50 - 237). Read Unit 21 "Human-Climate Interactions and Impacts" first, then
study Units 5 - 20, and review Unit 21 again.
Exercises: The exercises that you will complete in this section of the course are:
2. The Sun's View of Earth
3. Climographs and Climatic Regions
4. The Water Balance: A Simple Environmental Account
5. Climate Types and the Water Balance
6. Climate Variability vs. Climate Change
Learning Objectives for Theme 2 - Earth's Many Climates
- Understand how the revolution of the earth around the sun, the tilt of the earth's axis, and its rotation on its axis lead to differences in the amount of energy different regions receive, and how this energy drives the energy balance of the earth-atmosphere system, the greenhouse effect, and the global distribution of air temperatures.
- Understand the global scale patterns of circulation in the atmosphere and oceans, and how this relates to redistributing
energy around the world.
- Be able to explain how the water balance operates, and to calculate a water balance by hand.
- Understand the major processes that produce precipitation, and to describe the types of weather systems that are
associated with each major process.
- Be able to describe the modified Koppen climate classification, and to apply it in order to distinguish and characterize
the major climate types.
Learning Objectives for Units 5 - 21 in the Textbook
Unit 5 - Earth-Sun Relationships
- Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 5.
- Distinguish between the earth's revolution and its rotation (also see Unit 4).
- Describe the orbit of the earth around the sun.
- Describe why the earth has seasons.
- Distinguish between equinoxes and solstices and their relation to the four seasons.
- Be able to describe the position of the sun as we would view it from earth.
- Be able to describe how the time zones in Figure 5-6 are specified.
Unit 6 - Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere
Describe the vertical stratification of the atmosphere, and identify the strata.
Describe how the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere has changed in the past four decades.
Describe what is meant by "atmospheric cycles."
Unit 7 - Radiation and the Heat Balance of the Earth
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 7.
Be able to describe how solar radiation travels from the sun to the earth. Relate this to how any type of radiation travels.
Distinguish between shortwave, or solar, radiation and longwave, or "earth" radiation.
Distinguish between shortwave radiation that is direct radiation and solar radiation that is diffuse radiation. Be able to describe the conditions under which you would experience direct and diffuse radiation.
Understand what each arrow in Figure 7.1 refers to. Understand why the sum of the values associated with these arrows is 100.
Describe albedo, and give two examples of types of surfaces with markedly different albedos.
Contrast longwave radiation emitted from the earth's surface (or from any object on the earth such as yourself) which is called terrestrial radiation with longwave radiation emitted by the atmosphere back to the earth's surface.
Discuss the importance of the greenhouse effect for life on earth, and the contribution it makes to the average temperature on earth.
Be able to define net radiation and give an equation that summarizes the radiation fluxes involved in net radiation.
Relate the concept of net radiation to Table 7.1.
Distinguish between latent heat and sensible heat. Give an example of each.
Distinguish between convection and conduction, and give an example of each.
Know the symbols for the energy fluxes, e.g., net radiation is abbreviated as "NR", and combine them in an equation for the heat or energy balance.
Describe how the components of the heat balance vary from month to month, as shown in Figure 7.6, for Manaos, Aswan, Paris, and Turukhansk.
Be able to interpret the maps of global distribution of net radiation (Figure 7.5), latent heat loss (Figure 7.7, and sensible heat loss (Figure 7.8).
Be able to estimate the values of net radiation, latent heat loss and sensible heat loss for a particular place whose location you can approximate on the maps in Figure 7.5, 7.7, and 7.8, and combine these into a statement of the heat balance of that place.
Unit 8 - Atmospheric and Surface Temperature
Be able to define and use the key terms in Unit 8.
Be able to discuss how the kinetic energy of molecules relates to the temperature of a fluid or solid.
Describe the Celsius, Fahrenheit and Kelvin temperature scales, and be able to translate from one to the another, as shown in Appendix A, p. 549.
Be able to draw a lapse rate on a graph whose X axis is temperature, and whose Y axis is altitude.
Distinguish between an adiabatic and an environmental lapse rate, and between a dry adiabatic and saturated adiabatic lapse rate.
Describe under what ELR conditions a layer of the atmosphere is stable, and under which it is unstable.
Distinguish between a diurnal temperature cycle and an annual temperature cycle, and give an example of each.
Describe how differences in heating and cooling rates of oceans and continental surface affects their diurnal and annual temperature cycles.
Describe what causes the maritime effect and the continental effect, or continentality.
Use isotherms to give an example of a small and a large temperature gradient.
Identify and describe features of Figure 8.11 that show the effects of continentality, differences between the summer and winter hemispheres, and effects of a dry vs a humid climate.
Unit 9 - Air Pressure and Winds
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 9.
Describe what "pressure" means.
Describe how atmospheric pressure varies with altitude.
Describe the causes of atmospheric circulation, and relate them to Figure 8.11 in Unit 8 and Figure 9.3.
Describe the way that the Coriolis force affects the direction that wind blows (not the theory concerning the causes of the Coriolis force).
Given a weather map that shows the location of a low pressure, draw the wind pattern around the low, using Figure 9.9 as a guide. Do the same for a high pressure area, in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Describe a sea/land breeze system and relate it to the factors that cause the maritime and continental effects.
Unit 10 - Circulation Patterns of the Atmosphere
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 10.
Describe the necessary conditions for the pattern of atmospheric circulation on earth to look like Figure 10.1.
Identify and describe the major features of the circulation patterns of the atmosphere as shown in Figure 10.2. Be able to approximate the location of your home town on this diagram.
Relate the different annual cycle of temperature over oceans and continents (Unit 8) to the development of semipermanent highs and lows, as shown in Figure 10.3.
Describe how the location of the polar front changes seasonally.
Identify the intertropical convergence zone, and describe how its location changes seasonally.
Unit 11 - Hydrosphere: Circulation of the World Ocean
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 11.
Describe how sea surface temperatures vary globally, as shown in the Unit Opening Photo on page 114. Relate it to Figure 11.1.
List the causes of ocean currents.
Relate gyres to semipermanent highs shown in Figure 10.3.
Locate on a world map four major zones of upwelling.
Describe thermohaline circulation and its causes. Explain briefly the importance of thermohaline circulation to the world's climate.
Describe El Nino Southern Oscillation and its relevance to weather in the United States and other regions of the world.
Relate the information in Table 11.1 to Figure 9.3.
Unit 12 - Atmospheric Moisture and the Water Balance
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 12.
Relate the global view of water vapor in the atmosphere on page 125 to the global distribution of sea surface temperature on page 114. Describe how these two images were obtained, whether by satellite or by direct measurements.
Describe the processes shown in Figure 12.1, and the amounts of energy involved. Relate latent heat of vaporization presented in Figure 12.1 to latent heat loss discussed in Unit 7.
Describe how moisture in the atmosphere is quantified.
Describe the major components of the hydrologic cycle.
Describe the necessary condition for evaporation to take place from a moist surface.
Distinguish between potential evapotranspiration (can you spell it?) and actual evapotranspiration.
Describe generally what happens in clouds for precipitation to occur.
Describe how the water balances of Bellary, Bogor and Berkeley in Figure 12.8 differ from each other. Relate the annual cycle of potential evapotranspiration of each to its latitude. Discuss how you know Bellary is in a dry climate region, while Bogor is in a moist climate region.
Pick a place on the map shown in Figure 12.10 and relate its annual evaporation (if in an ocean) or evapotranspiration (if on a continent) to its annual latent heat loss, shown in Figure 7.7. Use latent heat of vaporization to explain how these two maps relate to each other.
Estimate the annual precipitation of selected places using Figure 12.11.
Unit 13 - Precipitation, Air Masses and Fronts
Define and use the key terms in Unit 13.
Relate the July and January locations of the ITCZ to the precipitation in the tropics shown in Figure 12.11.
Describe orographic precipitation; relate this process and the ideas about circulation patterns in the atmosphere presented in Unit 10 to explain why the west sides of mountain ranges receive more precipitation than the east sides in the midlatitudes, but the east sides of mountains near the equator.
Describe frontal, or cyclonic, precipitation.
Describe a source region and its relationship to the air masses that we hear about on weather reports.
Unit 14 - Weather Systems
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 14.
Relate the development and movement of weather systems to the storms that affect the weather in the tropics; in the midlatitudes.
Describe the pattern of storms in the Opening Unit Photo on page 148.
Describe how a hurricane develops and its general structure.
Describe typical hurricane tracks.
Describe what the weather is like at a coastal location during a hurricane.
Describe how the passage of a midlatitude cyclone translates into changing weather.
Unit 15 - Weather Tracking and Forecasting
Read Unit 15 for your own interest. These materials are covered in another Geography course, GEOG 330 - Weather.
Unit 16 - Climate Classification and Regionalization
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 16.
Describe the objectives for climate classification.
Describe the most important distinctions among climate types in the Koppen classification as described in the "first letter" e.g., A is Tropical, and the "second letter" for each major climate type (see Figure 16.1).
Describe the general distribution of each climate type.
Describe the problems of using a general climate classification to designate climate boundaries.
Unit 17 - Tropical (A) and Arid (B) Climates
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 17.
Be able to interpret a climograph.
Describe which component of the general circulation of the atmosphere is the source of precipitation in the tropical rainforest climate; the monsoon rainforest climate, the savanna climate.
Describe the location of arid climates relative to the subtropical high pressure region in the general circulation of the atmosphere.
Describe desertification and how human activities cause and are affected by it.
Relate the global distribution of precipitation variability shown in Figure 17.11 to the global distribution of precipitation shown in Figure 12.11.
Describe two environmental management problems typical of tropical and arid climates.
Unit 18 - Humid Mesothermal (C) Climates
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 18.
Characterize the location of humid mesothermal climates relative to the general circulation of the atmosphere.
Describe the location of humid subtropical climates in the United States.
Describe the location of marine west coast climates in North America.
Characterize a Mediterranean climate and describe its location. Characterize the climograph, water balance and heat balance of a typical Mediterranean climate.
Describe two environmental management problems typical of humid mesothermal climates.
Unit 19 - Higher Latitude (D, E) and High-Altitude (H) Climates
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 19.
Describe the humid microthermal climate using a climograph, water balance and heat balance graphs.
Describe how permafrost makes agriculture and other land uses difficult.
Describe how you would encounter the same climates along a transect across the Andes Mountains as you would along a transect from the equator to a polar region.
Unit 20 - Dynamics of Climate Change
Know how to define and use the key terms in Unit 20.
Describe what "climate state" refers to.
Describe three kinds of evidence used to study climate change.
Describe the climate during the Medieval Optimum and the Little Ice Age.
Characterize the climate about 15,000 years ago.
Describe why the Eemian interglaciation indicates a possible problem for our global civilization.
Discuss whether the evidence indicates that climate change is characterized by slow or rapid change.
Distinguish between external processes and internal processes as possible causes of climatic change.
Describe what teleconnections are, and their relationship to ENSO.
Unit 21 - Human-Climate Interactions and Impacts
Describe each of the major energy exchanges between a person and the environment and how air temperature affects these exchanges.
Describe how the climate of a city differs from the climate of a rural area, based on Table 21.1.
Distinguish between primary and secondary air pollutants.
Describe how industrial activity can modify the weather, as indicated (but not proven) in LaPorte, Indiana.
Glossary for Units 5 - 21
Unit 5 - Earth-Sun Relationships
Perihelion Aphelion
Plane of the Ecliptic
Tropic of Cancer
Arctic Circle
Tropic of Capricorn
Antarctic Circle
Winter Solstice
Summer Solstice
Spring Equinox
Autumnal Equinox
Time Zone
International Date Line
Circle of Illumination
Insolation
Zenith
Solar Elevation
Unit 6 - Composition and Structure of the Atmosphere
Weather
Climate
Homosphere
Heterosphere
Constant Gases
Variable Gases
Water Vapor
Ozone Layer
Hydrologic Cycle
Oxygen Cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Carbon (Dioxide) Cycle
Troposphere
Tropopause
Stratosphere
Inversion
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Unit 7 - Radiation and the Heat Balance of the Atmosphere
Radiation
Shortwave Radiation
Longwave Radiation
Direct Radiation
Diffuse Radiation
Albedo
Counter Radiation
Greenhouse Effect
Net Radiation (NR)
Radiation Balance
Sensible Heat Flow (LH)
Convection
Conduction
Ground (or Soil) Heat Flow
Latent Heat Flow (LH)
Unit 8 - Atmospheric and Surface Temperature
Kinetic Energy
Temperature
Lapse Rate
Adiabatic
Adiabatic Lapse Rate
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR)
Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate (SALR)
Environmental Lapse Rate (ELR)
Temperature Inversion
Diurnal Cycle
Annual Cycle
Maritime Effect
Continent Effect
Continentality
Advection
Isotherm
Temperature Gradient
Unit 9 - Air Pressure and Winds
Wind
Pressure
Coriolis force
Pressure Gradient Force
Friction Force
Windward
Leeward Geostrophic Wind
Anticyclone
Cyclone
Sea Breeze
Land Breeze
Chinook Wind
Santa Ana Wind
Unit 10 - Circulation Patterns of the Atmosphere
Equatorial Low
Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
Subtropical Highs
Northeast Trades
Southeast Trades
Westerlies
Polar Highs
Polar Easterlies
Polar Front
General Circulation
Monsoon
Unit 11 - Hydrosphere: Circulation of the World Ocean
Ocean Current
Drift
Gyre
Subtropical Gyre
Upwelling
Thermohaline Circulation
El Nino
El Nino Southern Oscillation
Unit 12 - Atmospheric Moisture and the Water Balance
Water Vapor
Melting
Latent Heat of Fusion
Evaporation
Latent Heat of Vaporization
Sublimation
Condensation
Freezing
Dew
Relative Humidity
Hydrologic Cycle
Precipitation
Runoff
Evapotranspiration
Potential Evapotranspiration (PE)
Actual Evapotranspiration (AE)
Cloud
Fog
Deficit
Surplus
Unit 13 - Precipitation, Air Masses, and Fronts
Convergent-Lifting Precipitation
Convection
Convectional Precipitation
Orographic Precipitation
Rain Shadow Effect
Front
Frontal Precipitation
Warm Front
Cold Front
Source Region
Air Mass
Unit 14 - Weather Systems
Weather System
Storm
Easterly Wave
Hurricane
Eye
Eye Wall
Polar Front Jet Stream
Cyclogenesis
Unit 15 - Weather Tracking and Forecasting
This unit is covered in GEOG 330 - Understanding the Weather
Unit 16 - Climate Classification and Regionalization
Climate
Hypothetical Continent
Unit 17 - Tropical (A) and Arid (B) Climates
Deforestation
Desertification
Climograph
Unit 18 - Humid Mesothermal (C) Climates
Mesothermal Climate
Drought
Unit 19 - Higher Latitude (D, E) and High-Altitude (H) Climates
Acid Precipitation
Humid Microthermal Climate
Permafrost
Highland Climate
Aspect
Unit 20 - Dynamics of Climate Change
Climate State
Little Ice Age
Teleconnections
External Processes
Internal Processes
Unit 21 - Human-Climate Interactions and Impacts
Microclimate
Dust Dome
Urban Heat Island
Primary Pollutants
Secondary Pollutants
Conurbation
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Unit Objectives 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 
