1. Climate and Biodiversity

2. Dust Storm from Africa’s Sahara Desert

3. What Factors Influence Climate?
An area’s climate is determined mostly by:
Solar radiation
Earth’s rotation
Global patterns of air and water movement
Gases in the atmosphere
Earth’s surface features.

4. Many Different Climates
Weather – local area of short-term physical conditions such as humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, etc.
Climate- an area’s general pattern of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time – usually decades or thousands of years.
Temperature and precipitation determine climate
Latitude and elevation determine average temperature and precipitation

5. Generalized Map of Earth's Climate

6. Solar Radiation

7. Earth’s Rotation
As the Earth rotates around its axis, its equator spins faster than the polar regions.
As a result, heated air masses rising above the equator cause the formation of cells distinguished by differing direction of air movement (prevailing winds)

8. Energy Transfer by Convection

9. Global Air Circulation
Caused by three factors
Uneven heating of earth’s surface
Rotation of the earth
Variations in properties of air, water, and land
Six cyclical convection cells

10. Cell Formation

11. Earth’s Prevailing Winds

12. Cold deserts Westerlies Forests Northeast trades Hot deserts Forests
Equator
Figure 5.3: Creation of prevailing winds: the earth’s rotation deflects the movement of the air over different parts of the earth. This creates global patterns of prevailing winds that help distribute heat and moisture in the atmosphere.
Southeast trades
Hot deserts
Westerlies
Forests
Cold deserts
Fig. 5-3, p. 77

13. Global Air Circulation

14. Moist air rises, cools, and releases moisture as rain Polar cap
Arctic tundra
Evergreen
coniferous forest
Temperate deciduous
forest and grassland
Desert
Tropical deciduous forest
Equator
Tropical rain forest
Tropical deciduous forest
Desert
Figure 5.5: Global air circulation and biomes: heat and moisture are distributed over the earth’s surface by vertical currents, which form six giant convection cells at different latitudes. The resulting uneven distribution of heat and moisture over the planet’s surface leads to the forests, grasslands, and deserts that make up the earth’s biomes.
Temperate deciduous
forest and grassland
Polar cap
Fig. 5-5, p. 78

15. Global Ocean Currents (1)
Affects regional climates
Warm and cold currents created by differences in water density
Altered by earth’s rotation and continents
Redistributes heat, mixes ocean waters, and distributes nutrients and oxygen

16. Global Currents (2) Loop of deep and shallow ocean currents
Moves energy around the globe
Ocean and atmosphere closely linked

17. Earth’s Conveyer Belt

18. Warm, less salty, shallow current Cold, salty, deep current
Figure 5.6: Connected deep and shallow ocean currents: a connected loop of shallow and deep ocean currents transports warm and cool water to various parts of the earth. This loop, which rises in some areas and falls in others, results when ocean water in the North Atlantic near Iceland is dense enough (because of its salt content and cold temperature) to sink to the ocean bottom, flow southward, and then move eastward to well up in the warmer Pacific. A shallower return current aided by winds then brings warmer, less salty—and thus less dense—water to the Atlantic. This water can cool and sink to begin this extremely slow cycle again.
Question: How might the climate in Western Europe and in the northeastern United States be affected if this loop slows down or stops because of the effects of global warming?
Cold, salty,
deep current
Fig. 5-6, p. 79

19. Animation: Global Ocean and Winds Currents
Examine global surface currents.

20. El Niño (El Niño Southern Oscillation or ENSO)
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, as opposed to La Niña, which characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. El Niño is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe.

21. El Niño

22. El Niño
Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia. Observations of conditions in the tropical Pacific are considered essential for the prediction of short term (a few months to 1 year) climate variations.

23. La Niña Opposite of the boy, colder than normal ocean temps.
La Niña causes mostly the opposite effects of El Niño, for example, El Niño would cause a wet period in the Midwestern U.S., while La Niña would typically cause a dry period in this area.

24. Earth’s Surface Features and Climate
Heat absorbed and released more slowly by water than by land
Large bodies of water moderate climate
Movement of moist ocean air across a mountain
Rain and snow on windward side
Rain shadow on leeward side – e.g. Death Valley

25. Rain Shadow Effect

26. On the leeward side of the mountain range, air descends, warms, and
On the windward side of a mountain range, air rises,cools, and releases moisture.
On the leeward side of the mountain range, air descends, warms, and
releases little moisture.
Prevailing winds
pick up moisture
from an ocean.
Figure 5.7: The rain shadow effect is a reduction of rainfall and loss of moisture from the landscape on the side of mountains facing away from prevailing surface winds. Warm, moist air in onshore winds loses most of its moisture as rain and snow on the windward slopes of a mountain range. This leads to semiarid and arid conditions on the leeward side of the mountain range and the land beyond. The Mojave Desert in the U.S. state of California and Asia’s Gobi Desert are both produced by this effect.
Fig. 5-7, p. 80

27. How Does Climate Affect the Nature and Location of Biomes?
Differences in average annual precipitation and temperature lead to the formation of tropical, temperate, and cold deserts, grasslands, and forests, and largely determine their locations.

28. Climate Affects Biomes
Major biomes related to climate
Biomes consist of a mosaic of patches of communities
Average temperature and precipitation determine the biome

29. Earth’s Major Biomes
Fig. 5-8, p. 81

30. Correlation Between Latitude and Elevation

31. (herbs, lichens, mosses)
Elevation
Mountain
ice and snow
Tundra (herbs,
lichens, mosses)
Coniferous
Forest
Latitude
Deciduous
Forest
Tropical
Forest
Figure 5.9: Generalized effects of elevation (left) and latitude (right) on climate and biomes. Parallel changes in vegetation type occur when we travel from the equator to the poles or from lowlands to mountaintops.
Tropical
Forest
Deciduous
Forest
Coniferous
Forest
Tundra
(herbs, lichens, mosses)
Polar ice
and snow
Fig. 5-9, p. 81

32. Climate Determines the Biome

33. Deciduous forest Tropical seasonal forest
Polar
Tundra
Subpolar
Temperate
Coniferous forest
Desert
Deciduous
forest
Grassland
Tropical
Chaparral
Figure 5.10: Natural capital: average precipitation and average temperature, acting together as limiting factors over a long period of time, help to determine the type of desert, grassland, or forest biome in a particular area. Although each actual situation is much more complex, this simplified diagram explains how climate helps to determine the types and amounts of natural vegetation found in an area left undisturbed by human activities.
(Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Company, from Derek Elsom, The Earth, New York: Macmillan, Copyright © 1992 by Marshall Editions Developments Limited)
Desert
Savanna
Rain forest
Tropical
seasonal
forest
Scrubland
Fig. 5-10, p. 82

34. Three Major Types of Deserts
Tropical deserts – Sahara, Namib
Temperate deserts – Mojave
Cold deserts – Gobi

35. Climate Graph of Tropical United Arab Emirates Desert

36. Climate Graph of Temperate Arizona Desert

37. Climate Graph of Cold Gobi Desert

38. Figure 5.11: Climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold deserts. Top photo: a popular (but destructive) SUV rodeo in United Arab Emirates (tropical desert). Center photo: saguaro cactus in the U.S. state of Arizona (temperate desert). Bottom photo: a Bactrian camel in Mongolia’s Gobi (cold) desert.
Question: What month of the year has the highest temperature and the lowest rainfall for each of the three types of deserts?
Fig. 5-11, p. 83

39. Three Major Types of Grasslands
Tropical grasslands – savanna
Temperate grasslands – prairie
Short-grass vs. tall-grass
Cold grasslands – tundra
Permafrost soils

40. Savanna Grassland

41. Montana Prairie Grassland

42. Arctic Tundra Grassland

43. Figure 5.12: Climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold (arctic tundra) grasslands. Top photo: wildebeests grazing on a savanna in Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, Africa (tropical grassland). Center photo: wildflowers in bloom on a prairie near East Glacier Park in the U.S. state of Montana (temperate grassland). Bottom photo: arctic tundra with caribou in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (cold grassland).
Question: What month of the year has the highest temperature and the lowest rainfall for each of the three types of grassland?
Fig. 5-12, p. 85

44. Loss of a Temperate Grassland
Fig. 5-13, p. 86

45. Three Major Types of Forests
Tropical rain forests
Temperate deciduous forests
Evergreen coniferous forests

46. Tropical Forest

47. Temperate Deciduous Forest

48. Evergreen Coniferous Forest (taiga, boreal forest)

49. Figure 5.14: Climate graphs showing typical variations in annual temperature (red) and precipitation (blue) in tropical, temperate, and cold (northern coniferous and boreal) forests. Top photo: the closed canopy of a tropical rain forest in the western Congo Basin of Gabon, Africa. Middle photo: a temperate deciduous forest in the U.S. state of Rhode Island during the fall. (Photo 4 on p. vii shows this same area of forest during winter.) Bottom photo: a northern coniferous forest in the Malheur National Forest and Strawberry Mountain Wilderness in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Question: What months of the year have the highest temperature and the lowest rainfall for each type of forest?
Fig. 5-14, p. 87

50. Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystem

51. Ocelot Blue and gold macaw Harpy eagle Squirrel monkeys Climbing
monstera palm
Katydid
Slaty-tailed
trogon
Green tree snake
Tree frog
Figure 5.15: Some components and interactions in a tropical rain forest ecosystem. When these organisms die, decomposers break down their organic matter into minerals that plants use. Colored arrows indicate transfers of matter and energy between producers; primary consumers (herbivores); secondary, or higher-level, consumers (carnivores); and decomposers. Organisms are not drawn to scale.
See an animation based on this figure at ThomsonNOW.
Ants
Bacteria
Bromeliad
Fungi
Producer
to primary
consumer
Primary
to secondary
consumer
Secondary to
higher-level
consumer
All producers and
consumers to
decomposers
Fig. 5-15, p. 88

52. Stratification of Tropical Rain Forest

53. Brazilian tapir Black-crowned antpitta
Emergent
layer
Harpy
eagle
Toco
toucan
Canopy
Under story
Wooly
opossum
Figure 5.16: Stratification of specialized plant and animal niches in a tropical rain forest. Filling such specialized niches enables species to avoid or minimize competition for resources and results in the coexistence of a great variety of species.
Brazilian
tapir
Shrub
layer
Black-crowned
antpitta
Ground
layer
Fig. 5-16, p. 89

54. Importance of Mountains
Contain majority of the world’s forests
Regulate climate
Key in the hydrological cycle

55. Ecological Role of Mountains

56. How Have We Affected the World’s Terrestrial Ecosystems?
In many areas, human activities are impairing ecological and economic services provided by the earth’s deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains.

57. Humans Affect World’s Terrestrial Ecosystems
Disturbed most of the earth’s land
62% degraded or used unsustainably
All biomes being degraded

58. Major Human Impacts on World Biomes

59. What Are the Major Types of Aquatic Systems?
Saltwater and freshwater aquatic life zones cover almost three-fourths of the earth’s surface with oceans dominating the planet.
Most aquatic organisms live in the surface, middle, or bottom layers of saltwater and freshwater systems.

60. Aquatic Life Zones Two major types Oceans contain 97% of earth’s water
Marine (saltwater)
Freshwater
Oceans contain 97% of earth’s water

61. The Ocean Planet

62. Land–ocean hemisphere
Figure 5.19: Natural capital: the ocean planet (Concept 5-4A). The salty oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. About 97% of the earth’s water is in the interconnected oceans, which cover 90% of the planet’s mostly ocean hemisphere (left) and 50% of its land–ocean hemisphere (right). Freshwater systems cover less than 1% of the earth’s surface.
Ocean hemisphere
Land–ocean hemisphere
Fig. 5-19, p. 92

63. Types of Aquatic Life Plankton – phytoplankton, zooplankton Nekton
Benthos
Decomposers

64. Distribution of Aquatic Organisms
Occupy surface, middle, or bottom layers
Factors determining types and numbers of organisms
Temperature
Access to sunlight
Dissolved oxygen
Nutrient availability

65. The Ocean’s Natural Capital
Fig. 5-20, p. 93

66. What Are the Major Ocean Zones and How Have We Affected Them?
In many areas, human activities are impairing ecological and economic services provided by the earth’s saltwater systems, especially coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, and coral reefs.

67. Marine System Services
Fig. 5-21, p. 94

68. Major Life Zones of Oceans
Coastal
Open sea
Ocean bottom

69. Ocean Life Zones

70. Euphotic Zone Bathyal Zone Abyssal Zone High tide Coastal Zone
Open Sea
Low tide
Sun
Sea level
Estuarine
Zone
Euphotic Zone
Continental
shelf
Bathyal Zone
Abyssal
Zone
Figure 5.22: Natural capital: major life zones in an ocean (not drawn to scale). Actual depths of zones may vary.
Question: How is an ocean like a rain forest? (Hint: see Figure 5-16.)
Fig. 5-22, p. 95

71. Upwelling

72. Estuary Photo Taken from Space
Fig. 5-23, p. 95

73. Food Web of a Salt Marsh

74. Zooplankton and small crustaceans
Herring gulls
Peregrine falcon
Snowy
egret
Cordgrass
Short-billed
dowitcher
Marsh
periwinkle
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton and
small crustaceans
Smelt
Figure 5.24: Some components and interactions in a salt marsh ecosystem in a temperate area such as the United States. When these organisms die, decomposers break down their organic matter into minerals used by plants. Colored arrows indicate transfers of matter and energy between consumers (herbivores), secondary or higher-level consumers (carnivores), and decomposers. Organisms are not drawn to scale. Photo below: a salt marsh in Peru.
Soft-shelled
clam
Clamworm
Bacteria
Producer to
primary
consumer
Primary to
secondary
consumer
Secondary to
higher-level
consumer
All consumers
and producers
to decomposers
Fig. 5-24, p. 96

75. The Coastal Zone
Coastal wetlands and estuaries among earth’s most productive zones
Estuaries
Provide ecosystem services
Provide economic services
Face increasing stress from human activities

76. Tides: Rocky and Sandy Shores
Intertidal zone
Intertidal organisms adapt to stresses of changing environment
Rocky shores
Sandy shores

77. Rocky Shore Beach

78. Rocky Shore Beach Sea star Hermit crab Shore crab High tide Periwinkle
Sea urchin
Anemone
Mussel
Low tide
Sculpin
Figure 5.25: Living between the tides. Some organisms with specialized niches found in various zones on rocky shore beaches (top) and barrier or sandy beaches (bottom). Organisms are not drawn to scale.
Barnacles
Kelp
Sea lettuce
Monterey flatworm
Nudibranch
Fig. 5-25a, p. 97

79. Sandy Barrier Beach

80. Barrier Beach Beach flea Peanut worm Tiger beetle Blue crab Clam Dwarf
olive
High tide
Sandpiper
Ghost
shrimp
Silversides
Low tide
Mole
shrimp
Figure 5.25: Living between the tides. Some organisms with specialized niches found in various zones on rocky shore beaches (top) and barrier or sandy beaches (bottom). Organisms are not drawn to scale.
White sand macoma
Sand dollar
Moon snail
Fig. 5-25b, p. 97

81. Sand Dunes and Barrier Beaches

82. Taller shrubs and trees
Ocean
Beach
Primary Dune
Trough
Secondary Dune
Back Dune
Bay or Lagoon
Recreation,
no building
Walkways,
no building
Limited
recreation
and walkways
Walkways,
no building
Most suitable
for development
Recreation
Bay shore
Grasses or shrubs
Taller shrubs
Taller shrubs and trees
Figure 5.26: Primary and secondary dunes on gently sloping sandy barrier beaches help protect land from erosion by the sea. The roots of grasses that colonize the dunes help hold the sand in place. Ideally, construction is allowed only behind the second strip of dunes, and walkways to the ocean beach are built so as not to damage the dunes. This helps preserve barrier beaches and protect buildings from damage by wind, high tides, beach erosion, and flooding from storm surges. Such protection is rare because the short-term economic value of oceanfront land is considered much higher than its long-term ecological value. Rising sea levels from global warming may put many barrier beaches under water by the end of this century.
Question: Do you think that the ecological values of oceanfront dunes outweigh the economic value of removing them for coastal development? Explain.
Fig. 5-26, p. 98

83. Coral Reefs
Form in clear, warm coastal waters of the subtropics and tropics
Polyps – symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae algae
Very diverse habitat
Face great threat of destruction

84. The Open Sea Separated from coastal areas by continental shelf edge
Euphotic zone
Bathyal zone
Abyssal zone

85. Threats to Oceans from Human Activity (1)
Coastal development
Overfishing
Point and nonpoint source pollution

86. Threats to Oceans from Human Activity (2)
Habitat destruction
Invasive species
Climate change

87. Human Impacts on Marine Ecosystems
Fig. 5-27, p. 99

88. What Are the Major Types of Freshwater Systems and How Have We Affected Them?
Human activities are impairing ecological and economic services provided by many rivers and freshwater lakes and wetlands.

89. Freshwater Systems
Standing water
Flowing water

90. Natural Capital of Freshwater Systems
Fig. 5-28, p. 100

91. Four Lake Zones Littoral zone Limnetic zone Profundal zone
Benthic zone

92. Zones of a Temperate Lake

93. Sunlight Blue-winged Painted teal turtle Green frog Muskrat Pond snail
Littoral zone
Plankton
Figure 5.29: Distinct zones of life in a fairly deep temperate zone lake.
Question: How are deep lakes like tropical rain forests? (Hint: See Figure 5-16.)
See an animation based on this figure at ThomsonNOW.
Limnetic zone
Diving
beetle
Profundal zone
Northern
pike
Benthic zone
Yellow perch
Bloodworms
Fig. 5-29, p. 101

94. Nutrient Content of Lakes
Lakes classified by nutrient content and primary productivity
Oligotrophic – low productivity
Eutrophic – high productivity
Mesotrophic – middle of the road
Lakes impacted by nutrients from human activity
Cultural eutrophication – introduction of fertilizers, sewage, etc hypereutrophication

95. Nutrients and Lakes
Fig. 5-30, p. 101

96. Watersheds Surface water becomes runoff into streams
Watersheds or drainage basins deliver runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to streams
Streams join to form rivers
Rivers begin in mountains or at higher elevation

97. Three Zones in the Downhill Flow of Water
Source zone
Transition zone
Floodplain zone

98. Three Zones of a Watershed

99. Lake Glacier Rain and snow Rapids Waterfall Tributary Flood plain
Oxbow lake
Salt marsh
Delta
Deposited
sediment
Ocean
Source Zone
Transition Zone
Figure 5.31: Natural capital: three zones in the downhill flow of water: source zone containing mountain (headwater) streams; transition zone containing wider, lower-elevation streams; and floodplain zone containing rivers, which empty into the ocean.
Water
Sediment
Floodplain Zone
Fig. 5-31, p. 102

100. Rain and snow
Lake
Rapids
Glacier
Waterfall
Source Zone
Deposited
sediment
Oxbow lake
Floodplain Zone
Salt marsh
Water
Sediment
Delta
Ocean
Flood plain
Tributary
Transition Zone
Figure 5.31: Natural capital: three zones in the downhill flow of water: source zone containing mountain (headwater) streams; transition zone containing wider, lower-elevation streams; and floodplain zone containing rivers, which empty into the ocean.
Stepped Art
Fig. 5-31, p. 102

101. Freshwater Wetlands Inland wetlands Ecological and economic services
Marshes
Swamps
Prairie potholes
Floodplains
Arctic tundra
Ecological and economic services

102. Human Impacts on Freshwater Systems
Dams and canals fragment 40% of world’s largest rivers
Flood control levees alter rivers
Cities and farmlands add pollutants
Many wetlands drained or filled