1. Climate

2. Ecosystems
- made of abiotic and biotic
Abiotic Factors:
Temperature: usually a function of the ability of an organism to maintain homeostasis in the optimal range of its enzymes
Water: precipitation, bodies of water
Sunlight: base energy source for all trophic levels
Provides energy for heat  warmth, weather cycles, water cycle, ocean currents
Wind: moves air, moisture, pollution, seeds, animals
Rocks and Soils – affects plant distribution which determines animal populations
Climate: Prevailing weather conditions in the environments – mainly determined by temperature, water, sunlight and wind

3. Factors Affecting Climate:
1. Sunlight – amount and intensity is determined by latitude and tilt of earths axis - determines how directly the sun’s rays strike the earth – more direct = higher amounts of energy – Pg 96 – 97
Changes with Latitude: Sunlight becomes less direct moving away from the equator  rays are spread out more due to curvature of the earth – less concentrated rays = less energy
- also, a greater angle of entry causes the sunlight to travel through more of the atmosphere = more scattering and reflection (less direct light)

4. LATITUDINAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY
Figure 50.10
Low angle of incoming sunlight
Sunlight directly overhead
North Pole 60N
30N
Tropic of Cancer
0 (equator)
30S
60S
Atmosphere
LATITUDINAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY
Tropic of Capricorn
South pole

5. Albedo Effect: reflected sunlight
- clouds  30% of sunlight
- glaciers and ice  80 – 90%
- asphalt  10 – 15%
- oceans and forests  5 %
Non Reflected light = energy for hydrologic cycle, wind and ocean currents, photosynthesis and thermal energy for planet
- UPS trucks and School Bus tops

6. 2. Global Air Circulation: Page 99
Vertical Movement of Air
Moist air near the ground is heated causing it to rise
Ascending moist air cools resulting in condensation of the water
High, cool, dry air descends drying out the land it hits
Result of pattern: areas of wet and dry
Areas of descending air = deserts
Areas of rising air = Rain fall
Other Results: Dispersion of hot and cold air
- heat from the equator is moved away and cool air from the poles is moved down – helps regulate global temperatures

7. GLOBAL AIR CIRCULATION AND PRECIPITATION PATTERNS
Descending
dry air
absorbs
moisture
Ascending
moist air
releases
30
23.5 0
Arid zone
Tropics
60N
30N
0 (equator)
30S
60S
GLOBAL AIR CIRCULATION AND PRECIPITATION PATTERNS

8. Wind: horizontal movement of air
generated from different air pressures that result from temperature differentials and the Earth’s rotation
Air Pressure: based on altitude, water content (humidity), air temperature
Altitude: go up, pressure goes down
Humidity: go up, pressure goes up
Temperature: go up, pressure goes up
Changes in these factors causes the pressure of the air to change – differences in the air pressures results in wind – wind blows from high pressure to low pressure – greater the difference the stronger the wind
Mount Washington Video

10. Coriolis Effect: influence of the Earth’s rotation on the movement of the wind (inertia of the wind)
Rotation: West to East
– changes the direction of the wind
In Northern Hemisphere – wind swirls to the right
In Southern Hemisphere – wind swirls to the left

11. Earth’s Rotation

12. Global Wind Patterns (Prevailing Winds)
Polar Easterlies: Originate from the North and South poles
Northern Hemisphere: move from north east
Southern Hemisphere: move from south east
Westerlies: Originate in the mid-latitudes – move from the west
Tradewinds: Tropical winds – movement in 23.5 degree Latitude
NH – move from the northeast
SH – move from the southeast

14. Effects of Wind on Climate
Evaporative Cooling and Drying
Wind Force on Plant Growth  Flagging

15. 3. Bodies of Water:
High specific heat of water allows for climate regulation
Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than land keeping areas near large bodies of water more moderate
Convection Cell

16. moves inland, replacing rising warm air over land.
Cooler
air sinks
over water. 3
Air cools at
high elevation. 2 1
Warm air
over land rises. 4
Cool air over water
moves inland, replacing
rising warm air over land.

17. Oceans currents: pg 102
Produced by:
1) the prevailing winds which produce gyres (swirling masses of water)
2) influenced by the Coriolis Effect
3) Density of water in ocean
- cold, salty water is more dense than warm, less salty water
- water is densest at 4 oC
- deeper colder water moves at a different rate than the warmer surface water due to Coriolis effect

19. move warm and cool water which then heats and cools the air causing wind patterns and climate differentials
Warm water from tropics flows and heats the air and land changing the climate
Ex: England is farther north than New England but the UK is warmer because of warm ocean currents that pass by it. New England is brushed by a cold ocean current from Greenland making its climate cooler.
- water then cools, sinks and returns to the tropics to reheat
moves nutrients from place to place causing plankton blooms when the water rises from the ocean floor
- Ocean currents can change causing severe climate changes in different regions

20. 4. Mountains: Increase in altitude causes for cooler temperatures and greater wind - 6oC for every 1000 m - matches the decline in temperature as you move north by 880 km
South sides receive more sun.

21. Windward sides receive more moisture than the leeward side – wind causes air to rise up and cool its moisture is lost – as it passes over the top of the mountain, the eastern side is hit by dry air  Rain Shadow (deserts)
- deserts are often found on the leeward side of very high mountain ranges

22. Rain Shadow
Windward
Leeward

23. 5. Seasonality: changes in the angle of the sun on the earth due to the rotation of the earth around the sun and the tilt of the earth of its axis – pg 97
changes in solar intensity cause for cooler and warmer seasons – changes in temperature alter ocean currents and thus wind currents
changes the distribution of nutrients in the water which affects life cycles of organisms in the oceans
can also result in changes in weather patterns (Ex: Hurricanes)

24. SEASONAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY
June solstice: Northern
Hemisphere tilts toward
sun; summer begins in
Northern Hemisphere;
winter begins in
Southern Hemisphere.
March equinox: Equator faces sun directly;
neither pole tilts toward sun; all regions on Earth
experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of
darkness.
60N
30N
0 (equator)
30S
Constant tilt
of 23.5
September equinox: Equator faces sun
directly; neither pole tilts toward sun; all
regions on Earth experience 12 hours of
daylight and 12 hours of darkness.
December solstice: Northern
Hemisphere tilts away from sun;
winter begins in Northern
Hemisphere; summer begins
in Southern Hemisphere.
SEASONAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY

26. 6. Weather:
Precipitation:
Average Precipitation, Seasonal Distribution, Variation
Rain - determines the plant life of the area
Snow – helps replenish water supplies
Fog – Distributes moisture
Temperature:
Temp and Precipitation  Main two factors that determine plant communities
Lightning: Can start fires

27. 7. Natural Disturbances: Tornados, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Fires
Fire Ecology: Removes standing biomass
Rapid recycling of nutrients
Plant life adapted to areas with periodic fires
- seeds need fire to crack seed coat to germinate
- smoke and heat to open cones of some pine trees
- some have protective coatings
Firestick Farming

28. 8. Microclimates: protected areas in a larger climate that make for different smaller climates – Ex: Shade of a tree, under a log  specialize niches
Variations in the abiotic factors result in different types of regions called biomes. Each biome has a specific type of climate which results in a particular type of organismal community.

29. Seasonal Changes on Lake Stratification  Turn Over – Pg 131
- Based on Thermal Stratification of Water Layers
Winter: Coldest at Top of Water – decomposition of detritus in the benthic layer occurs – nutrient levels increase on the bottom of the lake

31. Spring: Surface Heats to 4oC – becomes more dense than the slightly cooler layers and all the water mixes causing the loss of thermal stratification – Wind also causes the water to move and mix – Oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake and nutrients at the bottom are brought to the top – increased solar radiation gives energy to the producers (algae and plants) that use the nutrients to grow

33. Summer – Thermal Stratification is reestablished by the heating of the surface of the water - cooler water sinks to the bottom of the lake – establishes a thermocline – layer between the warm and cold water– lots of growth in the photic layer of the lake – dead things move to the benthic layer
Autumn – water cools to the same temperature so the thermal stratification is once again removed until the winter profile is reestablished – oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake – more decomposition can occur

34. Seasonal Changes in a Lake

35. Autumn – water cools to the same temperature so the thermal stratification is once again removed until the winter profile is reestablished – oxygen is brought to the bottom of the lake – more decomposition can occur