Weather & Climate
● weather / weathering - change through the long-term action of sun, rain or wind
● climate - temperature, air pressure, humidity, rainfall, sunshine, humidity
➔ Differentiate between climate and weather
1. The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what
conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the
atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.
2. There are really a lot of components to weather. Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud
cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, blizzards, ice storms,
thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, heat waves
and more.
3. In short, climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a particular
area. Some scientists define climate as the average weather for a particular region and
time period, usually taken over 30-years. It's really an average pattern of weather for a
particular region.
4. Weather reflects short-term conditions of the atmosphere while climate is the average
daily weather for an extended period of time at a certain location
➔ How does for lines influence the climate of different biomes (Consider
atmospheric circulation system- Air Motion, pressure rotation= Convection belt,
General models of atmospheric circulation) (Also consider; Oceanic system-
specific heat capacity, Surface current in the ocean)
1. Abiotic factors shape the ranges of individual species, such as our friend the
polar bear. At a more zoomed-out level, though, they also determine where
different types of biomes are found on Earth.
2. Biomes is a type or category of the ecosystem. One familiar example is the
desert biome. Each desert is in a different place and has its own unique set of
plants and animals. Still, Earth's deserts are all distinctively deserts and share
common features. They tend to have little rain, high daytime temperatures, and
sparse plants adapted to the harsh conditions.
3. Climate is the key abiotic factor that determines where terrestrial (land) biomes
are found. Each biome has a characteristic range of temperatures and level of
precipitation (rainfall and/or snowfall). If we know what temperature and
precipitation are like in a location, we can often predict what type of biome will be
found there.
4. Climate and the vegetation interact bidirectionally on many time and spatial
scales. One clear manifestation of such interaction is the global pattern of
vegetative land cover and climate. Climate may be regarded as the single factor
that exerts the largest influence on vegetation distribution and its characteristics
on a global context
5. deserts, tropical forests, savannas, and other types of vegetation are determined
to a first approximation by climate. Climate change has affected the global
distribution of vegetation from the distant past and will likely affect it into the
future. On the other hand, changes in the distribution and structure of the
vegetation may influence climate
6. As temperatures increase, the habitat ranges of many North American species
are moving north and to higher elevations. In recent decades, in both land and
aquatic environments, plants and animals have moved to higher elevations at a
median rate of 36 feet (0.011 kilometers) per decade, and to higher latitudes at a
median rate of 10.5 miles (16.9 kilometers) per decade. While this means a
range expansion for some species, for others it means movement into less
hospitable habitat, increased competition, or range reduction, with some species
having nowhere to go because they are already at the top of a mountain or at the
northern limit of land suitable for their habitat. These factors lead to local
extinctions of both plants and animals in some areas. As a result, the ranges of
vegetative biomes are projected to change across 5-20% of the land in the
United States by 2100.
➔ How does surface current affect the climate of the world?
1. One way that the world’s ocean affects weather and climate is by playing an
important role in keeping our planet warm. The majority of radiation from the sun
is absorbed by the ocean, particularly in tropical waters around the equator.
2. Land areas also absorb some sunlight, and the atmosphere helps to retain heat
that would otherwise quickly radiate into space after sunset.
3. Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and
precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles
back to the tropics. Ocean currents helps to regulate global climate, as they help
to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation that reaches the Earth’s
surface. Without currents in the ocean, regional temperatures would be more
extreme—super hot at the equator and colder toward the poles—and much less
of Earth’s land would be habitable.
➔ How is global warming affecting climate?
1. The potential future effects of global climate change include more frequent
wildfires, longer periods of drought in some regions and an increase in the
number, duration and intensity of tropical storms.
2. Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain
glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
In Montana's Glacier National Park the number of glaciers has declined to fewer
than 30 from more than 150 in 1910.
3. Much of this melting ice contributes to sea-level rise. Global sea levels are rising
0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, and the rise is occurring at a faster rate in
recent years.
4. Rising temperatures are affecting wildlife and their habitats. Vanishing ice has
challenged species such as the Adélie penguin in Antarctica, where some
populations on the western peninsula have collapsed by 90 percent or more.
5. As temperatures change, many species are on the move. Some butterflies,
foxes, and alpine plants have migrated farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
6. Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average. Yet
some regions are experiencing more severe drought, increasing the risk of
wildfires, lost crops, and drinking water shortages.
7. Some species—including mosquitoes, ticks, jellyfish, and crop pests—are
thriving. Booming populations of bark beetles that feed on spruce and pine trees,
for example, have devastated millions of forested acres in the U.S.
➔ How can we reduce global warming?
1. Power your home with renewable energy.
2. Gas-smart cars, such as hybrids and fully electric vehicles, save fuel and money.
And once all cars and light trucks meet 2025’s clean car standards, which means
averaging 54.5 miles per gallon, they’ll be a mainstay. For good reason: Relative
to a national fleet of vehicles that averaged only 28.3 miles per gallon in 2011,
Americans will spend $80 billion less at the pump each year and cut their
automotive emissions by half.
3. Create more sustainable transportation habits
➔ Components of weather measurements
1. There are six main components, or parts, of weather. They are temperature,
atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness. Together,
these components describe the weather at any given time.
Factors affecting weather
- The five factors that determine the weather of any land area are: the amount of
solar energy received because of latitude; the area's elevation or proximity to
mountains; nearness to large bodies of water and relative temperatures of land and
water; the number of such storm systems as cyclones, hurricanes, and thunderstorms
resulting from air-mass differences; and the distribution of air pressure over the land
and nearest oceans, which produces varying wind and air mass patterns.
- Air movement causes the redistribution of energy and matter; wind carries matter.
- Soil that is part of the continental shift acts like fertilizer
- Regions with more exposure to the sun’s rays are warmer like in the tropics where
there is lesser seasonal variation. Air is cooler as it reaches the upper levels of the
atmosphere.
- CO2 released into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels (responsible for 66
percent of anthropogenic greenhouse effect)
- Ocean currents
Impact on Biodiversity
Healthy ecosystems require a vast assortment of plant and animal life, from soil microbes to top
level predators like bears and wolves. If one or more species is removed from this environment,
no longer serving its niche, it can harm the ecosystem. Introducing foreign or invasive species
into a habitat can have similar results, as the invasive species can out-compete the native species
for food or territory. Biodiversity affects our food, medicine, and environmental well-being.
Many modern medicines, like aspirin, caffeine and morphine, are modeled after chemical
compositions found in plants. If undiscovered or uninvestigated wildlife species disappear, it
would disadvantage scientists trying to uncover new sources of inspiration for future vaccines
and medications.
Climate means the average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time—usually 30
years or longer. A region’s climate includes systems in the air, water, land and living organisms.
Climate change is the shift or abnormal change in climate patterns. As the planet warms quickly,
mostly due to human activity, climate patterns in regions around the world will fluctuate.
Ecosystems and biodiversity will be forced to fluctuate along with the regional climate, and that
could harm many species.
These climate change impacts are in part due to how we have altered land use. Turning natural
areas into cities or agricultural fields not only diminishes biodiversity, but can make warming
worse by chopping down trees and plants that help cool the planet. Changes in climate can also
intensify droughts, decrease water supply, threaten food security, erode and inundate coastlines,
and weaken natural resilience infrastructure that humans depend on.
Many changes have been reported in the distribution of species. In general, many species have
expanded their ranges poleward in latitude and upward in elevation. Evidence of contraction in
species’ distribution is limited, however, possibly due to reporting difficulties and time lag in
such contractions due to a wide variety of possible mechanism such as population dynamics.
Populations of many species have declined, and although in some cases climate change is
believed to have contributed to the decline, attributing this is fraught with difficulty as it is likely
to be only one driver amongst many. At the species level, changes observed that can be attributed
to climate change involve those surrounding phenology (the timing of events). Many birds and
insects are showing changes, such as earlier onset of migration, egg-laying and breeding. In
terms of ecosystems, there has been some evidence on changes in distribution. e.g. desert
ecosystems have expanded, and tree lines in mountain systems have changed. Changes in the
composition of ecosystems have also been observed (e.g. increased lianas in tropical forest).
Such changes may affect ecosystem function and the ecosystem services they provide. Changes
in biodiversity and ecosystem services due to climate change are not all negative, with some
species either thriving or adapting.
Most of these observed changes are modest, which is possibly due to the limited change in
climate that has occurred. However, future projected changes in climate are much larger. IPCC
AR4 suggests that approximately 10% of species assessed so far will be at an increasingly high
risk of extinction for every 1°C rise in global mean temperature, within the range of future
scenarios modelled in impacts assessments (typically <5°C global temperature rise). Aquatic
freshwater habitats and wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, arctic and alpine ecosystems, and cloud
forests are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Montane species and
endemic species have been identified as being particularly vulnerable because of narrow
geographic and climatic ranges, limited dispersal opportunities, and the degree of non-climate
pressures. Potential impacts of climate change on genetic diversity are little understood, though it
is thought that genetic diversity will increase the resilience of species to climate change.
Impact on Weather Patterns
Average temperatures have risen across the contiguous 48 states since 1901, with an increased
rate of warming over the past 30 years. Eight of the top 10 warmest years on record have
occurred since 1998. Average global temperatures show a similar trend, and all of the top 10
warmest years on record worldwide have occurred since 1998. Within the United States,
temperatures in parts of the North, the West, and Alaska have increased the most.
Many extreme temperature conditions are becoming more common. Since the 1970s, unusually
hot summer days (highs) have become more common over the last few decades in the United
States. Unusually hot summer nights (lows) have become more common at an even faster rate.
This trend indicates less “cooling off” at night. Although the United States has experienced many
winters with unusually low temperatures, unusually cold winter temperatures have become less
common—particularly very cold nights (lows). Record-setting daily high temperatures have
become more common than record lows. The decade from 2000 to 2009 had twice as many
record highs as record lows.
Total annual precipitation has increased over land areas in the United States and worldwide.
Since 1901, precipitation has increased at an average rate of 0.08 inches per decade over land
areas worldwide. However, shifting weather patterns have caused certain areas, such as the
Southwest, to experience less precipitation than usual.
In recent years, a higher percentage of precipitation in the United States has come in the form of
intense single-day events. The prevalence of extreme single-day precipitation events remained
fairly steady between 1910 and the 1980s but has risen substantially since then. Nationwide, nine
of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events have occurred since 1990. The
occurrence of abnormally high annual precipitation totals (as defined by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration) has also increased
Tropical storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico has
increased during the past 20 years. Storm intensity is closely related to variations in sea surface
temperature in the tropical Atlantic. However, changes in observation methods over time make it
difficult to know for sure whether a longer-term increase in storm activity has occurred. Records
collected since the late 1800s suggest that the actual number of hurricanes per year has not
increased.
Increases and decreases in the frequency and magnitude of river flood events vary by region.
Floods have generally become larger across parts of the Northeast and Midwest and smaller in
the West, southern Appalachia, and northern Michigan. Large floods have become more frequent
across the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and parts of the northern Great Plains, and less frequent
in the Southwest and the Rockies.
Average drought conditions across the nation have varied since records began in 1895. The
1930s and 1950s saw the most widespread droughts, while the last 50 years have generally been
wetter than average. However, specific trends vary by region. A more detailed index developed
recently shows that over the period from 2000 through 2015, roughly 20 to 70 percent of the U.S.
land area experienced conditions that were at least abnormally dry at any given time.
