Powerpoint Modified From Harte & Hungate and Chapin (HTTP://WWW - Faculty.uaf - Edu/fffsc/)
Powerpoint Modified From Harte & Hungate and Chapin (HTTP://WWW - Faculty.uaf - Edu/fffsc/)
Powerpoint Modified From Harte & Hungate and Chapin (HTTP://WWW - Faculty.uaf - Edu/fffsc/)
• Chap. 2
Introduction
I. Forces that drive climate and their global patterns
A. Solar Input – Earth’s energy budget
B. Seasonal cycles
C. Atmospheric circulation
D. Oceanic circulation
E. Landform effects
F. Vegetation feedbacks
II. Variability in climate
A. Seasonally (see I.B.)
B. Yearly – El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
C. Millenial
D. Human impacts
1.3
Climate gives rise to predictable types of ecosystems
2.21
Climate is a key mechanism by which ecosystems interact with
the total Earth System
1.2
Observation: predictable patterns of
ecosystem distribution across Earth
Plate 1
Major goals in this lecture
Answer these questions:
I. - What are the forces that drive climate?
- Are there predictable patterns of climate
across the globe?
II. Why and how does climate vary through
time?
– Seasonally
– Annually
– Millenial scales
– Human effects
I. What are the forces that drive
climate?
What are the global patterns?
2.1
Energy in = energy out
The atmosphere is
transparent to
shortwave but absorbs
longwave radiation
(greenhouse effect)
The atmosphere is
heated from the
bottom by longwave
radiation and convection
2.2
The atmosphere is heated
from the bottom
Therefore it is warmest
near the bottom,
and gets colder with
increasing
elevation
Mesosphere and
Thermosphere have little
impact on the biosphere.
2.3
Uneven heating of Earth’s surface causes predictable latitudinal
variation in climate.
2.5
B. Seasonality
What causes seasons?
2.20
Tilt!
Because of the tilt of Earth’s axis, the amount of
radiation received by Northern and Southern
Hemispheres varies through the year
- angle of incidence and day length
2.20
Look at this light projected onto the globe.
Earth’s Seasons
ilt of the Earth’s axis towards or away from the sun creates the seasons
When the north pole tilts toward the SUMMER (Northern Hemisphere)
sun, it gets more radiation – more warmth ol e
P
during the summer
orth
N
ator
Equ
r th
Ea
Pole
When the north pole tilts toward the
o uth
sun, the south pole tilts away S
So when it’s summer in the north,
it’s winter in the south
WINTER (Southern Hemisphere)
Earth’s Seasons
ilt of the Earth’s axis towards or away from the sun creates the seasons
WINTER (Northern Hemisphere)
r t h
Ea r
q u ato
E
Po le
o uth When the north pole tilts away from the
S sun, the south pole tilts toward it…
When it’s winter in the north,
SUMMER (Southern Hemisphere)
it’s summer in the south
Common geographic boundaries relate directly to
Earth’s tilt
2.20
C. Atmospheric circulation
Questions
1. Why are there rainforests in the tropics and deserts at ~30oN
and S?
Therefore
1. Net transfer of energy from
Equator to poles.
2. Transfer occurs through
circulation of atmosphere and oceans.
2.5
Intense radiation at the
equator warms the air
Air cools as it
rises, moisture
condenses and
falls as rain
Deserts Deserts
The descending air flows N and S
These are called circulation
cells – the basic units of
Circulation patterns Vertical atmospheric circulation
repeat at 30-60º and
60-90º… Hadley
cells
Wet
Dry Dry
Dry Dry
Air rises and falls
in Hadley, Ferrel, and
Polar cells
(vertical circulation)
Circulation cells
explain global
distribution of
rainfall
Earth’s rotation
determines
wind direction
(horizontal circulation,
Coriolis force)
Plate 1
D. Ocean currents
Questions:
1. Why is San Francisco so cold?
2. Why is London so warm?
D. Surface ocean currents are similar to wind patterns:
1. Driven by Coriolis forces
2. Driven by winds
2.10
2.9
E. Landform effects on climate
Mountain effects
– Orographic precipitation
– Rain shadow
– Effects of aspect
– Air drainage (inversion, arising due to
topography, where cold air settles in
valleys, for example)
Climate of any region is
predictable from
topography, wind and
ocean currents
http://www.ocs.orst.edu/pub/maps/Precipitation/Total/States/WA/wa.gif
F. Vegetation effects on climate
2.21
Vegetation effects on climate
Rt – r(a) = E + C + G
1. Rt is total solar radiation reaching Earth
2. r is reflected radiation, a function of albedo (a)
3. E is latent heat transfer, driven by
evapotranspiration
4. C is convective heat transfer (sometimes called
sensible heat flux)
5. G is storage
Vegetation can alter albedo
• Leaf color
– Land-use change:
Grazing, exposes soil, increases albedo, reducing net
radiation, decreasing latent heat flux (less evapotrans)
Over large enough scales, such changes can alter regional
precipitation
Similar phenomenon for deforestation
rough
smooth
2.9
ENSO events result from
weakening of tropical Pacific
atmospheric and oceanic
circulation
2.19
II. C. Millenial scale variation
Changes in orbit cause long-term variations in solar input to Earth
Shape of orbit
(100,000 yrs)
Wobble of tilt
(23,000 yrs)
Angle of tilt
(41,000 yrs)
2.14
Eccentricity: The Earth's orbit around the sun is an
ellipse. The shape of the elliptical orbit, which is measured by its
eccentricity, varies through time.
The eccentricity affects the difference in the amounts of radiation
the Earth's surface receives at aphelion and at perihelion.
When the orbit is highly elliptical, one hemisphere will have hot
summers and cold winters; the other hemisphere will have warm
summers and cool winters.
Wobble in
the tilt
Precession: Present and past orbital locations of
the Earth during the N Hemisphere winter
Milankovitch cycles
• The interactive effects of Earth’s orbital variation
on timing and distribution of total solar input.
• Strong effect on glacial/interglacial cycles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vostok_420ky_4curves_insolation.jpg
D. Human effects
• Global warming
Earth’s climate is now warmer than at any time in the last 1000 years
2.16
How can the
atmosphere warm?
2.2
Most major greenhouse gases are increasing
in atmospheric concentrations
15.3
Earth’s climate is now warmer than at any time in the last 1000 years
1. increased solar input (small warming effect)
2. Increased sulfate aerosols reflects radiation (small cooling effect)
3. Increased greenhouse gas concentrations (large warming effect)
4. Land-cover change creates a darker surface (large warming effect)
2.16
Climate is warming most rapidly at high latitudes
END
In January…
At 30º N & S, air descends more strongly over cold ocean than over land
At 60 º N & S, air descends more strongly over cold land than over ocean
These pressure gradients create geographic variation in prevailing winds
F. Vegetation effects on climate