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ESS 111 || Climate and Climate Classification
ESS 111 || Climate and Climate Classification
33
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 1
11/08/2018

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Cards

Term
What is the long-term statistical properties of the atmosphere for an area?
Definition
Climate
Term
What are the fundamental variables for climate analysis?
Definition
Temperature and Precipitation
Term
What are the following:

Latitude

Change Of Solar Radiation Input

Land vs Ocean

Altitude and Elevation

Atmospheric Circulations

Oceanic Circulations
Definition
Climate Controls
Term
What are based on the following properties:

Temperature

Precipitation

Air Mass Types

Seasonal Variations In Water Balance For An Area
Definition
Climate Classifications
Term
What is based on natural vegetation types as indicators of of average temperature and precipitation?
Definition
Koeppen Climate Classification
Term
What makes Severe Midlatitude Climate worse than Mild Midlatitude?
Definition
Harsher Winter Weather
Term
What Climate Classification Is Based Solely on Precipitation Amounts?
Definition
Dry
Term
Tropical Koeppen Climates are where?
Definition
Near The Equator
Term
What are the qualities of Tropical Climate?
Definition
Warm annual temperatures and with little temperature variation.
Term
What are the qualities of monsoonal climates?
Definition
Considered the transition climate between tropical wet and tropical wet dry climates, with varying precipitation rates.
Term
What is the primary control for Mild Midlatitude climates?
Definition
Latitude
Term
What are some of the qualities of Severe Midlatitude Cyclones?
Definition
Huge swings in temperature, high latitude, not a lot of precipitation.
Term
What are the following:

1.) The uneven distribution of land and ocean.

2) The role of elevation, with high-elevation locations colder than would be expected solely on the basis of latitude.

3) Prevailing atmospheric and ocean circulations for many places a dominant influence.
Definition
The Three Controlling Factors Of Climate
Term
Describe Tropical Climate
Definition
Climates in which the average temperature for all months is greater than 18 C.
Term
Describe Dry Climate
Definition
Potential evaporation exceeds precipitation.
Term
Describe Mild Midlatitude Climate
Definition
The coolest month of the year had an average temperature higher than -3C but below 18C.
Term
Describe Severe Midlatitude Climate
Definition
Winters have at least occasional snow cover, with the coldest month having a mean temperature below -3 C. Summers are typically mild.
Term
Describe Polar Climate
Definition
All months have mean temperatures below 10 C.
Term
Sunspots correlate to what?
Definition
Increased Solar Activity
Term
More Solar Activity Correlates To What?
Definition
More Solar Energy
Term
What generates Solar Flares?
Definition
Sun Spots
Term
Sunspot numbers increase and decrease over a cycle of how many years?
Definition
11
Term
Sunspots can last for how long?
Definition
Hours to Months
Term
How much hotter does the sun become with solar activity is increased?
Definition
.1 to .2%
Term
The absence of sunspots was well observed when?
Definition
1645 to 1715
Term
What coincided with a cool climatic period in Europe and North America?
Definition
The Maunder Minimum
Term
Define Perihelion
Definition
The place in the orbit closest to the sun.
Term
What refer to regular natural variations in the Earth's orbit around the sun?
Definition
Milankovitch Cycles
Term
What are changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit around the sun every 100,000 years?
Definition
Eccentricity
Term
What is the wobbling of the Earth's axis of rotation every 22,000 years?
Definition
Precession
Term
What are changes in the tilt of Earth's axis every 41,000 years?
Definition
Obliquity
Term
How Do Volcanoes Effect Climate?
Definition
Volcanic ejecta may block sunlight.

Multiple eruptions in a short time period can have long term effects on climate.
Term
How Tectonic Plates Affect Climate?
Definition
Mountain building and land erosion affect climate over the course of billions of years.
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