Transcript Dynamic Planet- Sub unit 3 Battle for the Biosphere

Dynamic Planet- Sub unit 3
Battle for the Biosphere
3.1a What is the value of
the biosphere?
What are biomes?
Why are they important?
What causes differences between them?
Key Term
• A biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal
communities best adapted to the region's physical natural
environment, latitude, altitude and terrain factors.
• A biome is composed of the climax vegetation and all associated
sub climax, or degraded, vegetation, fauna and soils, but can
often be identified by the climax vegetation type.
A community
of plants and
animals and
how they
interact with
their nonliving
environment
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A large scale
ecosystem,
with
similarities in
climate,
precipitation.
Biome
Ecosystem
Altitude
Latitude
Biodiversity
Ocean currents
A measure in
degrees from
the starting
point of 0
degrees at
the equator,
t a max of 90
degrees
north at the
North Pole
The term for
the increase
of height
from ground
level up. This
measure
reduces the
temperature
as you
increase
height
A shortened
term for
biological
diversity- the
variety of
plants and
animals
Match up the key terms
to the correct definition
on your sheet
Describe the distribution of these major biomes- desert,
deciduous forest, rainforest, Savanna and tundra
Factors that affect CLIMATE
Brainstorm the factors which you think
effect climate in the back of your book –
discuss with people around you.
1 - Latitude
1. The further you travel away from the equator the cooler it gets.
Why is this?
2. This is because the Earth is curved. Look at the picture above. The
sun rays hitting the Earth at a higher latitude are spread out over a
greater area. Over the Equator the rays are concentrated in to a
smaller area – this is why it is hot at the equator and very cold at
the poles.
3. However, the picture is more complicated than this as other factors
have a bearing on the climate in different parts of the world.
2 - Altitude
This is the effect of height on temperature - the higher you
go, the colder it gets. The sun heats up the earth’s surface
and then heat is radiated back up into the atmosphere.
The higher up, the lower the
temperature, about -1C for each 100
metres.
Everest.
During summer, temperature is strongly controlled by elevation -- cold at the
higher reaches of the Alaska and Brooks Ranges, and warmer in the lowlands.
How does elevation
affect climate?
Temperature
increases the average
As elevation _________,
annual temperature __________.
decreases
Elevation
3 - Prevailing Winds
The movement of the
earth’s winds starts at
the equator, where it is
hottest.
There are certain set
patterns of winds called
prevailing winds, which
means
that
direction
winds travels most of the
time.
Wind affects the climate
where it has travelled
over the :
Maritime - ocean
Continental - overland
4. World Wind and Pressure Belts
1.
Colour high pressure
areas BLUE and low
pressure RED
2.
Add Hadley Cells,
latitude
numbers
and wind direction
arrows
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/4316.html
How is a Hadley Cell Formed?
Cold air
sinks at
the
Horse
Latitudes
Sun heats
equator
As air cools it can
no longer rise
Air
rises
and
cools
in the
atmos
phere
Ground
heats air
HIGH
LOW
WIND moves between
high and low pressure
Sea heats up
slowly and cools
slowly.
Land heats up
quickly and cools
quickly.
In Summer the sea takes longer to
heat up, places near the sea will
be slightly cooler.
But land heats up quickly, places
in the centre of large landmasses
will be very warm.
The opposite happens in winter.
5. Continentality (Closeness to water)
These 2 places are both at the same latitude, but look at the variation
in temperature this is due to the closeness to water
How does closeness to a large
body of water affect climate?
moderates the temperature.
Water __________
Cooler summers. _______
Warmer winters.
_______
Cities A & B are located
at the same latitude.
City B is closer to a large
body of water.
Its temperature line is
flatter (moderated).
6. The effect of relief rainfall
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/538.html
The leeward
sides of the
Adirondacks &
Catskills
receive much
less
precipitation
The windward sides of the
Adirondacks & Catskills
receive a great deal more
precipitation
How does the
Orographic Effect
affect climate?
cool, moist
Windward Side: ___________
warm, dry
Leeward Side: _____________
Also known as the North Atlantic Drift.
A current of
warm water that
travels from the
Gulf of Mexico.
This, along with
the prevailing
South-Westerly
wind, enables a
relatively
warmer climate
compared to
areas on the
same latitude.
How do ocean currents
affect climate?
Warm Currents: warmer climate
Cold Currents: cooler climate
Some surfaces reflect more heat than others.
Ice reflects heat, Earth and Ocean retain heat.
Local examples
• The Congo is the Earth's second largest river by
volume and has the world's second largest rainforest
(18% of the planet's remaining tropical rainforest).
The Congo Basin represents 70% of the African
continent's plant cover and makes up a large portion
of Africa's biodiversity with over 600 tree species
and 10 000 animal species. Six nations -- Cameroon,
the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea
and Gabon -- share the 1.5 million square mile Congo
basin.
The Congo is one of the world's most threatened
ecosystems. Commercial logging, clearing for
subsistence agriculture, and widespread civil strife
has devastated forests, displaced forest dwellers,
and resulted in the expansion of the "bushmeat"
trade. Since the 1980s, Africa has had the highest
deforestation rates of any region on the globe.
Interactive climate map
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/intera
ctive_climate_map/climate_map.html
In your pairs….
• Use the information in your pack to produce a fact
file about your biome
• Draw out and annotate a climate graph- annotations
including- describing rainfall and temperature
patterns, highest and lowest temps and precipitation
amounts- also temperature range
• Draw an arrow to link your climate graph to the world
location map
• Give reasons for the climate of your biome- e.g.
latitude, albedo, altitude, prevailing wind, ocean
currents, Continentality
• Brief overview of your biome, plants, animals, humans,
structure etc
Temperature range=
difference between the
highest and lowest
temperatures in a biome
Choose From….
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Barrow Alaska Tundra
London England, Deciduous Forest
San Francisco, CA, USA- Chaparral
Dakar, Senegal, Savanna (trop grassland)
Tindouf, Algeria, Desert
Iquitos,Peru, Rainforest
Yakutz, Russia, Taiga (coniferous forest)
Latitude/Longitude = 71.2o N; 156o
W
Average Annual Temperature (oC) = 12.7o
Annual Temperature Range (oC) = 32o
Total Annual Precipitation (mm) = 110
Summer Precipitation (mm) = 74
Winter Precipitation (mm) = 36
Controlling Factors
Location in the high latitudes;
Subsidence and divergence
of the polar anticyclone (high
pressure)
Characteristics
"Summer-less"; at least 9 months
average below freezing.
Low evaporation; precipitation
usually below 10 in.
General World location
Arctic ocean border lands of
North America;
Greenland and Eurasia;
Antarctic Peninsulas;
some polar islands.
Location
Barrow Alaska
What we will do…
• With your fact files a wall display will
be made to show you the variations in
world climates
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/3235.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/3236.html
• Give reason for the differences
between Morecombe and Torremolinos