Changing Climate Summative Remediation

Changing Climate
Summative Remediation

By Martha Horner

Factors Affecting Climate

​Latitude determines how much sunlight each region receives. Equator gets the most and Poles get the least.

Latitude

As elevation increases, temperature decreases.

​​Elevation

Wind currents move cold and warm air, as well as water vapor around the planet.

​​Wind Currents

Locations near the ocean tend to have cooler summers and warmer winters.

​​Proximity to Ocean

​Cold currents can cool air and warm currents can warm air. Cold currents decrease precipitation and warm currents increase precipitation.

​​Ocean Currents

​Topography like mountains can effect moisture flow.

​​Topography

• Latitude determines the amount of solar radiation a region receives, impacting temperature and precipitation patterns.

• Due to curvature of the planet, axial tilt, the angle at which sunlight hits the planet varies by latitude.

• Equator gets the most and poles get the least. (Angle decreases as latitude increases.)

• Temperature decreases as latitude increases.
  
  
  
  

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​Latitude

Multiple Choice

What location would receive the most direct sunlight?

• the North Pole (90 N)

• the South Pole (90 S)

• the Equator (0)

• New York (around 40 N)

Multiple Choice

What location would get the least intense, direct sunlight?

• 10 N

• 40 N

• 60 N

• 90 N

Multiple Choice

As you move further north, and further south from the Equator, latitude...

• increases

• decreases

Multiple Choice

Areas that receive more direct sunlight will feel _____________, and areas that receive less direct sunlight will feel ______________.

• warmer; colder

• colder; warmer

Multiple Choice

In the image of atmospheric heating, which type of heat transfer is happening at location C?

• Radiation

• Conduction

• Convection

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the line at zero degrees latitude?

• Equator
• Prime Meridian 
• center of the earth
• 0

Multiple Choice

The Equator is _________.

• 0°

• 90° N

• 45° N

• 90° S

Multiple Choice

The North Pole is _________.

• 0°

• 90° N

• 45° N

• 90° S

Multiple Choice

Why is the Equator warmest?

• Because it is closest to the sun.
• Because it receives the most direct sunlight
• Because no clouds form here.
• Because it is far from the sun

• As elevation increases (go up), temperature decreases.

• ​Mt Charleston at 7,510 ft has an average high temp of 79F in July.

• Las Vegas at 2,001 ft has an average high of 107F in July.

​Elevation

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best describes the relationship between elevation and air temperatures?

• LOWER elevation = COLDER temperatures
• HIGHER elevation = COLDER temperatures
• HIGHER elevations = WARMER temperatures

Our planet's surface heats unevenly due to curvature and surface differences.

Convection is when hot air rises and cool air sinks.

This generates differences in air pressure systems.

Areas of low pressure occur where hot air rises. Areas of high pressure occur where cold air sinks.

These air pressure differences generate what we know as wind. Air moves from high pressure to low pressure.

The greater the difference in air pressure, the faster the air moves and the stronger the wind is.

Coriolis effect shifts the wind from a straight line to a curved flow.

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​Wind Currents

Multiple Choice

Cool air sinks to the Earth's surface and warm air rises. When the warm air gets high enough, it cools and falls back to Earth's surface where it warms again. This cycle continues. This is called _____________.

• density

• convection

• gravity

• coriolis

Multiple Choice

The atmosphere, the land, and the water change temperatures at different rates. Put these in order from the one that changes the FASTEST to the one that changes the SLOWEST.

• atmosphere, land, water

• land, atmosphere, water

• water, land, atmosphere

• atmosphere, water, land

Multiple Choice

True or False: Air moves from low pressure to high pressure.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

This type of wind is formed near the POLES. It blows from east to west and brings freezing weather. 

• Prevailing Westerlies
• Polar Easterlies
• Polar Westerlies
• Horse Latitudes

Multiple Choice

What causes wind?

• differences in air pressure

• ocean currents

• differences in density

• tropical currents

Multiple Choice

What is the Coriolis effect?

• The apparent deflection of moving objects caused by the rotation of the Earth.

• The Coriolis effect is a phenomenon that occurs only in the Northern Hemisphere.

• The Coriolis effect is caused by the Earth's magnetic field.

Multiple Choice

Which direction does the Coriolis effect cause moving objects to deflect in the Northern Hemisphere?

• Upwards

• To the right

• To the left

Multiple Choice

At what latitude is the Coriolis effect strongest?

• 0 degrees

• 180 degrees

• 90 degrees North or South

Multiple Choice

What is the primary cause of global wind patterns?

• Uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the sun.

• The gravitational pull of the moon

• The movement of tectonic plates

Multiple Choice

The rotation of the earth causes winds to curve so that they cannot go directly from the North Pole to the South Pole. This is called the: _________________

• Convection Cell

• Jet Stream

• Coriolis Effect

Multiple Choice

When Earth's rotation causes the wind to curve, we call it the...

• cloudy 
• Coriolis effect
• high pressure
• low pressure 

Multiple Choice

What causes warm air to rise?

• the fact that it's less dense than cold air 
• The fact that it weighs more than cold air 
• The fact that it has higher pressure than cold
• the fact that its more dense than cold air 

Multiple Choice

What type of winds blow constantly, predictably, and over long distances?

• land breezes
• local winds

• global winds
• land breezes

Multiple Choice

Which statement correctly defines wind?

• Wind is the movement of air from areas of low pressure to areas of high pressure
• Wind is the movement of air to a colder area in the atmosphere.
• Wind is the movement of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
• Wind is the movement of air pushed around and bouncing off Earth's surface.

Multiple Choice

Which wind band is shown in Location B (from 60N to 30N)?

• Polar Easterlies

• Westerlies

• Trade Winds

• Polar Westerlies

Multiple Choice

Band D (from 0 - 30S) is the ____________ and moves from ________________.

• Polar Easterlies; east to west

• Westerlies; west to east

• Trade Winds; east to west

• Trade Winds; west to east

Cooler Summer Months, Warmer Winter Months

Near Ocean

Warmer Summer Months, Cooler Winter Months

Not Near Ocean

​Ocean Proximity Effects on Temperature

Less precipitation

Cold Current

​More precipitation

Warm Current

​Ocean Currents Effects on Precipitation

Mountain range perpendicular to windflow.

Clouds form and rain falls on windward side.

Leeward side gets little to no rainfall.

​

Topography: Rainshadow Effect

How Does Climate Work

Factors affecting climate interact through feedback loops.

These feedback loops can either dampen or enhance the energy flowing through the feedback loop.

When the energy is enhanced (forcing) through the feedback loop, then climate change results.

Multiple Choice

Surface Currents are driven (caused) by

• gravity

• global winds

• water density

• the ocean floor

Negative feedback loops: the initial change is dampened through the loop, stabilizing the climate system.

Positive feedback loops: the initial change is enhances, destabilizing the climate system.

​

​Feedback Loops

Multiple Choice

Currents that carry warm water are moving

• from the Equator to the poles

• from the poles to the Equator

Long term shift in temperature patterns and precipitation/storm patterns.

Examples:
--Longer warm season, shorter cold season
--Less or more rain than normal
--Stronger, more intense storms

​

​Defining
Climate Change

Multiple Choice

Currents carrying cold water are moving

• from the Equator to the poles

• from the poles to the Equator

Factors Forcing Climate Change

Multiple Choice

What happens to a current when it comes in contact with a continent or landmass?

• It continues over the continent
• It stops
• It changes direction
• It is absorbed by the land

Carbon cycle controls the amount of carbon greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (CO2, CH4).

Human interference in cycle results in excess greenhouse gases in atmosphere.

​

​Carbon Cycle

Multiple Choice

As you go deeper in the ocean, the water is colder and less salty.

• True
• False

(Part / Whole) x 100 = %

​Percent

Net Flux = (total coming in) - (total going out)

Net Flux

Special Tips: Some Math

Multiple Choice

The large, circular surface-current pattern found in each ocean.

• California Current
• Surface Current
• Gyre
• Global Conveyor Belt

Calculate Net Flux for the Ocean

Check for arrows coming into and leaving

Net Flux = (80 + 0.9) - (78.4 + 0.2) = 80.9 - 78.6 = +2.3 Pg

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Practice

Multiple Choice

Near the North Pole, water is colder, so it is _________ dense and __________.

• more; sinks

• less; sinks

• more; rises

• less; rises

Human activities interfere with carbon cycle and increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, enhancing the greenhouse effect.

​

​Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Multiple Choice

Deep ocean currents are driven (caused) by...

• differences in water density

• global wind patterns

• underwater mountains

• surface currents

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb and trap outgoing Longwave (infrared ) radiation.

When the level of greenhouse gases is just right, the planet's overall temperature stays consistent and keeps the Earth at a habitable temperature.

When the level of greenhouse gases is too high, more energy is trapped and the planet heats (global warming).

​

Greenhouse Effect

Multiple Choice

Warm, rising air creates areas of _____ pressure. Cold, sinking air creates areas of _____ pressure.

• low; high

• high; low

Multiple Choice

Because of the Earth's rotation, in the Northern Hemisphere wind and water are spun to the _________

• North

• South

• right

• left

Multiple Choice

Because of the Earth's rotation, in the Southern Hemisphere wind and water are spun to the _________

• North

• South

• right

• left

Multiple Choice

Point A is closer to the equator than point B. Which location has colder air temperatures and why?

• Point A is colder because it is closer to the equator. There is less thermal energy so the air temperature will be colder.

• Point B is colder because it is farther from the equator. There is less thermal energy so the air temperature will be colder.

Multiple Choice

Two types of ocean currents are

• local and global
• sea and land
• surface and deep
• warm and cold