BIOL 3863 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Milankovitch Cycles, Ocean Current, Rain Shadow
7 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Climate long term averages: most important to ecology compared to weather, sun (solar radiation) is the ultimate source of energy and climate. Greenhouse gases: gases in atmosphere that reflect heat back down to earth, most common gases are h20, co2, ch4, and n2o. Intensity of solar radiation drives climate: differences in intensities are a result of the angle that it hits the earth, ex. Radiation that hits more perpendicular will be more intense: usually most intense near the equator, lower variation in temperature around equator compared to other latitudes. Water has higher heat capacity than land: holds heat longer, therefore, temperature of water and land nearby is more stable year round. Warm air/water rises because it is less dense: warm air holds more water, but water vapor condenses as it rises and cools. Hadley cells: warm air rises at equator and condenses into clouds. Travels n and s around 30 degrees and then lowers, where it picks up additional water.
