Vegetation-Climate Interaction How Vegetation Makes the Global Environment pptx

[...]... least get the edge of the ITCZ throughout the year these equatorial locations tend to be quite rainy all the time; the seasonal peak just makes them extra-rainy! Farther away north or south from the equator towards the edges of the tropics, the summer "monsoon" is caused by the arrival of the ITCZ as the sun's summer heating pulls it north (into the northern hemisphere) and then south (into the southern... will be the northern summer At the same time, the southern hemisphere is getting less energy due to the sun being lower During the other half of the year, the southern hemisphere gets favored and this is the southern summer Adding to these effects of sun angle is day length; the "winter" hemisphere is in night more of the time because the lower sun spends more time below the horizon This adds to the coldness the. .. it either slightly farther south or farther north In the southern summer, the ITCZ moves to the south During spring or autumn, it moves between these two extremes, usually crossing the equator itself at these times of the year Each time the ITCZ passes over the equator, there an increase in rainfall there—so equatorial rainforest climates have two peaks in rainfall each year However, because they at... because the equator sits in the direct plane of the sun within the solar system So, if you stand on the equator during the middle part of the day, the sun passes straight overhead At higher latitudes, such as in Europe or North America, you would be standing a little way around the curve of the earth and so the sun always stays lower in the sky The farther away from the equator you go, the lower the sun... overhead throughout the year, giving the maximum amount of energy This then is the key to why the poles are cooler than the tropics The seasons of the year are also basically the result of the same sun angle effects (Figure 1.2) The earth is rotating on its axis at a slight angle to the sun, and at one part of its yearly orbit the northern hemisphere is tilted so the sun is higher in the sky; it gets... happens because the ocean currents are slammed against the shores on the west sides of ocean basins by the trade winds that blow west along the equator Both the winds and the currents bounce off the western side of the basin, and start to head away from the equator Because they are traveling with the same rotation speed as the equatorial zone, the Coriolis effect bends them off towards the east, diagonally... below the horizon—so weak that you can stare straight into it The dimness of the setting sun is an example of the effect of it having to shine through a longer path of atmosphere, which absorbs and scatters the sun's light before it can reach the surface So, the lower in the sky the sun is, the longer is its path through the atmosphere, and the less energy reaches the ground Only in the tropics is the. .. intertropical convergence zone (a) The Coriolis effect, (b) The Ekman spiral The thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Antarctica is cut off by a continuous belt of winds and currents How the rain-making machine of the tropics works How the monsoon rains move north then south of the equator during the year Cold seawater prevents rainfall, bringing about a coastal desert A view off the coast of Peru (a) Map... hitting the southern tip of South America with a glancing blow The nickname that generations of sailors have given these winds comes from their unrelenting power and their tendency to carry storms, and the fact that they stay within the 40s latitudes In the northern hemisphere, the equivalent belt of winds is located more in the fifties and low sixties, hitting Iceland, the British Isles and the southwest... TO ANOTHER? Essentially, there are two main reasons that climate varies from place to place; first, the amount of energy arriving from the sun, and second the circulation of the atmosphere and oceans which carry heat and moisture from one place to another One of the major factors determining the relative warmth of a climate is the angle of the sun in the sky The sun shines almost straight at the earth's . y0 w1 h0" alt="" Vegetation- Climate Interaction How Vegetation Makes the Global Environment Jonathan Adams Vegetation- Climate Interaction How Vegetation Makes the Global Environment 4y Sprin. around the curve of the earth and so the sun always stays lower in the sky. The farther away from the equator you go, the lower the sun stays until at the poles it is really only barely above the. determining the relative warmth of a climate is the angle of the sun in the sky. The sun shines almost straight at the earth's equator, because the equator sits in the direct plane of the sun