CLIMATE & ECOSYSTEMS

Local Climate – Complete the following exercise as directed.

1 What type of climate do you live in?

2 Keep weather records for your area for a five-day period. You should be able to find current weather information in a variety of news formats including newspapers, television, and radio programs.

Record the following information on the chart below:
• high and low temperatures
• time of sunrise and sunset
• length of daylight

High Temperature    Low Temperature Sunrise (Time)  Sunset (Time)   Length of Daylight  Precipitation

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

3 After you have completed and recorded five days of weather observation, analyze the statistics and explain whether or not your weather records are consistent with your area’s climate type.

Reading a Climograph – Study the climograph below. Use your knowledge acquired in this lesson to address the questions.

1 How many inches on average does Anchorage receive in July?

2 What is the driest month on average for Anchorage?

3 Which three months are the hottest months in Anchorage?

4 Review your knowledge of this location from the information in the lesson. Explain the connection between that knowledge and the temperatures shown on this climograph.

Discussion Questions – Answer the following questions completely and accurately.
1 Explain how nearness to bodies of water, elevation, and location in relation to nearby landforms can influence climate.

2 What is the difference between convectional and frontal precipitation?

3 What kind of climate or climates would you likely find in Western Scandinavia and the northern parts of the United Kingdom were it not for the North Atlantic Current? Why?

4 What is global warming and what has been identified as the cause of the phenomenon? What populations are at greatest risk from the effects of global warming?

5 Define the term ecosystem and provide an original example of how a change in one aspect of an ecosystem can affect other aspects or living things within that system.

Charting Climate – Complete the chart below by filling in the missing information. Use information from this lesson including maps and charts. You may also need to refer to maps found elsewhere, such as an Internet search.
CLIMATE TYPE TEMPERATURE SA = SUMMER AVG. WA = WINTER AVG. PRECIPITATION MA = MONTHLY AVG. VEGETATION CITY (WITH THIS CLIMATE TYPE)
Tropical Wet Hot all year Average = 79° 1. 2. Jakarta
Tropical Wet and Dry Hot all year Average = 79° Yearly: 50 in. Wet summer and dry winter 3. 4.

1. Hot summers and cool winters SA = 72° WA = 52° Yearly: 23in. Dry summer and mild rainy winter 6. Istanbul
2. Hot summers and cool winters SA = 77° WA = 47° 8. Temperate grassland New Orleans
3. Warm summers and cool winters SA = 60° WA = 42° 10. Coniferous forest Vancouver
   Arid 11. 12. Desert scrub Karach
   Semiarid 13. Yearly: 18 in. Dry winters Temperate grassland 14.
4. Warm summers and cool winters SA = 66° WA = 21° Yearly 27 in. Summer monthly average twice that of winter Mid-latitude grassland, deciduous forest and mixed forest 16.
   Subarctic Cool summers and very cold winters SA = 56° WA = -8° Yearly 17 in. Coniferous forest (some tundra-like vegetation) 17.
   Ice Cap 18. Yearly 8 in. Few, highly adapted plants N/A
5. Cold summers and very cold winters 20. Largely treeless; grass, moss, and lichens Barrow (AK)