CLIMATE
SCIENCE
CLIMATE VARIETY
WORLD CLIMATE ZONES
CLIMATE
GLOBAL WARMING
GLOBAL CLIMATE MODEL
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE
GREENHOUSE GASES
CARBON FOOTPRINT
CLIMATE LINKS
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SECTION 1
CLIMATE
VARIETY
Climate is the atmospheric condition
in a certain location near the surface
of the Earth. Each type can change
with the change in the local seasons.
CLIMATE
VARIETY
There are many types of climates
across the Earth. You live in one
of them or one the border between
two. Every year as the seasons
change, your climate changes a bit.
It might get warmer or colder.
You might have more or less rain.
You might have more or less sunlight
that changes all of that other stuff.
Scientists have broken down the
world's climates into a few types:
Polar: Ice Caps
Polar: Tundra
Subtropical: Dry Summer
Subtropical: Dry Winter
Subtropical: Humid
Subtropical: Marine West Coast
Subtropical: Mediterranean
Subtropical: Wet
Tropical: Monsoon
Tropical: Savannah/Grasslands
Tropical: Wet
Geography4Kids.com
http://www.geography4kids.com/
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SECTION 2
WORLD
CLIMATE
ZONES
Have you ever wondered why one
area of the world is a desert,
another a grassland, and another
a rainforest?
Why are there different forests
and deserts, and why are there
different types of life in each
area?
The answer
is climate.
Climate is the characteristic
condition of the atmosphere near
the earth's surface at a certain
place on earth.
It is the long-term weather of
that area (at least 30 years).
This includes the region's general
pattern of weather conditions,
seasons and weather extremes like
hurricanes, droughts, or rainy
periods.
Two of the most important factors
determining an area's climate are
air temperature and precipitation.
World biomes are controlled by
climate. The climate of a region
will determine what plants will
grow there, and what animals will
inhabit it.
All three components,
climate,
plants,
animals are interwoven
to create the fabric
of a biome.
Blue Planet Biomes
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/
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SECTION 3
CLIMATE
The climate is commonly considered
to be the weather averaged over a
long period of time, typically 30
years.
Somewhat more precisely,
the concept of:
"climate"
also includes the statistics
of the weather such as the
degree of;
day-to-day
or
year-to-year
variation expected.
The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change(IPCC)
glossary definition is:
Climate in a narrow sense is usually
defined as the “average weather”, or
more rigorously, as the statistical
description in terms of the mean and
variability of relevant quantities
over a period of time ranging from
months to thousands or millions of
years.
The classical period is 30 years, as
defined by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO).
These quantities are most often surface
variables such as the temperature,
precipitation, and wind. Climate in a
wider sense is the state, including a
statistical description, of the climate
system.
World
Meteorological
Organization
http://www.wmo.int/
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SECTION 4
GLOBAL
WARMING
Global warming is the observed
increase in the average temperature
of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans
in recent decades, and its projected
continuation.
The uncertainty in this range results
from both the difficulty of predicting
the volume of future greenhouse gas
emissions and uncertainty about climate
sensitivity and feedback effects.
An increase in global temperatures can
in turn cause other changes, including
a rising sea level and changes in the
amount and pattern of precipitation.
These changes may increase the frequency
and intensity of extreme weather events,
such as:
floods,
droughts,
heat waves,
hurricanes,
tornados.
Other consequences
include:
higher or lower
agricultural yields,
glacier retreat,
reduced summer
streamflows,
species extinctions,
increases in the ranges
of disease vectors.
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SECTION 5
GLOBAL
CLIMATE
MODEL
Calculations of global warming from
a range of climate models under the
SRES A2 emissions scenario, which
assumes no action is taken to reduce
emissions.
The geographic distribution of surface
warming during the 21st century
calculated by the HadCM3 climate model
if a business as usual scenario is
assumed for economic growth and most
greenhouse gas emissions.
In this figure, the globally averaged
warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F)
Scientists have studied global warming
with computer models of the climate.
Before the scientific community accepts
a climate model, it has to be validated
against observed climate variations.
Climate models can produce a good match
to observations of global temperature
changes over the last century.
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CLIMATE
MODELS
LINKS
Green Facts
http://www.greenfacts.org/
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)
http://www.ipcc.ch/
NOAA's Global Warming
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
National Center for Atmospheric
Research NCAR
http://www.ucar.edu/research/climate/
NATURE MAGAZINE
http://www.nature.com/
NOAA ESRL Global
Monitoring Division
http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/climate.html/
Pew Center on Global
Climate Change
http://www.pewclimate.org/
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PHYSICS MAIL
http://www.physicsmail.org/
Potsdam Institute for
Climate Impact Research
http://www.pik-potsdam.de/
RealClimate
http://www.realclimate.org/
U.S. Climate Change
Science Program
http://www.climatescience.gov/
Vega Science Trust
http://www.vega.org.uk/
Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution
http://www.whoi.edu/
World Meteorological
Organization
http://www.aip.org/
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SECTION 6
THE
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
PANEL
ON
CLIMATE
CHANGE
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) was established in 1988
by two United Nations organizations,
the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), to assess the risk of
human-induced climate change, based
mainly on peer reviewed and published
scientific/technical literature.
IPCC reports are widely cited in almost
any debate related to climate change.
National and international responses to
climate change generally regard the UN
climate panel as authoritative.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
PANEL ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
IPCC
LINKS
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
PANEL ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
IPCC
http://www.ipcc.ch/
GreenFacts
http://www.greenfacts.org/
The Vega Science Trust
http://www.vega.org.uk/
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SECTION 7
GREENHOUSE
GASES
Greenhouse gases are components of
the atmosphere that contribute to
the greenhouse effect.
Some greenhouse gases occur naturally
in the atmosphere, while others result
from human activities.
Naturally occurring
greenhouse
gases include:
water vapor,
carbon dioxide,
methane,
nitrous oxide,
ozone.
Certain human activities, however,
add to the levels of most of these
naturally occurring gases.
GREENHOUSE
GASES
LINKS
CO2 Calculator
http://www.co2calc.co.uk/
Australian Greenhouse
Gas Initiative
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/
Climate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate
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SECTION 8
CARBON
FOOTPRINT
Carbon Footprint is a measure of
the impact human activities have
on the environment in terms of
the amount of green house gases
produced, measured in units of
carbon dioxide.
We all contribute to global warming
every day. The carbon dioxide you
produce by driving your car and
leaving the lights on adds up
quickly.
You may be surprised by how much Co2
you are emitting each year. Calculate
your personal impact and learn how you
can take action to reduce or even
eliminate your emissions of carbon
dioxide.
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CARBON
FOOTPRINT
LINKS
Be Green Now
http://www.begreennow.com/
Carbon Calculator
http://www.carboncalculator.co.uk/
Carbon Footprint
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Carbon Fund.org
http://www.carbonfund.org/
Climate Crisis
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
My Carbon Footprint
http://www.mycarbonfootprint.eu/
Safe Climate
http://www.safeclimate.net/
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SECTION 9
CLIMATE
LINKS
AgClimate
http://www.agclimate.org/
Arctic Change Indicator
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/detect/
Bering Climate and Ecosystem
http://www.beringclimate.noaa.gov/
Carbon Footprint
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Climate.org
http://www.climate.org/
Climate Ark
http://www.climateark.org/
CLIMATE CRISIS
http://www.climatecrisis.net/
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Climate Charts For USA
and Global Locations
http://www.chartsgraphsdiagrams.com/
Climate Prediction.Net
http://www.climateprediction.net/
US Climate Change
Science Program
http://www.climatescience.gov/
Climate Science
http://www.climatescience.org.nz/
Climate Science Watch
http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/
CLIMATE ZONE
http://www.climate-zone.com/
ESPERE Climate Encyclopaedia
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/
The Exploratorium
http://www.exploratorium.com/
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Extreme Temperatures Around
the World-Historical
http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm/
Environmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/
Geography 4 Kids.com
http://www.geography4kids.com/
Greenpeace International
http://www.greenpeace.org/
Institute for Atmospheric and
Climate Science IACETH
http://www.iac.ethz.ch/
METEOROLOGY CLIMATE
http://www.meteorologyclimate.com/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration NOAA
http://www.noaa.gov/
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Real Climate
http://www.realclimate.org/
TERRA DAILY
http://www.terradaily.com/
Weatherbase
http://www.weatherbase.com/
The Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com/
The Weather Channel Australia/
http://www.weather.com.au/
The Weather Classroom
http://www.weatherclassroom.com/
The Weather Underground
http://www.wunderground.com/
World Climate
http://www.worldclimate.com/
CLIMATE INDEX
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