Future of Physical Geography - Essay Example

There are, also, other meteorological factors that make up the climate for a certain region and causes variations over a period of time. There are several different theories used to determine and study climate changes over short and long periods of time. The Thornthwaite system uses the study of temperature and precipitation as well as studying animal species, their diversity and how it impacts climate changes. The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic system focuses mainly on the origin or air masses that make up the climate of a certain region.

Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates. Since education and study of climates was not prevalent until the 19th century, this type of climate study uses non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lakebeds, ice cores, tree rings and coral. Historical time spans show that there are a number of variables that determine climate which include, latitude, altitude, percent proportion of land to water, and the location to oceans and mountains. Another factor that plays a role and is more regional, are warming of the oceans and how the heat is distributed between land and water Also, density of vegetation and how it affects solar heat absorption, retention of water, and rainfall regionally.

Alterations in atmospheric greenhouse gases determine the amount of solar energy retained by our planet. This, in turn, leads to global warming or cooling. There are many variables that determine our weather, and they all interact with each other in various regions to produce differing climates. In the next few paragraphs I will break down the different climates and show their characteristics. Differing climate range from the moist dampness of the rain forests to the dry air of the deserts, and others in between.

The rain forests are typically characterized by high rainfall. This area averages between 69 inches and 79 inches of rain per year. The temperatures in this climate average also around 64 degrees during all the months of the year. A Monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind, which can last for months at the time. It usually is the onset of a regions’ rainy season. The areas known for this climate are North America, South America, the lower Saharan Africa, Australia and Eastern Asia. A Tropical Savanna is a grassland biome located in a semi-humid area of subtropical and tropical latitudes.

The average temperatures in these areas are 64 degrees year round. The rainfall in this type of area averages 30 to 50 inches in a year. This type of climate is also found in India, Malaysia, Australia and some northern parts of South America. The Humid Subtropical climate zone is associated with large storms of winter snowfall and rainfall. However, most rainfall during the summer months consists of thunderstorms and a few tropical cyclones. These climatic areas are located roughly between latitudes 20 degrees and 40 degrees away from the equator and on the east side continents.

A Humid Continental climate is characterized by variable weather patterns and large variance in seasonal temperatures. These areas usually see temperatures averaging 50 degrees in the warm months and 26.6 degrees in the cooler months. An Oceanic Climate is most often found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of the entire world’s continents. This type of climate can be found also in Australia and characterized by heavy rainfall year round. Hot, dry summers and cool