Climates and landscapes on the Earth

There are several climate zones in the world:

• One hot zone between both two tropics. It is due to the sun, which falls on the surface vertically.

• Two temperate zones between the tropics and the polar circles in each hemisphere. The sun falls on the surface in an oblique way.

• Two cold zones above each polar circle. Insolation is minimal since the sun falls on the surface extremely obliquely.

CLIMATES OF THE EARTH

Climate Zones• HOT CLIMATE

– Tropical rainforest or equatorial climate– Tropical or savannah climate

• Whet tropical climate• Dry tropical climate

– Hot Desert Climate• TEMPERATE CLIMATES

– Oceanic climate– Mediterranean climate– Continental climate– Humid sub-tropical or Chinese climate

• COLD CLIMATES– Polar climate– Alpine climate

HOT CLIMATE:Tropical rainforest or equatorial climate

•It is located around the equator, so it is only found in Africa, America, Indonesia and some Oceania’s islands.•Its temperatures are quite stable throughout the year and are usually 25ºC average.•It is a really humid climate since its precipitations exceed 2,000 mm/year.•There is not any seasonal change.

Tropical or savannah climate• Wet tropical climate:

•Its temperatures are quite high, although it is warmer during the humid season. They are never below 18ºC.•It has a humid season with high precipitations. Total amount is between 500 and 2,000 mm/year.•It has a short dry season when precipitations are almost non existent.

• Dry tropical climate

This climate gets drier as it gets closer to the tropic.•Its temperatures are really high.•It has irregular rain during the summer.•This climate is a transition to the desert climate.

Hot desert climateIt is usually located close to the tropics.•It is a really hot climate during the day (c. 50ºC), but it cools during the night (c. 0ºC). However its average temperature is above 18ºC.•It is extremely dry, since it rains less than 250 mm/year. When it rains it falls as heavy downpours.

TEMPERATE CLIMATES

They are located between the tropics and the polar circles. All of them have four different seasons with changes in temperatures and precipitations.

Oceanic climate• It is usually a climate

located on the west coasts of the continents at mid-latitude:

• Its temperatures are quite mild, since its average is between 10 and 15ºC.

• It has regular and abundant rain, more usual in winter. It exceeds 1,000 mm/year.

Mediterranean climateIt is mostly located around the Mediterranean Sea, although it has some other locations in South Africa, California, Chile, and Australia:•Its winter is quite mild, but its summer is hot and dry. Its average temperature is around 15ºC.•Precipitations are quite irregular and non-abundant (never over 800 mm/year). They are more common in spring and autumn.

Continental climate

It is a climate with very little maritime influence since it is usually inland. It can only be found in the northern hemisphere (Europe, Asia, North America):•Temperatures vary a lot between summers (hot) and winters (really cold). Its average temperature is around 9ºC.•Precipitations are irregular and they fall mostly in summer (circa 700 mm/year)

Humid sub-tropical or Chinese climateIt can be mostly found in China,southeast of the USA, River Plate, and east of Australia:•Temperatures: Its winter is mild and dry. Summer is really hot (almost tropical) and rainy.•Precipitations are above 1,000 mm/year, whereas the average temperature is between 15 and 20ºC.

COLD CLIMATESThey are located in high latitudes and altitudes.

• Polar climate

It is located above the polar circles:•There is not any warm summer.•Average temperatures are around 0ºC and they can reach up to -50ºC.•There are very few precipitations (less than 300 mm/year), althoughthey remain frozen due to the extremely low temperatures.

• Alpine climate

It is located in the highest mountains of the world:•Its temperatures are quite low, since their average does not exceed 5ºC.•It is a rainy climate with more than 1,500 mm/year

THE EARTH´S LANDSCAPESHOT CLIMATE LANDSCAPES• Equatorial landscapes

•This landscape is affected by the equatorial climate.•The typical vegetal formation is the rainforest.

•It is really thick and evergreen.•Trees are quite high and do not let sunlight go down.•There are some shrubs, ferns, creepers, and lianas.•The typical trees are mahogany, ebony and rubber trees.

•Rivers are regular and have a large flow. The main examples are the Amazon, and the Congo.•Its fauna is really varied of species, such as jaguar, monkey (chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan), snake (anaconda), spider, hummingbird, parrots, some insects...•Soils are quite poor and make agriculture difficult. They are mostly leached and have very few nutrients.

•The inhabitants of this region practise traditional and semi-nomadic agriculture by felling the forest.

-They mostly grow tubers such as yam and cassava (or manioc).

•On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, Antilles and Guiana it is quite typical the agriculture of plantation:

- It is mostly developed by international companies.- It is based on monoculture crops, such as sugar, coffee, rubber, tobacco...- It is usually sold abroad.

This landscape varies according to the kind of tropical climate.•The wet tropical climate has a very similar landscape to the equatorial climate.•The dry tropical climate can have several kinds of landscapes:

• The most important formation is the savannah: It is a grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees beingsufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.They typical species are acacia and baobab. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground tosupport an unbroken herbaceous layer. They can grow up to 4 metres in the humid season.• Around the rivers grows the gallery forest composed of species than need alot of water and that make a quite thick forest.•Next to the desert areas the steppe is usual, since there is very little water and that does not let trees grow

•Tropical landscapes

•Rivers are slightly irregular with high rises in flow during the humid season and low water during the dry season. Major tropical rivers are the Orinoco, the Zambezi, and the upper course of the Nile.•Its fauna is really important since the great mammals live in this kind of landscape, such as the lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, zebra, hyena, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, antelope...•Soils are not really rich either and that makes agriculture difficult. It is mostly unirrigated agriculture with several kinds of crops.

• Monsoon Asian landscapes

•It is located in Southeast Asia (India, Bangladesh, Burma, Indochina and southeast China).•This landscape is affected by the monsoon, a kind of wind with two major characteristics basing on the season:

o Winter monsoon. It is cold and dry wind that blows from Central Asia towards the Indian Ocean.o Summer monsoon. It is a warm and humid wind that blows from the Indian Ocean towards Central Asia.The vegetation is exposed to massive summer rainfalls:o Deciduous forest: Teak, shorea.o Monsoon forest: Bamboo.

•Rivers have a large flow and their level rises during the humid season: Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze (Blue), Indus, Mekong.•It is common to find a varied fauna, such as elephant, tiger, panda, snakes, orspiders.•Soils are quite rich due to the rainfalls. Rice is its most common crop. Tea is also appreciated.•This landscape is overpopulated between the Ganges and the Yangtze.

• Desert landscapesIt is an extremely arid landscape due to the scarce and irregular rainfalls.•Vegetation is quite poor:

o Plants have thick prickles and deep roots to get some water, such as cactus, esparto grass, or palmetto.

o Around the oasis there is a wider range with palm trees, fig trees, apricot trees or pomegranate trees.

•Rivers are inexistent due to the lack of water. There are just irregular streams when it rains, which are called wadis. The only permanent waters are the oases.•There is little fauna which is adapted to the heat such as camels, dromedaries, coyotes, foxes, lizards, beetles, snakes or scorpions.•There are three kinds of desert landscape:

o Sand desert (erg): It is composed of dunes (hills of sand built by the wind).

o Stony desert (hamada): It is flat and composed of stones.

o Rocky desert (reg): It is a vast extension of land covered of rocks.

TEMPERATE CLIMATE LANDSCAPES•Oceanic landscape

• The mild temperatures and the abundant precipitation let have a lot of vegetation:

• Oceanic deciduous forest: It is mostly composed of high trees such as oak, beech, chestnut tree, elm or ash.

• Scrubland or moors: In the areas where the oceanic forest disappears it is common to have bushes such as retama or heather.

• Grasslands: It is common in the plains and it is the basis of the pastures.

• Rivers are quite regular due to the rainfall. They do not have any rise or low levels.

• Major rivers are the Rhine, Seine, Loire or Thames.

• There is a wide variety of fauna composed of foxes, boars, deer or bears.

• Soils are really fertile and help agriculture and stockbreeding.

-It is a very industrial production in these fields.-The landscape has been strongly modified by the exploitation of the soil.

• Mediterranean landscapeThe Mediterranean landscape has its vegetation adapted to the irregular rainfall and to the severe and dry summers:•Mediterranean forest: It has evergreen trees with very deep roots to get water. The mains species are the holm oak and the cork oak inland and pine in coastal areas.•Scrublands are typical in this landscape due to the reduction of the extension of the Mediterranean forest. The main formations are:

Maquis. It has high bushes like strawberry tree, rock rose, salvia,and mastic. Garrigue. It is composed of minor bushes such as thyme, rosemary, lavender, and retama. Steppe. When there is little water and the other scrublands have disappeared it is common to find palmetto, esparto grass and asparagus.

• Rivers are quite irregular and have major rises and low level periods.

- Most of them are quite short due to the fact that their source is close to the sea.- The main rivers are Ebro, Rhone, and Po.

• It has a quite varied fauna composed of rabbits, foxes, deer, wolves, boars, squirrels, eagles, vultures, and sparrows.

• Soils are quite poor, but in the valleys. There are different kinds of agriculture:

- Unirrigated agriculture: It is the most common agriculture, based on three typical crops: wheat, vines, and olive tree.- Irrigated agriculture: It is common in the coastal plains and in other regions with greenhouses. They usually grow vegetables, legumes or fruits.

• Tourism has developed a lot in this landscape. It is mostly based on sun and beaches.

• Continental landscape

• The northernmost continental landscape is defined by the coniferous forest (taiga):

- It has evergreen trees such as the pine and fir.- Some other trees are larch or birch.

• The southern continental landscape is defined by two kinds of formations:

- The areas which are cooler and more humid have large prairies, composedof high grass, such in the American Midwest.- The areas which are warmer and drier have steppes, composed of low grass, like in East Europe or Central Asia.

• Rivers have a large flow with important rises in the level in spring because of the thaw. They are frozen in winter. Major rivers are Volga, Danube or Missouri.

• Its fauna is adapted to the extreme temperatures and it is mostly composed by moose, reindeers, bears, lynxes, wolves, otters, marmots, ferrets, ravens and owls.

• Soils are really different according to the region:

- Prairies are quite fertile and make agriculture possible. It is quite commonto have large plantations of corn and wheat.- Steppes and taiga are quite barren and are almost uninhabited

COLD CLIMATE LANDSCAPES• Polar landscape

• It is located above the Polar circles.

• There is no vegetation owing to the perpetual ice.

• There are not rivers either.• Its fauna is adapted to the

extreme cold. There are animals like penguins, whales, polar bears, seals, and walrus.

• In the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans it is common to have floating ice blocks called icebergs that are fragments which have detached from the icefield that covers the whole ocean.

• Antarctica is a continent completely covered of snow and really thick ice over the land called ice sheet.

- It is a completely uninhabited continent. Only scientists have settled there to study it.

• Border lands have a milder climate:o Their vegetation appears after the thaw and it is based on tundra, which is composed of lichens and moss.o Their soils are quite infertile and their surface is quite muddy after the thaw, but it remains frozen in lower strata. They are called permafrost.

• Alpine landscape• This landscape is adapted to the severe

cold winters Vegetation is in tiers and varies according to the altitude owing to the difference of temperatures and humidity.

- In the lower levels the vegetation has the same features of the region where the mountains are.- In middle levels deciduous forest is common, alternating with some conifers.- In the upper levels meadows and little flowers are the only species that can grow due to the fact that part of the year this stratum is completely covered of snow.

• The fauna is composed of major birds such as the condor, vulture or eagle and some mammals such as the mountain goat and chamois.

• Soils are not fertile due to the erosion.• In developed countries it is common to

build ski resorts in this area.• In hot areas (Africa, South America), these

regions are overpopulated owing to the milder weather conditions.