Chapter 15: World Climates

In summer the Mediterranean climate is strongly influenced by the dry subtropical high.

TRUE

Katabatic winds are caused by gravity.

TRUE

All of the following are factors in the exceptional dryness of the Atacama Desert EXCEPT:

A location deep in the interior of the continent, where moisture cannot reach.

Rainfall would be most reliable (that is, the amount received each year would vary the least) in which of the following climates

Af

Which of the following is a characteristic of west coast subtropical deserts?

Cool temperatures with low clouds and fog

On which of these continents is the marine west coast climate most extensive?

Europe

A climate is classified as "dry" if it receives less than 30 centimeters of rain annually, on average.

FALSE

More of the world's land area is covered by the wet tropical (Af and Am) climates than any other climate type.

FALSE

Most rainfall in the tropics is frontal in origin

FALSE

We would normally expect more snow to fall each winter in the subarctic climate than in the humid continental climate.

FALSE

seasonal migration of the equatorial low is not extensive enough to impact precipitation regimes.

FALSE

The dry-summer subtropical climate is also called the ________ climate.

Mediterranean

For many tropical wet and dry (Aw) stations in the Northern Hemisphere, April and May are often warmer than June and July.

TRUE

Ice cap climate locations tend to maintain themselves because they have high albedos.

TRUE

Regarding the latitude of the two locations represented on the climate diagrams above, what can be said?

The location of Diagram A is probably at a lower latitude than the location of Diagram B.

Name four countries where the Mediterranean climate is found.

United States, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece

You would expect most of the rainfall in the wet tropics (Af and Am) in midmorning.

You would expect most of the rainfall in the wet tropics (Af and Am) in midmorning.

The tropical rain forest is characterized by:

a great diversity of plant species.

The Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle are examples of locations determined by:

astronomy.

The high temperatures and precipitation in a tropical rain forest create soils that are:

heavily chemically weathered and leached of most nutrients.

The term laterite refers to:

heavily leached tropical soils that become extremely hard when dried.

The ________ climate has no monthly mean above freezing

ice cap (EF)

The most important determinant of temperature overall is:

latitude.

Polar climates:

lose much solar radiation heat to reflection and ice melting

For a continental area to experience a marine type climate, it must be located

on a windward coast.

Mountain ranges play an important role in determining climates because of their influence upon:

rainfall distribution.

Semiarid climates are also called ________ climates.

steppe

Places having ________ typically experience the highest annual temperature range of any climatic type.

subarctic climate

Which pair of elements is the most important in a climatic description?

temperature and precipitation

The 10°C summer isotherm marks the equatorward limit of the:

tundra climate

The ________ supports some plant life but no trees.

tundra climate

Which one of the following statements is correct regarding classification?

A major goal is order and simplicity.

Although the subarctic and tundra climates generally have small precipitation totals, they are considered humid. The reason for this is:

Although the subarctic and tundra climates generally have small precipitation totals, they are considered humid. The reason for this is:

Give a brief definition of the term climate

Climate is the cumulative total of all the weather at a place. It includes the extreme values and the variations that occur.

The ice cap climate (EF) is largely confined to the Northern Hemisphere.

FALSE

The primary control of solar radiation at a place is altitude.

FALSE

The tropical rain forest consists primarily of jungle.

FALSE

The vegetation associated with the subarctic climate closely resembles the vegetation associated with the tundra climate.

FALSE

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the tropical rain forest?

It is dominated by just a few different species of trees

What is the only humid climate that has a strong winter precipitation maximum?

Mediterranean climate (Csa and Csb)

London and Vancouver are both found in marine west coasts climates.

TRUE

Mountains often have rainy climates on their windward slopes and dry climates on their leeward slopes

TRUE

The Aral Sea volume has shrunk by 90% because its waters have been claimed for irrigation.

TRUE

The Highland climate classification is necessary because of the dramatic variation introduced by rapid changes in elevation.

TRUE

Other than elevation, what can we say for certain that these two locations have in common?

They both have wet summers.

All of the cities described below are in North America and are classified as humid continental climates. Which of the three cities would have the highest annual temperature range?

city C, a city in the interior of the continent at 50 degrees north latitude

Permanently frozen subsoil characteristic of the tundra is termed ________.

permafrost

Which of these is closely linked to the location of the major pressure and wind systems?

rainfall patterns

Latitude of solar radiation, land-water distribution, prevailing wind, geographic position on a continent, elevation and ocean currents.

seasonal burning by indigenous human populations

The ________ is also called taiga.

subarctic climate

Drought is ________ while aridity is ________.

temporary; permanent

Deserts such as the Sahara exist because of:

the influence of the subtropical highs

In the Aw climates of India and southeast Asia, the alternating wet and dry seasons are caused by:

the monsoon

Subtropical deserts have scanty, erratic precipitation because:

they are too far poleward to get rain from the ITCZ and too far equatorward to get rain from cyclonic storms.

The Köppen climate classification system has boundaries defined according to:

vegetation patterns.

In the humid continental climate, shifts in wind directions sometimes cause rapid and large temperature changes. During what season would this be most pronounced?

winter

Climatic boundaries, such as those shown on a world map of climate regions, fluctuate very little from year to year and should be regarded as fixed.

FALSE

Desert locations cool off rapidly at night due to the high specific heat of sand.

FALSE

Dry climates are always at low latitudes (within 10° of equator

FALSE

List four of the major controls that determine the climate of a place.

Latitude of solar radiation, land-water distribution, prevailing wind, geographic position on a continent, elevation and ocean currents.

The latitude of a place is important for its climate since latitude determines:

Sun radiation receipt

About 9% of the earth's land area is in the category of ice cap climate.

TRUE

For Köppen, the ________ best demonstrated the totality of a climate.

distribution of natural vegetation

This climate type covers the largest amount of the earth's land.

dry climate

The principal cause of desertification is:

inappropriate land use such as agricultural clearing and overgrazing.

The Köppen classification uses all of the following criteria to classify climates EXCEPT:

mean monthly humidity

What is the most important factor controlling the seasonal distribution of precipitation in the Aw (Tropical Wet and Dry) realm?

migration of the ITCZ

The locations of the major pressure and wind systems on the earth:

move as they follow the vertical rays of the Sun.

The vegetation associated with the Aw climate is termed:

savanna.

The humid subtropical climate:

sees significant rainfall throughout the year

The name applied to the northern coniferous forest and to the climate that encompasses that forest is ________.

taiga

The absolute maximum temperature for a given location is determined by:

the highest temperature ever recorded at that station.

The primary factor which determines whether a place will have a dry climate is:

whether evaporation exceeds precipitation.

The first known attempt at classifying climates was made by:

ancient Greeks

In general, climate boundaries:

are broad transition zones and not sharp lines.

Middle latitude deserts (BWk) and steppes (BSk):

are usually located deep in the interior of a continent.

A perusal of a world climate map shows that similar climates are located:

at similar latitudes.

In a typical Af or Am climate, the minimal seasonal temperature variations are primarily a result of:

changes in cloud cover.

Approximately what percentage of the earth's land surface is desert and steppe?

30 percent

Four of the five major climatic groups listed below have temperature characteristics as their basis. Which one of them does not?

B) B climates

Climates with an average temperature during the coldest month between -3°C and 18°C are part of the ________ climates according to the Köppen climate system.

C

Of the two climate diagrams shown above, the one that most likely represents a Southern Hemisphere location is:

Diagram A only.

All dry climates are hot deserts.

FALSE

Highland climates are found on all continents.

FALSE

In reference to the dry (B) climates, there are usually more years when rainfall totals are above the average than below the average.

FALSE

It is not always possible to determine whether a climate is humid or dry by knowing only the precipitation total.

FALSE

Laterite soils are widely praised by farmers for their ability to grow a wide variety of crops at high yields

FALSE

Since the humid continental climate is a land-controlled climate, it is never found bordering the ocean

FALSE

The Cs climates are only found near the Mediterranean Sea.

FALSE

Tropical climates are not found within the continental United States.

FALSE

________ climates display a large variation over small areas

Highland

At the same latitude, a continental climate is usually more extreme than a marine climate.

TRUE

Climate zones near the equator have larger temperature changes from day to night than from month to month.

TRUE

There are absolutely no "continental" climates located in Southern hemisphere.

TRUE

How does the average daily high temperature compare to the absolute maximum temperature at a typical subtropical desert location?

The average daily high is consistently close to the absolute maximum.

Most places having an Aw climate experience:

a summer maximum of precipitation.

ET climates are:

characterized by permafrost.

In the wet tropics:

daily temperature ranges usually exceed the annual temperature range.

The best known system for determining world climate patterns is the ________.

Köppen classification

Two stations (A and B) are classified as BSh (tropical steppe). Both stations are marginal, that is, with just a slight increase in annual rainfall, both places would be classified as humid. Station A is located poleward of a tropical desert while Station B is situated equatorward of the same desert. Which station has the highest rainfall total?

Station B

All of the cities described below are in North America and are classified as humid continental climates. Which city has the highest total rainfall?

city A, a leeward coastal city at 40 degrees north latitude

All of the cities described below are in North America and are classified as humid continental climates. Which city has the smallest variation in rainfall from month to month throughout the year?

city A, a leeward coastal city at 40 degrees north latitude

All of the cities described below are in North America and are classified as humid continental climates. Which city is intermediate among the three cities in terms of total annual precipitation?

city B, a city in the interior of the continent at 40 degrees north latitude

The climate impacts caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea are a result of:

water supplies to the sea being diverted for agricultural purposes.