Atmospheric Structure
The atmosphere is a layer of gasses that surrounds the Earth and ensures that the heat of the sun is evenly distributed around the globe. The heating of the Earth produces a has a particular structure both horizontally across latitudes and vertically towards space.
|
|
Major factors affecting global climate
Continental and oceanic boundaries
The circulation of winds in the atmosphere and water in the oceans interact to produce drier western facing coastlines and wetter eastern facing coasts.
Prevailing wind patterns
Winds can bring cooler, warmer, wetter of drier wether depending of where the air has come from.
Orographic rainfall
As air rises over mountain ranges the air cools and causes rainfall. This creates wetter mountains on the windy side and drier conditions (also known as rain shadow) on the leyward side.
The circulation of winds in the atmosphere and water in the oceans interact to produce drier western facing coastlines and wetter eastern facing coasts.
Prevailing wind patterns
Winds can bring cooler, warmer, wetter of drier wether depending of where the air has come from.
Orographic rainfall
As air rises over mountain ranges the air cools and causes rainfall. This creates wetter mountains on the windy side and drier conditions (also known as rain shadow) on the leyward side.
Factors affecting the local climate
Place
Where is the world a place is located produces substantial differences in the atmospheric conditions.
Localised airflow
Areas that have greater air flow are more subject to the prevailing conditions. Conversely, areas that are surrounded by mountains or other barriers will experience less change.
Aspect
The direction that a place faces produce significant changes in weather.
Local vegetation
Larger, taller and denser vegetation moderates temperatures by providing both thermal inertia and modifying albedo.
Urban Heat Island
The building materials and human activities in an area change air flow and thermal inertia usually making urban areas significantly hotter than nearby rural areas.
Where is the world a place is located produces substantial differences in the atmospheric conditions.
Localised airflow
Areas that have greater air flow are more subject to the prevailing conditions. Conversely, areas that are surrounded by mountains or other barriers will experience less change.
Aspect
The direction that a place faces produce significant changes in weather.
Local vegetation
Larger, taller and denser vegetation moderates temperatures by providing both thermal inertia and modifying albedo.
Urban Heat Island
The building materials and human activities in an area change air flow and thermal inertia usually making urban areas significantly hotter than nearby rural areas.
Human impacts on the atmosphere
Human activities produce a wide variety of impacts on the atmosphere.
|
|
Climate change has been called the most pressing challenge of our time, largely due to its wide ranging effects on both economic and environmental systems.
|
|
|
Climate change has numerous effects on a very wide range of environments. Broadly, these will manifest themselves in the following ways.
1. Biodiversity
The biophysical environments will change in response to altered climates. Areas that require colder weather will migrate further north or South and into higher altitudes. However, the retreat of ecosystems is limited by physical factors. For example, Alpine ecosystems cannot move to higher altitudes.
The worlds oceans will warm and acidify. This will alter the patters of ocean circulation that currently drive weather patterns. Additional water from glacial and polar melting will also cause sea levels to rise.
2. Built environments
As sea levels rise and temperatures become hotter, human landscapes will be impacted. Low lying communities will experience inundation and loss of ground water sources. While built environments will become hotter further exacerbating the urban heat island effect.
3. Weather
Although rising average temperatures will reduce liveability in places, climate change will produce more frequent and severe extreme weather events as there is more water vapour and heat energy in the atmosphere.
Droughts will also become more commonplace, however, some areas may become wetter.
Weather overall will be less predicable.
4. Food
As biomes shift location and water becomes more scarce, the production of food will become harder. This is made more challenging by a rising world population. This may also alter the types of food we eat with fish and beef becoming less common.
5. Health
Lastly, human health will be impacted in a number of ways. Heat waves becomes more common as a cause of death. However as species habitats change, diseases and their vectors will move. For example, the mosquitoes that carry malaria will spread further North and South of the equator.
Changes in atmospheric structure also produce more smog and other forms of air pollution increasing instances of respiratory disease.
1. Biodiversity
The biophysical environments will change in response to altered climates. Areas that require colder weather will migrate further north or South and into higher altitudes. However, the retreat of ecosystems is limited by physical factors. For example, Alpine ecosystems cannot move to higher altitudes.
The worlds oceans will warm and acidify. This will alter the patters of ocean circulation that currently drive weather patterns. Additional water from glacial and polar melting will also cause sea levels to rise.
2. Built environments
As sea levels rise and temperatures become hotter, human landscapes will be impacted. Low lying communities will experience inundation and loss of ground water sources. While built environments will become hotter further exacerbating the urban heat island effect.
3. Weather
Although rising average temperatures will reduce liveability in places, climate change will produce more frequent and severe extreme weather events as there is more water vapour and heat energy in the atmosphere.
Droughts will also become more commonplace, however, some areas may become wetter.
Weather overall will be less predicable.
4. Food
As biomes shift location and water becomes more scarce, the production of food will become harder. This is made more challenging by a rising world population. This may also alter the types of food we eat with fish and beef becoming less common.
5. Health
Lastly, human health will be impacted in a number of ways. Heat waves becomes more common as a cause of death. However as species habitats change, diseases and their vectors will move. For example, the mosquitoes that carry malaria will spread further North and South of the equator.
Changes in atmospheric structure also produce more smog and other forms of air pollution increasing instances of respiratory disease.
Further Reading
Cormack, L. (2016) Beat The Heat: Western Sydney Tackles the Urban Heat Island Effect, Sydney Morning Herald. available at www.smh.com.au, accessed on 10/03/2017