Podcast
Questions and Answers
What creates frost pockets where it is not possible to grow trees?
What creates frost pockets where it is not possible to grow trees?
In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing slopes are generally cooler than north-facing slopes.
In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing slopes are generally cooler than north-facing slopes.
False
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Earth is a self-regulating system that maintains conditions suitable for life.
What phenomenon partly explains the end of the last glaciation?
What phenomenon partly explains the end of the last glaciation?
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Which of the following represents a cool period in the climate over the past 1500 years?
Which of the following represents a cool period in the climate over the past 1500 years?
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What does G.I.S. stand for?
What does G.I.S. stand for?
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Solar constant just outside our planet is ______ w/m2.
Solar constant just outside our planet is ______ w/m2.
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The greenhouse effect does not affect shortwave incoming radiation.
The greenhouse effect does not affect shortwave incoming radiation.
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Which statements about GIS data models are true?
Which statements about GIS data models are true?
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Study Notes
Terrain-Related Microclimates
- Cold air sinks, warm air rises, creating cold-air drainage that makes growing trees difficult due to frost.
- Terrain creates slope-aspect relationships, impacting local microclimates. South-facing slopes are warmer than north-facing slopes in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Large, deep lakes create cool microclimates, like Lake Superior, which has arctic-alpine-like shoreline temperatures and acts as a refugia for arctic-alpine plants.
Climate Over Deep History & Gaia Hypothesis
- Earth has alternated between hothouse (no ice caps) and icehouse (ice caps) conditions over the last 500 million years (Ma).
- Temperature swings are more pronounced at high latitudes, while the tropics (equator) remain relatively stable.
- The Gaia hypothesis, proposed by Lovelock and Margulis, suggests Earth is a self-regulating system with temperatures staying within a defined range due to negative feedback.
- Supported by the Daisyworld simulation which focuses on changes in Albedo (the reflectivity of a surface).
Climate Variations from Younger Dryas (YD) to Little Ice Age
- Orbital variations contribute to the end of the last glaciation and the shift from the Holocene Thermal Optimum (10,000 to 5,000 years ago) to the more recent Neoglacial (5,000 years ago to present).
- The Holocene Optimum saw higher treelines in mountains, with the lowest treeline since the Younger Dryas occurring during the Little Ice Age.
- The Little Ice Age was the coldest period since the Younger Dryas and aligns with trends in Obliquity (the tilt of Earth's axis).
Climate Over the Past 1500 Years
- Two cool periods and two warm periods: the Dark Ages (cold), Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age (cold), and Modern Warming.
- The Medieval Warm Period is debated in terms of its overall warmth, with some arguing for a focus on more recent warming since the Little Ice Age (roughly starting with the Industrial Revolution, 1850).
GIS: Geographical Information System
- GIS is a system that utilizes geographic information to organize and manage data.
- It combines geographic data (location) with information regarding scale and type (presentation) of data.
- The system encompasses hardware and software used for data organization and management.
Georeferenced Data
- Data is linked to 2D or 3D coordinates; every data point must have location (x,y) coordinates.
- Databases and tables are used to store information, with attributes describing data values.
GIS Data Model
- GIS data models consist of Vector or Raster formats.
- Vector data represents distinct features (points, lines, polygons).
- Raster data represents continuous values defined on a grid structure.
Radiative Forcing of the Sun
- The solar constant just outside Earth is 1360 watts per square meter (W/m2).
- Solar insolation at the top of Earth's Atmosphere is 340 W/m2.
- Solar insolation at the Earth's surface is 161 W/m2.
Earth's Energy Balance
- There's an interplay between incoming (shortwave radiation) and outgoing (longwave radiation).
- Clouds significantly affect both incoming reflection and outgoing absorption.
- CO2, water vapor, and other Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) impact outgoing longwave radiation, creating the "Greenhouse effect."
- CO2's greenhouse effect on longwave radiation diminishes with increased CO2 levels due to saturation.
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Description
Explore the intricacies of terrain-related microclimates and the historical climate variations of Earth over 500 million years. Understand how factors like slope-aspect, large lakes, and the Gaia hypothesis influence local environments and global temperature regulation.
