Water and Weather
Chapter Six: Weather and
Climate
• 6.1 Introduction to Weather
• 6.2 Weather Patterns
• 6.3 Climates and Biomes
6.3 Biomes and climate
• The long-term record of
temperature, precipitation,
and wind for a region is
known as climate.
• Climate depends on many
factors; latitude, precipitation,
elevation, topography, and
distance from large bodies of
water.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Scientists divide the planet into major
climate regions with particular plants
and animals called biomes.
• Earth has six main biomes: deserts,
grasslands, temperate deciduous
forests, rainforests, taiga, and
tundra.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Biomes
1. Desert – receive less than 35 cm. of
rainfall per year; large variations of high
and low temperatures
2. Grassland – occur on every continent
except Antarctica; some are called
savannas
3. Temperate Deciduous Forest – the
biome we live in with 4 distinct seasons
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Biomes continued –
4. Rainforest – located between 23.5° N
and S; receive over 200 cm. of rain yearly
5. Taiga – largest biome on Earth; below
freezing at least 6 months of the year
6. Tundra – Finnish for “treeless land”;
coldest biome on Earth
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Each biome has a unique set of plants
and animals that thrive in its climate.
• The Serengeti is home to thousands of
predators species and 1.6 million herbivores.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• As you approach the
equator from the poles,
biodiversity (the
variety of species of
plants and animals)
and direct sunlight
both increase.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• At the equator, sunlight
is direct and intense.
• As a result, the
average yearly
temperature at the
equator is 27 °C (80
°F), while at the North
Pole it is -18 °C (0 °F).
6.3 Biomes and climate
•• Compare
the data
for Portland,
OR
The differences
in below
temperature
between
and
Minneapolis,
MN.
the two
cities have
to do with water.
•• IfWater
thesewarms
cities are
about
the down
same slowly.
latitude,
up and
cools
why don’t they have the same climate?
• Regions near water—like Portland—do
not have extremely hot or cold weather,
even though they are farther north.
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• A biome consists of
plant and animal
communities.
• The plants and
animals in a
community survive in
a shared environment.
Can you give an example
of an ecosystem in the
Research
an oasis to learn more!
desert biome?
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• What features of this
jackrabbit help it
survive in it’s desert
biome?
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• Within a biome, there are
many interrelated
ecosystems.
• An ecosystem is made up
of the plants and animals
that live there, plus
nonliving things like soil,
air, water, sunlight, and
nutrients.
Research Connection
Meteorologists Weather it All
• Dian and other
meteorologists use
many tools of their
trade.
• They gather
information in many
different ways.
Activity
Rainy Day Mystery
• Do some investigative meteorological work
to find out why the climates of these two
cities are so different.