Elements and Factors of the Different Kinds of Climate in the World and Mexico

Climate

Climate (from Greek Klima) is defined as certain conditions of temperature, dryness, wind, light, etc. of a region. Different regions of the world have diverse characteristic climates. A place or region's climate is determined by both natural and manmade factors. The natural elements include the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere; while the human factors can include land use and consumption of other natural resources. Changes in any of these factors can cause local, regional, or even global changes in the climate.

The relationship between People, Climate and Buildings is non- linear and complexly interdependent. Climate also affects the use of land, the type of crop that can be grown or the animal husbandry that can be practiced. These variations in the use of land can cause regional climatic changes- such as the spread of desert conditions due to deforestation. Microclimate variations can be caused by presence of trees, grass and water. Built up areas and cities would tend to have their own microclimate which would differ significantly from the climate of the region. Ground reflecting surfaces and artificial topographical features can affect wind flow, solar radiation and hence temperature patterns. It is now established that the consumption of energy in cities for buildings and transport etc. can make very significant changes to temperature.

Q. How does climate differ from weather ?

A. Weather is the current atmospheric conditions, including temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity and sky conditions at a given place. Weather is that which is happening right now or is likely to happen tomorrow or in the very near future. Climate on the other hand, is the general weather conditions over a long period of time. Climate is sometimes referred to as "average" weather for a given area. In totality, climate is the sum of all the statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region.

Climatic Zones

The world has several climatic zones. These are summarised on the map below.

 

(Image courtesy of the UK Meteorological Office)

The classification is based on maximum and minimum temperatures and the temperature range as well as the total and seasonal distribution of precipitation.

 

 

Simple summary of climatic zones:

Polar - very cold and dry all year
Temperate - cold winters and mild summers
Arid - dry, hot all year
Tropical - hot and wet all year
Mediterranean - mild winters, dry hot summers
Mountains (tundra)- very cold all year

 

What is precipitation?

Precipitation is any form of moisture which falls to the earth. This includes rain, snow, hail and sleet.

Precipitation occurs when water vapour cools. When the air reaches saturation point (also known as condensation point and dew point) the water vapour condenses and forms tiny droplets of water. These tiny droplets of water from clouds.

Complex forces cause the water droplets to fall as rainfall.

All rain is the same. It happens as the result of warm, moist air being cooled, leading to condensation and in turn rain. The following examples show three different ways air is cooled causing rainfall.

 

 

Weather experienced during a winter anticyclone	Weather experienced during a summer anticyclone
In winter the skies are cloudless so heat is allowed to escape. Therefore temperatures are usually very cold. The ground cools rapidly at night so frost often forms. Fog can also form as the cold air makes water vapour condense into tiny droplets. Fog can last long into the day as there is insufficient heat from the sun to evaporate the water droplets away.	Summer anticyclones bring very different weather. As the air descends it is heated causing water in the air to evaporate. Therefore there are few clouds in the air. The skies are clear allowing the suns rays to reach the surface of the earth. This causes temperatures to rise. Heat waves can occur if anticyclones remain over Britain for a number of weeks.

At the geographic world map level, the Zonal classification is based on maximum and minimum temperatures and the temperature range as well as the total and seasonal distribution of precipitation. A simple summary of climatic zones is as follows:

Summary of climate zones
Climate zone	Characteristics
Polar	very cold and dry all year
Temperate	cold winters and mild summers
Arid	dry, hot all year
Tropical	hot and wet all year
Mediterranean	mild winters, dry hot summers
Mountains (Tundra)	very cold all year

Köppen Climate Classification Map

Many attempts have been made to classify the many disparate climates on Earth into a comprehensive and comprehensible system. One of the earliest began with Aristotle and his discussion of Temperate, Torrid, and Frigid Zones. The system that seems to be in almost universal use now is the Köppen system, developed by German climatologist and amateur botanist Wladimir Koppen in 1928.

The modified Koppen system uses letters to denote the six major climate regions and their 24 sub-classifications. These regions are based on average monthly temperature and precipitation values. Whilst it does not take full account of factors such as cloudiness, solar radiation, wind or even extremes in temperature, it still remains a useful system.

The Koppen World Climate Classification Map shows that not only is climate geographically diverse at the broad scale, defined by the latitude within which a region lies, there is considerable diversity of climate within these broad scale regions.

In Europe, the Climates along the Mediterranean and towards the East are much warmer and brighter than those towards the North and West.

The Indian subcontinent also shows considerable diversity from the West to East from the North to South ranging from desert to equatorial. (See Climate Zones Map India). Even a small island of Srilanka has three distinct climatic zones.

Within the same climatic zone, some locations may have contrasting or variable climatic conditions.



 

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Russian German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger collaborated with Köppen on changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes referred to as the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. The system is based on the concept that native vegetation is the best expression of climate. Thus, climate zone boundaries have been selected with vegetation distribution in mind. It combines average annual and monthly temperatures and precipitation, and the seasonality of precipitation

 

Koppen Climate Classification Chart

A	Tropical humid	Af	Tropical wet	No dry season
		Am	Tropical monsoonal	Short dry season; heavy monsoonal rains in other months
		Aw	Tropical savanna	Winter dry season
B	Dry	BWh	Subtropical desert	Low-latitude desert
		BSh	Subtropical steppe	Low-latitude dry
		BWk	Mid-latitude desert	Mid-latitude desert
		BSk	Mid-latitude steppe	Mid-latitude dry
C	Mild Mid-Latitude	Csa	Mediterranean	Mild with dry, hot summer
		Csb	Mediterranean	Mild with dry, warm summer
		Cfa	Humid subtropical	Mild with no dry season, hot summer
		Cwa	Humid subtropical	Mild with dry winter, hot summer
		Cfb	Marine west coast	Mild with no dry season, warm summer
		Cfc	Marine west coast	Mild with no dry season, cool summer
D	Severe Mid-Latitude	Dfa	Humid continental	Humid with severe winter, no dry season, hot summer
		Dfb	Humid continental	Humid with severe winter, no dry season, warm summer
		Dwa	Humid continental	Humid with severe, dry winter, hot summer
		Dwb	Humid continental	Humid with severe, dry winter, warm summer
		Dfc	Subarctic	Severe winter, no dry season, cool summer
		Dfd	Subarctic	Severe, very cold winter, no dry season, cool summer
		Dwc	Subarctic	Severe, dry winter, cool summer
		Dwd	Subarctic	Severe, very cold and dry winter, cool summer
E	Polar	ET	Tundra	Polar tundra, no true summer
		EF	Ice Cap	Perennial ice
H	Highland

 



 

Elements that Determine Climate

Precipitation

• Dry climates can experience wet weather.

 

Precipitation is simply any water form that falls to the Earth from overhead cloud formations. As an element of weather, precipitation determines whether outdoor activities are suitable or if the water levels of creeks and rivers will rise. As an element of climate, precipitation is a long-term, predictable factor of a region's makeup. For instance, a desert may experience a storm (weather) though it remains a typically dry area (climate).

Humidity

• The humid climate of jungles determines what life forms will thrive.

Humidity is the measurable amount of moisture in the air of the lower atmosphere. The humidity element of weather makes the day feel hotter and can be used to predict coming storms. However, the humidity element of climate is the prolonged moisture level of an area that can affect entire ecosystems. For instance, tropical jungles can sustain different forms of life than dry, arid climates because of the overall humidity from rainfall and other factors. This is an aspect of climate rather than weather, in that the typically high humidity levels of these regions is predictable over periods of decades.

Temperature

• Weather can sometimes occur outside of a climate's typical range

Temperature is simply the measurement of how hot or cold a region is on a day-to-day basis. The weather aspect of temperature can change throughout the day, however, it generally falls within a certain range of predictable highs and lows (as climate). Cold snaps and heat waves are weather that affect the temperatures of particular climates. For example, a heat wave in northern Siberia is an aspect of weather affecting a climate that is typically considered to be cold. The weather in this case (the heat wave) is simply happening inside of a climate (the normal cold range of Siberian temperatures).

Atmospheric Pressure

• Atmospheric pressure is a large part of coastal and island climate

Atmospheric pressure is basically the "weight" of the air. It is used primarily by meteorologists to monitor developing storms that can seem to come out of nowhere. While typically considered an aspect of weather, certain regions of the world exist in zones where changing atmospheric pressures form part of the predictable climate. Because of their proximity to large bodies of water (a major factor in atmospheric pressure changes), places like coastal regions and islands experience severe storms on a regular basis.

Meteorological Phenomena

• Fog, in most cases, is unpredictable

Tornadoes, hail storms and fog are all examples of meteorological phenomena that are hard to predict. As an element of weather, these occurrences can seem random and are a result of a set of unique circumstances. However, some regions of the world can factor meteorological phenomena into their climate. For instance, the American Midwest's "Tornado Alley" (tornadoes), the Great Lakes region (lake effect snow), and places like London (fog) and Bangladesh (drastic and rapid climate changes) have these occurrences so often that they are an almost predictable part of the region's climate.

 

 

Factors that Determine Climate

Latitude, elevation, and jet streams are the three general factors determining climate. Several other factors play a role, as well: amount of wind, timing and amount of annual rainfall, location of mountain ranges (which, in turn, has some influence on the preceding two factors), and the proximity of large bodies of water.

Latitude
The farther north of the equator a place is, the colder its winters are likely to be, and the longer the wintry weather is likely to last. Winter may arrive early, too--as shown in the photo at right.

Altitude (elevation)
The higher your elevation, the cooler the temperatures will be, in both winter and summer. The growing season is usually shorter, as well.

Jet streams
The strong, fast high-altitude air currents known as jet streams affect climate by picking up air of all types--moist, dry, warm, cold--and carrying it to other areas. The jet streams tend to dip farther south in winter and move more to the north in summer, following the movement of the sun. The predictable storms that follow the jet streams' path are largely responsible for the rainy and dry seasons we experience.

Read more: What Are the Elements of Weather & Climate? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7242308_elements-weather-climate_.html#ixzz2BDN4NG49

Water Basins in Mexico and the World

Water (Hydrological) Cycle

The continuous cycle of water between the sea, land and atmosphere.

There are five main processes in the hydrological cycle, these are:
Condensation - Water vapour changes back into water (cloud formation)
Evaporation - The transfer of water from the sea and the land to the air as water vapour
Precipitation - Any form of moisture falling from the atmosphere e.g. sleet, hail, snow, rain
Transpiration - Transfer of water from vegetation to the air as water vapour
Surface run-off - Water flowing over the surface of the earth, e.g. river

In the hydrological cycle water can be stored as snow and ice, in lakes, as ground water and in oceans and seas.

Rivers are a very important part of the natural components of the geographical space, They are leaking of water coming from high relief zones; they come from rain and because of gravity they go down trying to get to the sea level or  stay in a lake or basin, they can also can be filtered into the ground or evaporate on their way. The action of the water going down also erosions the land and may create streams nest to the main flow of water.

Basins

A basin is a depression, or dip, in the Earth’s surface. Basins are shaped like bowls, with sides higher than the bottom. They can be oval or circular in shape, similar to a sink or tub you might have in your own bathroom. Some are filled with water. Others are empty.

Basins are formed by forces above the ground (like erosion) or below the ground (like earthquakes). They can be created over thousands of years or almost overnight.

The major types of basins are river drainage basins, structural basins, and ocean basins.

River Drainage Basins

A river drainage basin is an area drained by a river and all of its tributaries. A river basin is made up of many different watersheds.

Features of a drainage basin:
Water shed - An area of high land which forms the edge of a river basin
Tributary - A small river flowing into a large river
Confluence - The point where two rivers meet
The source - Where a river starts
Mouth - Where a river flows into (lake or sea)

The diagram below shows these features.

A watershed is a small version of a river basin. Every stream and tributary has its own watershed, which drains to a larger stream or wetland. These streams, ponds, wetlands, and lakes are part of a river basin.

Every river is part of a network of watersheds that make up a river system’s entire drainage basin. All the water in the drainage basin flows downhill toward bigger rivers. The Pease River, in northern Texas, is part of the Arkansas-Red-White watershed. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Red River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Amazon Basin, in northern South America, is the largest in the world. The Amazon River and all of its tributaries drain an area more than 7 million square kilometers (about 3 million square miles).

Structural Basins

Structural basins are formed by tectonic activity. Tectonic activity is the movement of large pieces of the Earth’s crust, called tectonic plates. Tectonic activity is responsible for such phenomena as earthquakes and volcanoes. The natural processes of weathering and erosion also contribute to forming structural basins.

Structural basins form as tectonic plates shift. Rocks and other material on the floor of the basin are forced downward, while material on the sides of the basin are pushed up. This process happens over thousands of years. If a basin is shaped like a bowl, a structural basin is shaped like a series of smaller bowls, stacked inside each other. Structural basins are usually found in dry regions.

Some structural basins are known as endorheic basins. Endorheic basins have internal drainage systems. This means they don’t have enough water to drain to a stream, lake, or ocean. The water that trickles into these types of basins evaporates or seeps into the ground.

When enough water collects in an endorheic basin, it can form a very salty lake, such as the Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan. While water evaporates into the atmosphere, minerals remain. The remaining water becomes even saltier. The Dead Sea is the saltiest natural body of water on Earth. Its shore, about 400 meters (1,300 feet) below sea level, is Earth’s lowest dry point.

A lake basin is another type of structural basin. Lake basins often form in valleys blocked by rocks or other debris left by a landslide, lava flow, or glacier. The debris acts as a dam, trapping water and forming a lake. Lake basins may also be carved out by glaciers—huge masses of ice—as they move down valleys or across the land. When the glaciers move, the basins they create remain.


Sedimentary basins are a type of structural basin that aren’t shaped like typical basins, sometimes forming long troughs. Sedimentary basins have been filled with layers of rock and organic material over millions of years. Material that fills up the basin is called sediment fill.

Sedimentary basins are key sources of petroleum and other fossil fuels. Millions of years ago, tiny sea creatures called diatoms lived and died in ocean basins. Eventually, these ancient oceans dried up, leaving dry basins. The remains of the diatoms were at the bottom of these basins. The remains were crushed under billions of tons of sediment fill, over millions of years. In the right conditions, the pressure of the sediment fill turns the diatom remains into petroleum.

Ocean Basins

Ocean basins are the largest depressions on Earth. Edges of the continents, called continental shelves, form the sides of ocean basins.

There are five major ocean basins, coordinating with the major oceans of the world: the Pacific basin, the Atlantic basin, the Indian basin, the Arctic basin, and the Southern basin. Many smaller basins are often considered oceanic basins, such as the North Aleutian Basin, between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans.

Tectonic activity constantly changes ocean basins. Seafloor spreading and subduction are the most important types of tectonic activity that shape ocean basins.

Seafloor spreading happens along the boundaries of tectonic plates that are moving apart from each other. These areas are called mid-ocean ridges. New seafloor is created at the bottom, or rift, of a mid-ocean ridge. Ocean basins that have mid-ocean ridges are expanding. The Atlantic basin, for instance, is expanding because of seafloor spreading.

Subduction happens along the boundaries of tectonic plates that are crashing into each other. In these subduction zones, the heavier plate moves underneath, or subducts, the lighter one. Ocean basins that experience subduction, such as the Pacific basin, are shrinking.

Even though ocean basins make up more than 70 percent of the total land on Earth, scientists know relatively little about them. Some oceanographers (and some astronomers!) say that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the surface of the ocean floor.

The following is a list of the major ocean basins:

About 48.7% of the world's land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. In North America, surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes, and most of Newfoundland and Labrador. Nearly all of South America east of the Andes also drains to the Atlantic, as does most of Western and Central Europe and the greatest portion of western Sub-Saharan Africa. The three major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic:

The American Mediterranean Sea (the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, eastern Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America.

The European Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa (through the Nile River), Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the coastal areas of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.

The Arctic Ocean drains most of Western and Northern Canada east of the Continental Divide, northern Alaska and parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana in the United States, the north shore of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe, and much of central and northern Russia.

Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean. Its basin includes much of China, southeastern Russia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, most of Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands, the northeast coast of Australia, and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes.

The Indian Ocean's drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earth's land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, and most of Australia.

The Southern Ocean drains Antarctica. Antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earth's land.

Largest river basins

The five largest river basins (by area), from largest to smallest, are the Amazon basin, the River Plate basin, the Congo basin, the Nile basin, and the Mississippi basin. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganges, and Congo Rivers.

 

 



Importance of catching and availability of water in Mexico and the World.

The study and management of basins is important because in them, ecosystems coexist, and taking care of them will protect the natural diversity  of our planet. Basins are a main part of the water(Hydric) cycle and also important for the catching and availability of water that human beings and biosphere needs. Water is a RENEWABLE resource.

Basins have three functions:

 

Hydrologic

·         Catching water from rain, snow and hail that form the leaking of rivers, springs and streams

·         Catching of water in its different forms.

 

Ecologic

·         Provide different habitats for the richness of flora and fauna, biologic elements of an ecosystem.

·         Preserve biodiversity.

·         Maintain the diversity of soil because of the difference in sediments and nutrients carried by the currents, because soil is an important factor for the vegetation distribution.

 

Socio-Economic

·         Provide natural resources for the development of productive activities that sustain populations, for example agriculture, livestock, fishing, electricity generation, drinking water industry and mining.

 

Distribution of water in the world and Mexico depends in the location and relief as well as location in relation to the great climate zones, even when there are zones that have big amounts of rain but not good catching systems or zones with few amount of rain and good catching systems. There are other zones with a big waste and ineffective use because of the low education level and style of life.

 

Governments and society need to create strategies to preserve and use water in a right way or we may have severe environmental problems.