Related topics: climate change
Climate
hideClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks.
The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, altitude, ice or snow cover, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and rainfall. The most commonly used classification scheme is the one originally developed by Wladimir Köppen. The Thornthwaite system, in use since 1948, incorporates evapotranspiration in addition to temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying animal species diversity and potential impacts of climate changes. The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses defining the climate for certain areas.
Paleoclimatology is the study and description of ancient climates. Since direct observations of climate are not available before the 19th century, paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables that include non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores, and biotic evidence such as tree rings and coral. Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates.
For more information about Climate, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with climate
New climate targets may not change daily life much
2 hours ago |
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(AP) -- Americans' day-to-day lives won't change noticeably if President Barack Obama achieves his newly announced goal of slashing carbon dioxide pollution by one-sixth in the next decade, experts say.
Marine ecosystems get a climate form guide
2 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The first-ever Australian benchmark of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems and options for adaptation is being released in Brisbane today.
Living buildings could mop up carbon dioxide
3 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Architecture could help us tackle climate change, if we start to design our buildings with 'living' materials, according to Dr Rachel Armstrong, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture.
Past regional cold and warm periods linked to natural climate drivers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
20 hours ago |
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Intervals of regional warmth and cold in the past are linked to the El Niño phenomenon and the so-called "North Atlantic Oscillation" in the Northern hemisphere's jet stream, according to a team of climate scientists. These ...
Obama to plead US case at global warming summit
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- President Barack Obama will commit the United States to substantial cuts in greenhouse gas pollution over the next decade - despite resistance in Congress over higher costs - when he travels to a ...
Cutting greenhouse pollutants could directly save millions of lives worldwide
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions will have major direct health benefits in addition to reducing the risk of climate change, especially in low-income countries, according to ...
America's increasing food waste is laying waste to the environment
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and carbon dioxide emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change. In a new paper published in the open-access, ...
CO2 emissions continue significant climb
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The annual rate of increase in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has more than tripled in this decade, compared to the 1990s, reports an international consortium of scientists, who paint a bleak picture of the Earth's ...
NASA Assessing New Roles for Ailing QuikScat Satellite
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA mission managers are assessing options for future operations of the venerable QuikScat satellite following the age-related failure of a mechanism that spins the scatterometer antenna. ...
NASA Releases Climate Change Multimedia Resource Reel
Nov 24, 2009 |
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In advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, NASA has released a new multimedia climate change "resource reel" showcasing free downloadable videos, data visualizations, animations, and still images ...
Global study of salmon shows: 'Sustainable' food isn't so sustainable
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Popular thinking about how to improve food systems for the better often misses the point, according to the results of a three-year global study of salmon production systems. Rather than pushing for organic or land-based ...
Researchers Establish Common Seasonal Patterns Among Bacterial Communities in Arctic Rivers
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers ...
From Greenhouse to Icehouse
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 24, 2009 |
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A new study that reconstructed ocean temperatures from millions of years ago could provide new insight into how the Earth responds to climate change.
Key scientist says politics behind stolen e-mails
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A leading climate change scientist said hackers breaking into a university's computer server and then posting documents online show the nasty politics of global warming.
Climate change could boost incidence of civil war in Africa
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa by over 50 percent within the next two decades, according to a new study led by a team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, ...
