Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T00:19:48.211Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Global Physical Climatology

from Part II - The Scientific Basis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2023

Gordon Bonan
Affiliation:
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
Get access

Summary

There is a distinct poleward zonation of climate defined by gradations of progressively colder annual mean temperature in tropical, subtropical, temperate, boreal, arctic, and polar latitudes. Additional climate zones are defined based on annual precipitation and the seasonality of temperature and rain. The climate at large spatial scales extending over thousands of kilometers is known as the macroclimate. It is determined by geographic variation in solar heating of the planet, which sets in motion large-scale atmospheric circulations that transport heat poleward from the tropics, and also by proximity to oceans, which similarly transport heat in ocean currents. Mountains and large lakes create a regional climate that can deviate from the macroclimate. Climate at this scale, generally up to a several hundred kilometers , is referred to as mesoclimate. Variation in topography, soils, and vegetation creates local climates at a spatial scale ranging from a few to tens of kilometers, known as microclimates. A south-facing slope has a different microclimate than a north-facing slope. Forests have a different microclimate compared with open land.

Type
Chapter
Information
Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Forests, Climate Change, and Our Future
, pp. 101 - 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Global Physical Climatology
  • Gordon Bonan, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
  • Book: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108601559.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Global Physical Climatology
  • Gordon Bonan, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
  • Book: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108601559.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Global Physical Climatology
  • Gordon Bonan, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
  • Book: Seeing the Forest for the Trees
  • Online publication: 02 February 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108601559.009
Available formats
×