The red line gives the best post-1992 Solar spectum
estimate, and the yellow line shows the spectrum of
a blackbody having temperature 5780 degrees Kelvin,
which is the temperature needed to give the same
total power, given by the integral over the spectrum,
also known as the solar constant, which here
is about 1370 W/m2. [Various measurements of
the solar constant give values between 1365 and 1372.
It is also not constant in time, but varies over the ~30-day
solar rotation period, with an amplitude of about 4 W/m2,
or about 0.3 percent, during the maxima of the
11-year solar sunspot cycle, and much less during sunspot minima.]
Original URL of this figure is http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/~cahalan/Radiation/SolarIrrVblackbody.html
Glossary terms that are important in this lesson:
Adiabatic cooling, biome, cation exchange capacity,
clay,
edaphic,
El Niño, endemic,
epilimnion, Hadley cells, humus,
hypolimnion,
laterization, life zone, mesic, overturn,
podzolization, rain shadow,
riparian,
serpentine barrens, thermocline, upwelling, xeric.
Use the outline below to guide your study of the material in this
lesson. The outline follows the book, but indicates those topics
the instructor feels are most important for you to learn in the
course. You should read all the pages that are assigned, but the
outline will help you focus your study.
Temperature, moisture, and light are seldom constant for long. Variations in these and other factors change the conditions under which organisms have to live. In this section, we will see the range of conditions in which organisms live.
I. Environmental Patterns: Global, regional, local
Global climate
Poles: cold and dry
Equator: hot and wet
Hadley cells contribute to the world's major deserts
Mountains produce rain shadows
Upwelling: areas of extreme productivity
Mediterranean climate occurs in the USA
Seasonal climate
Earth's tilt leads to summer and winter
Lake cycles
Differences in temperature result in differences in water density
