South Africa and Argentinia, two countries with two faces - Focus on South Africa - Climate

26 important questions on South Africa and Argentinia, two countries with two faces - Focus on South Africa - Climate

South Africa has 5 different climates

Mediterranean climate
Sea climate with precipitation throughout the year
Sea climate with dry winters
Dessert climate
Steppe climate

How is the climate further west?

Further west are steppes and semi-desert where there is no rain fall.

How is the climate on the plateau?

- the climate is drier and cooler than on the east coast.
- It isn't very warm there in summer.
- Sometimes there are even a few degrees of frost in winter.
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What is relief rainfall?

Rainfall that is caused when air rises against mountains. The air rises when it hits the windward side of the mountain and it cools. Then it rains.

What is rain shadow?

Area behind a mountain where very ittle rain falls. The air goes down on the leeward side of a mountain and gets warmer. there is very little precipitation on the leeward side.

Why does the Earth need a 'heater' and what is the 'heater of the Earth?

The surface of the Earth is cold. It needs a 'heater'to stay warm. The Earth's heater is the sun. the sun is a ball of fire with a temperature of 6,000 graden Celsius. It sends out so much heat that the Earth feels warm. But some places get more heat than others.

Latitude has a strong influence on the temperature caused by the position of the sun. Places with a high latitude (North and South Poles) are very cold. Places with a low latitude (tropics) are very hot. Why?

Because the Earth is a sphere. The sun's rays shines vertically en diagonally. The heat is less intense when the sun's rays shines more diagonally. The heat is distributed over an bigger surface. Than when is shines vertically.

Why is the temperature higher in the tropics?

In the tropics the sun is high in the sky all day. The rays shine almost vertically on the Earth's surface and the shadows are short. Vertical rays give a lot of heat because they shine on a small surface.

Name two reasons why the Earth gets more heat from vertical rays than from diagonal rays.

1. Diagonal rays give less heat than vertical rays because they shine on a bigger surface.
2. diagonal rays take longer to travel through the asmosphere, they hir more clouds and dust along the way and are reflected back into the cosmos.

Why is it much warmer at the bottom of a mountain thant at the top?

1. The sun heats the Earth. The sun's rays pass through the atmosphere but they don't give any heat until they fall on the Earth. That's why the surface of the Earth is warm. Theis warm surface then begins to radiate heat to. These rays heat the air. So the atmosphere is heated from below.
2. The higher you go, the colder it gets. The temperature drops by 0,6 degree Celsius every time you climb another 100 metres.

The difference in temperture above land and sea also influences the air temperature. Why?

1. the temperature of the air above the sea is never very high or very low. that's because the sea keeps the temperature at a more or less equal level.
2. The air above land can be very warm but also very cold. and it can change suddenly.

The direction of the wind has a strong influence on the temperature. In winter when the wind comes from the north-east it freezes in the Netherlands, but when the wind comes from the south-west, it thawes. How do you name these different winds?

1. Sea winds are called onshore winds
2. land winds are called offshore winds

What influence has a onshore wind on the temperature in summer and winter?

When there is an onshore wind (sea wind), it is coller in summer and warmer in winter (it thaws)

How's the situation with the wind-temperature thing in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands the wind usually comes from the West. The west wind brings cool summers and mild winters, because the west wind in the Netherlands is a sea wind from the Atlantic Ocean. The east wind is a land wind from Europe.

What do ocean currents transport?

Ocean currents can transport warm tropical seawaterto the poles and they can transport cold polar water to warmer regions.

How influences an ocan current the temperature on the land?

A good example is Hammerfest, a coastal town in the far north of Norway, with a northern lititude of almost 71;, Most people expect the winter temperature in Hammerfest to be aroun -30 graden celsius, but it's only a few degrees below zero. That's because ther's a warm ocean current along the Norwegion coast.

Why gets it never very cold in the coastal regions of west and north-west Europe in winter?

1. because of the Gulf Stream.
2. because of the westerly winds

Every ocean current has a name. Why is the ocean current along the Norwegian coast called 'Gulf Stream'?

The Gulf Stream brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Europe.

 Why does the location of mountains influences the temperature?

ex. Temperature in Scandinavia in winter:
- Gulf Stream bring war seawater from the Gulf of Mexico.
- the westerly winds carry the warm air across the sea to Scandinavia.
- the scandinavian highlands stand in the way. 
- the harbours in the coastal towns in Norway don't freeze in winter.
- but the harbours on the east coast do freeze. it's very cold in Sweden on the other side of the highlands.

Why are the Swedish summers warmer than Norwegian summers. Sweden is on the side of the scandinvian highlands were it is very cold in winter.

The cool sea air stays in the mountains of the scandinavian Highlands.

The German climatologist Vladimir Köppen identified five climate zones in his so called 'Koppen's climate classification system'. Which 5?

A. tropical rainforest climate
B. Dry climate
C. Sea climate (maritime climate)
D. Continental climate
E. Polar climate

Where are the  five climate zones of the Koppen's climate classification system based on?

Four of these zones ('A','C','D' and 'E' are based on temperture. 'A' indicates the warmest climate, 'E' indicates the coldest climate.

'B' is for zones that are so dry that hardly anything grows there. That's why 'B' is also based on (the absence of) precipitation.

Can one describe the five clmate zones of the Koppen's climate classification system in more detail?

Yes, by adding extra letters:
1. You can add extra capital letters.
         'B' means that the climate is dry. But extra capital letters give more                 information:
          'BW' is a very dry desert climate
           'BS' is a less dry steppe climate
2. You can add small letters to tell you if the climate has a dry period. ('f', 's',      'w'.

Which small letters can you add to the five climate zones of the Koppen's climate classification system to tell you if the climate has a dry period?

f = fehlt          --> no dry period; precipitation all year
s = sommer  -->  dry in the summer
w = winter     --> dry in the winter

What is a Cs climate?

A Cs climate is a temperate maritime climate with a dry summer. This is also called a Mediterranean climate, although it ocuurs in other parts of the world besides the Mediterranean - in Canada, for example.

One of the climate zones of the Koppen's climate classification system indicates the coldest climate. There are a few capitals that can only be added to this climate zone. Name climate zone and the capital letters that can be added.

The E-climate indicates the coldest climate. The following capital letters can be added to the E climate:
F = (perpetual) snow in the polar regions
H = (perpetual) snow on high mountain ranges.
T = tundra

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