It’s All About Climate
The tilt of Earth’s axis (23.5°) is the reason we experience these.
What are seasons?
This biome, found around the equator, has the highest biodiversity and soils that are nutrient-poor.
What is the tropical rainforest?
This powerful Atlantic Ocean current keeps northern Europe warmer than expected for its latitude.
What is the Gulf Stream?
Animals in hot deserts often do this at night to avoid the extreme daytime heat.
What is being nocturnal?
Sunlight can only penetrate about 200 meters into the ocean. This upper layer is called what?
What is the photic zone?
This circulation cell forms near the equator, where warm air rises, produces rainfall, and later sinks around 30° latitude.
What is the equatorial circulation cell / Hadley cell?
This cold biome has permafrost, lichens, and caribou, with a short growing season.
What is the tundra?
The rise of nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface is called this.
What is upwelling?
This biome lies between deserts and tropical rainforests, with seasonal rainfall and animals like lions and wildebeest.
What is savanna?
The open-ocean community of free-swimming animals like squid, turtles, and whales is collectively known by this term.
What is nekton?
This force, named after a French scientist, causes winds and currents to curve due to Earth’s rotation.
What is the Coriolis force?
This marine biome is built by animals that live in colonies with symbiotic algae and requires warm, shallow water.
What is a coral reef?
Every 3–7 years, this event warms Pacific surface waters and reduces nutrients for fish.
What is El Niño / ENSO?
In the rocky intertidal zone, the lowest area (only exposed during the lowest tides) is home to sea stars and anemones.
What is the lower littoral zone?
These deep-sea ecosystems, discovered in 1977, are fueled by chemoautotrophic bacteria near hot springs.
What are hydrothermal vents?
When moist air rises over mountains and drops rain, the dry side of the mountain is called this.
What is rain shadow?
These temperate ecosystems are dominated by large conifers and include taiga.
What is temperate coniferous forest?
This slow global circulation, driven by temperature and salinity, is nicknamed the “ocean conveyor belt.”
What is thermohaline regulation?
Plants in mangrove forests often have these special aerial roots for breathing.
What are pneumatophores?
In deserts, this adaptation in plants (spines or water-storing stems) helps them survive.
What are succulents / xerophytic adaptations?
In Whittaker’s biome classification, these two climate variables are used to categorize ecosystems.
What are temperature and precipitation?
These underwater "forests" of giant algae grow in cool, nutrient-rich waters.
What are kelp forests?
When the sun, moon, and Earth are aligned, this extreme tidal effect occurs.
What are spring tides?
On mountains, this process explains why temperatures drop as elevation increases.
What is adiabatic cooling?
At depths greater than 6,000 m, this deepest ocean zone is found in trenches.
What is the hadal zone?