1. . 

They way this effects nutrients is through the influence on ocean currents. The winds moving from the poles toward the equator is one of three main influences on these currents. Nutrients are carried from the deep ocean in cold currents which arrive near the surface at specific locations, these are called upwellings. The largest of these is along the west coast of South America, as a result there are lots of fishes in this region feeding on the plankton etc which thrive on these nutrients. http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANE... . Terrestrial nutrients however are mainly affected by water flow and wind is only significant in that it moves water vapour around. Atmospheric nutrients like carbon and nitrogen are globally distributed so they don't occur in significantly greater abundance in given locations for more than very short periods, not long enough for the species in the location to benefit from it. 

Wind, meteorological conditions, terrain -- but mostly the wide-open atmosphere -- all conspire to spread pollution great distances. Pollution is in some cases globally distributed, but may be rained out of the atmosphere into specific locations nearby the sources of pollutants. For example acid rain occured mainly in the Northern Hemisphere as that is where the majority of sulfur particles were being emitted from industries, these particles reacted in the atmosphere to form H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) and when this dissolves in water it is extremely corrosive to any reactive solid surface it contacts. Forests were damaged on large scales and as a result "scrubbers" were placed in relevant sources to reduce the amount of sulfur molecules being emitted. Other pollutants like CFCs surround the globe with uniform concentration as they travel high into the atmosphere and then spread around not by wind but by what we call concentration gradients- similar to how wind moves from areas of high pressure to low pressure, chemicals move from areas of high concentration to low concentration until the total concentration is balanced.

As air is swept into the region, it encounters an array of hills and river valleys. Wind blowing perpendicular to a valley traps pollution there. Wind blowing parallel to the valley disperses the pollution. Temperature inversions, in which a layer of warm air prevents the rise of cooling air, also can trap pollution in pockets of the region's hilly terrain, according to the National Weather Service.

Prevailing winds also can dictate pollution's impact.

Wind moves pollution across municipal, county, state and national borders, and even sends it across continents. China's pollution reaching the California coastline is one example.

People living great distances from smokestacks can face health consequences, and even death, from long-distance exposure.

3. What Is the Difference Between Weather and Climate?Weather is the short-term changes we see in temperature, clouds, precipitation, humidity and wind in a region or a city. Weather can vary greatly from one day to the next, or even within the same day. In the morning the weather may be cloudy and cool. But by afternoon it may be sunny and warm.

The climate of a region or city is its weather averaged over many years. This is usually different for different seasons. For example, a region or city may tend to be warm and humid during summer. But it may tend to be cold and snowy during winter.

The climate of a city, region or the entire planet changes very slowly. These changes take place on the scale of tens, hundreds and thousands of years.

Climate is the average (statistically, mean and variability) weather, usually over a 30-year interval.[1]

[2] It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity,atmospheric

pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorologicalvariables in a given

region over long periods of time. Climate is different from weather, in that weather only describes the

short-term conditions of these variables in a given region.  climate is often defined as ‘average weather’.

The two most important factors in the climate of an area are temperature and precipitation. The yearly average temperature of the area is obviously important, but the yearly range in temperature is also important. Some areas have a much larger range between highest and lowest temperature than other areas. Likewise, average precipitation is important, but the yearly variation in rainfall is also important. Some areas have about the same rainfall throughout the year. Other areas have very little rainfall for part of the year and a lot of rainfall for the other part of the year.

3.Ocean currents are one of the main factors that affect climate. Other factors are proximity from the

equator, distance from the sea, direction of prevailing winds and relief (mountains). But, for the most

part, ocean currents act as one of the most important factors that influence the climate. And the

reason why is because a current is water that travels. With that traveling water comes heat. ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface. Without currents, regional temperatures would be more extreme—super hot at the equator and frigid toward the poles—and much less of Earth’s land would be habitable.

4. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a naturally occurring phenomenon that involves fluctuating ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. The warmer waters essentially slosh, or oscillate, back and forth across the Pacific. For North America and much of the globe, the phenomenon is known as a dominant force causing variations in regional climate patterns. The pattern generally fluctuates between two states: warmer than normal central and eastern equatorial Pacific SSTs (El Niño) and cooler than normal central and eastern equatorial Pacific SSTs (La Niña). 

Though ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it has three states, or phases, it can be in.  The two opposite phases, “El Niño” and “La Niña,” require certain changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere because ENSO is a coupled climate phenomenon. The system oscillates between warm (El

Niño) to neutral (or cold La Niña) conditions with an on average every 3-4 years.  “Neutral” is in the middle of the continuum.

1. El Niño:  A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures (SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. which build up between June and December The low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”), instead weaken or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west to east or “westerly winds”). It is this shifting of major upper air wind currents by El Niño that causes weather and short-term climate changes in other parts of the globe. Places such as Australia, Indonesia, Brazil, India and Africa could experience drought conditions because moisture-bearing storms are shifted away from these areas. Likewise, Argentina, South China, Brazil and Japan can receive an increase in moisture-bearing storms that cause long periods of heavy rains and flooding. \

2. La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea surface temperatures (SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.  Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase while rainfall decreases over the central tropical Pacific Ocean.  The normal easterly winds along the equator become even stronger. Globally, La Niña is characterized by wetter than normal conditions west of the equatorial central Pacific

over northern Australia and Indonesia during the northern hemisphere winter, and over the Philippines during the northern hemisphere summer. Wetter than normal conditions are also observed over southeastern Africa and northern Brazil, during the northern hemisphere winter season. During the northern hemisphere summer season, the Indian monsoon rainfall tends to be greater than normal, especially in northwest India. Drier than normal conditions are observed along the west coast of tropical South America, and at subtropical latitudes of North America (Gulf Coast) and South America (southern Brazil to central Argentina) during their respective winter seasons.

3. Neutral:  Neither El Niño or La Niña. Often tropical Pacific SSTs are generally close to average.  However, there are some instances when the ocean can look like it is in an El Niño or La Niña state, but the atmosphere is not playing along (or vice versa).Many chemical compounds present in Earth's atmosphere behave as 'greenhouse gases'. These are gases which allow direct sunlight (relative shortwave energy) to reach the Earth's surface unimpeded. As the shortwave energy (that in the visible and ultraviolet portion of the spectra) heats the surface, longer-wave (infrared) energy (heat) is reradiated to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases absorb this energy, thereby allowing less heat to escape back to space, and 'trapping' it in the lower atmosphere. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide, while others are synthetic. Those that are man-made include the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), as well as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Atmospheric concentrations of both the natural and man-made gases have been rising over the last few centuries due to the industrial revolution.

Many GHGs, including water vapor (the most important), ozone, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are naturally present in the atmosphere. Other GHGs are synthetic chemicals that are emitted only as a result of human activity. Anthropogenic (human) activities are significantly increasing atmospheric concentrations of many GHGs.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), the most significant GHG directly affected by anthropogenic activity, is the product of the oxidation of carbon in organic matter, either through combustion of carbon-based fuels or the decay of biomass. Natural CO2 sources include volcanic eruptions,respiration of organic matter in natural ecosystems, natural fires, and exchange of dissolved CO2 with the oceans. The main anthropogenic sources are (a) fossil fuel combustion and (b)deforestation and land use changes (such as converting agricultural land or forests to urban development), which release stored organic matter and reduce the ability of natural ecosystems to store carbon.

Methane (CH4) is produced by anaerobic decay of organic material in landfills, wetlands, and rice fields; enteric fermentation in the digestive tracts of ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep; manure

management; wastewater treatment; fossil fuel combustion; and leaks from natural gas transportation and distribution systems and abandoned coal mines.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is produced by fertilizer use, animal waste management, fossil fuel combustion, and industrial activities.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are synthetic chemicals that are used in a variety of industrial production processes such as semiconductor manufacturing. PFCs are also produced as a by-product of aluminum smelting. Both groups of chemicals are finding increasing use as substitutes for ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are being phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. HFCs and PFCs are replacing CFCs in applications such as refrigeration and foam-blowing for insulation.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The Sun powers Earth’s climate, radiating energy at very short wavelengths, predominately in the visible or near-visible (e.g., ultraviolet) part of the spectrum. Roughly one-third of the solar energy that reaches the top of Earth’s atmosphere is reflected directly back to space. The remaining two-thirds is absorbed by the surface by the atmosphere. To balance the absorbed incoming energy, the Earth must, on average, radiate the same amount of energy back to space. Because the Earth is much colder than the Sun, it radiates at much longer wavelengths. Much of this thermal radiation emitted by the land and ocean is absorbed by the atmosphere, including clouds, and reradiated back to Earth. This is called the greenhouse effect. The Earth’s greenhouse effect warms the surface of the planet. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the average temperature at Earth’s surface would be below the freezing point of water. Thus, Earth’s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible. However, human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have greatly intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming.

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the troposphere, the part of the atmosphere where weather occurs, and the global warming they cause affects the Earth's climate systems.

What is the ozone layer?The ozone layer is a deep layer in the stratosphere, encircling the Earth, that has large amounts of ozone in it. The layer shields the entire Earth from much of the harmful ultraviolet radiation that comes from the sun. Ozone is a special form of oxygen, made up of three oxygen atoms rather than the usual two oxygen atoms. It usually forms when some type of radiation or electrical discharge separates the two atoms in an oxygen molecule (O2), which can then individually recombine with other oxygen molecules to form ozone (O3). ut it does a very important job. Like a sponge, the ozone layer absorbs bits of radiation hitting Earth from the sun. Even though we need some of the sun's radiation to live, too much of it can damage living things. The ozone layer acts as a filter for the shorter wavelength and highly hazardous ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun, protecting life on Earth from its potentially harmful effects which can penetrate organisms’ protective layers, like skin, damaging DNA molecules in plants and animals.

Ozone affects climate, and climate affects ozone. Temperature, humidity, winds, and the presence of other chemicals in the atmosphere influence ozone formation, and the presence of ozone, in turn, affects those atmospheric constituents. Ozone's impact on climate consists primarily of changes in temperature. The more ozone in a given parcel of air, the more heat it retains. Ozone generates heat in the stratosphere, both by absorbing the sun's ultraviolet radiation and by absorbing upwelling infrared radiation from the lower atmosphere (troposphere). Consequently, decreased ozone in the stratosphere results in lower temperatures.

7 Microclimate is the set of meteorological parameters that characterize a localized area. The scale of geography associated with a microclimate is on the order of one square meter or as large as the order of 100 square kilometers. The chief factors comprising microclimate are: surface temperature, relative humidity, wind speed,solar insolation and precipitation. These factors derive from the confluence of larger scale meteorology with localized topographic elements.

  A rain shadow is a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather. A rain shadow is a dry region of land on the side of a mountain range that is protected from the

prevailing winds. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of the mountain—the rain shadow side—all that precipitation is blocked.

In a rain shadow, it’s warm and dry. On the other side of the mountain, it’s wet and cool. Why is there a difference? When an air mass moves from a low elevation to a high elevation, it expands and cools. This cool air cannot hold moisture as well as warm air. Cool air forms clouds, which drop rain and snow, as it rises up a mountain. After the air mass crosses over the peak of the mountain and starts down the other side, the air warms up and the clouds dissipate. That means there is less rainfall.

Urban climate is any set of climatic conditions that prevails in a large metropolitan area and that differs from the climate of its rural surroundings. Buildings and paved surfaces absorb heat during the day, and then radiate it back into the air at night, moderating low temperatures during winter. Buildings also offer protection from wind in many places. These warming effects carry over into summer, as well. Urban microclimates can trap heat, creating a scorching environment. Urban climates are distinguished from those of less built-up areas by differences of air temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and amount of precipitation. These differences are attributable in large part to the altering of the natural terrain through the construction of artificial structures and surfaces. For example, tall buildings, paved streets, and parking lots affect wind flow, precipitation runoff, and the energy balance of a local. 

The coastal climate is influenced by both the land and sea between which the coast forms a boundary. The thermal properties of water are such that the sea maintains a relatively constant day to day temperature compared with the land. The sea also takes a long time to heat up during the summer months and, conversely, a long time to cool down during the winter. In the tropics, sea temperatures change little and the coastal climate depends on the effects caused by the daytime heating and night-

time cooling of the land. This involves the development of a breeze from off the sea (sea breeze) from late morning and from off the land (land breeze) during the night. The tropical climate is dominated by convective showers and thunderstorms that continue to form over the sea but only develop over land during the day. As a consequence, showers are less likely to fall on coasts than either the sea or the land.

8. Places located at high latitudes (far from the equator) receive less sunlight than places at low latitudes (close to the equator). The amount of sunlight and the amount of precipitation affects the types of plants and animals

that can live in a place.  Climate have an effect on temperature. This temperature is a big factor in what will grow and what will not.

For each 1,000 foot rise in altitude there is a 4°F drop in temperature.

Elevation plays a large role in the health and growth of plants. Elevation may affect the type and

amount of sunlight that plants receive, the amount of water that plants can absorb and the

nutrients that are available in the soil. As a result, certain plants grow very well in high

elevations, whereas others can only grow in middle or lower elevations.Climate plays a large role in what types of vegetation can grow in a certain area. In higher altitudes, the wind and coldness become a large factor in vegetation development. Plants in lower elevations are more affected by droughts,

compared with plants of higher elevation. Higher elevation plants typically receive a lot of rainfall

Plants in higher elevations typically receive more direct sunlight than plants of lower elevations. In addition, these plants receive a special type of sunlight, which has short-wave radiation. Whereas this poses an advantage for higher elevation plants because they receive more sunlight that they need to grow, it can also damage the plants if the short-wave radiation exceeds a certain amount. Lower elevation plants typically require less sunlight, and they are safer from many short-wave radiation waves, which do not reach farther down into lower elevation regions of Earth's surface.

Climate change is happening now. Evidences being seen support the fact that the change cannot simply be explained by natural variation. The most recent scientific assessments have confirmed that this warming of the climate system since the mid-20th century is most likely to be due to human activities; and thus, is due to the observed increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and land use change

Widespread changes in extreme temperatures have been observed over the last 50 years. Cold days, cold nights and frost

have become less frequent, while hot days, hot nights, and heat waves have become more frequent Climate data for the past 50 years already shows trends of rising temperatures by about 0.011oC annually, changes in the rainfall pattern, and increasing number of extreme climate events like cyclones, flooding, and drought

Agriculture

While CO2 is essential for plant growth, all agriculture depends also on steady water supplies, and climate change is likely to disrupt those supplies through floods anddroughts.

vulnerable to additional heat, and deaths attributable to heatwaves are expected

changes in the climate of the country, in terms of temperature increases and occurrences of extreme

rainfall and heat. The total cost of extreme events related to climate change is high, around 2% of the

country’s GDP. Rice paddies are being inundated with salt water, which destroys the crops. Seawater

is contaminating rivers as it mixes with fresh water further upstream, and aquifers are becoming

polluted. 

Environmental

Positive effects of climate change may include greener rainforests and enhanced plant growth in some areas, increased vegetation in northern latitudes and possible increases in plankton biomass in some parts of the ocean. Negative responses may include further growth of oxygen poor ocean zones, contamination or exhaustion of fresh water, increased incidence of natural fires, extensive vegetation die-off due to droughts, increased risk of coral extinction, decline in global photoplankton, changes in migration patterns of birds and animals, changes in seasonal periodicity, disruption to food chains and species loss.

Climate is determined by two main factors: temperature and precipitation. Using justtemperature or just precipitation would be misleading.

How does ozone depletion occur?

It is caused by the release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), which were used widely as refrigerants, insulating foams, and solvents. The discussion below focuses on CFCs, but is relevant to all ODS. AlthoughCFCs are heavier than air, they are eventually carried into the stratosphere in a process that can take as long as 2 to 5 years. Measurements of CFCs in the stratosphere are made from balloons, aircraft, and satellites.

When CFCs and HCFCs reach the stratosphere, the ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes them to break apart and release chlorine atoms which react with ozone, starting chemical cycles of ozone destruction that deplete the ozone layer. One chlorine atom can break apart more than 100,000 ozone molecules.

Other chemicals that damage the ozone layer include methyl bromide (used as a pesticide), halons (used in fire extinguishers), and methyl chloroform (used as a solvent in industrial processes for essential applications). As methyl bromide and halons are broken apart, they release bromine atoms, which are 60 times more destructive to ozone molecules than chlorine atoms.

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There are many causes for ozone depletion, but the most important process in both trends is catalytic destruction of ozone by atomic chlorine and bromine. Both come from the breaking down of chloroflourocarbons(freons) by photons in the atmosphere.

When CFCs reach the stratosphere, the ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes them to break apart and release chlorine atoms which react with ozone, starting chemical cycles of ozone destruction that deplete the ozone layer. One chlorine atom can break apart more than 100,000 ozone molecules.

Other chemicals that damage the ozone layer include methyl bromide (used as a pesticide), halons (used in fire extinguishers), andmethyl chloroform (used as a solvent in industrial processes for essential applications). As methyl bromide and halons are broken apart, they release bromine atoms, which are 40 times more destructive to ozone molecules than chlorine atoms.