- "Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more."
The study of the patterns and cycles of the Earth's weather, including monsoons, hurricanes, and El Niño conditions.
Global Temperature Trends: An overview of global temperature trends over the past century and how they relate to climate change.
Greenhouse Gases: The role of greenhouse gases in keeping the Earth's atmosphere warm and the current concentrations of these gases.
Ocean Circulation: The way in which ocean currents move heat around the planet and the impact of these currents on global climate patterns.
Atmospheric Circulation: An overview of global wind patterns and their impact on weather and climate.
El Niño and La Niña: The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its impact on global climate patterns.
Climate Modeling: An introduction to computer models used to simulate climate and project future changes.
Ice Ages: The causes and effects of ice ages on Earth and the way in which changes in temperature and carbon dioxide levels might trigger a new ice age.
Solar Forcing: The impact of solar activity on climate and how changes in solar radiation might contribute to global warming.
Climate Feedbacks: Feedback mechanisms that can amplify or dampen the effect of a change on the climate system.
Carbon Cycle: The circulation of carbon through the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere and how it relates to global climate patterns.
Paleoclimatology: The use of fossils, ice cores, and other evidence to reconstruct past climate patterns and provide context for present-day changes.
Climate Change Impacts: The predicted impacts of climate change on ecosystems, agriculture, and human society.
Mitigation Strategies: Strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow or stop global warming.
Adaption Strategies: Strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
International Policy and Climate Diplomacy: An overview of international efforts to address climate change through policy and diplomacy.
Tropical climates: Characterized by high temperatures, high humidity levels, and abundant rainfall throughout the year. These climates are found mainly in equatorial areas.
Arid or desert climates: These are characterized by low rainfall amounts and high temperatures, often occurring in regions around the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn. Very little vegetation occurs in these areas.
Temperate climates: These are characterized by mild temperatures and moderate rainfall levels throughout the year. These climates occur in regions away from the equator in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Polar climates: These occur in regions close to the Earth's poles, and are characterized by extremely cold temperatures and very little rainfall.
Mediterranean climates: These occur in regions around the Mediterranean Sea and are characterized by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
Oceanic or maritime climates: These occur in regions affected by oceanic currents, and are characterized by mild temperatures and high rainfall amounts throughout the year.
Continental climates: Characterized by large temperature fluctuations between summer and winter, and a low annual rainfall pattern.
Subarctic or boreal climates: These occur in regions just below the Arctic circle and are characterized by long, cold winters and short, mild summers.
Highland climates: Characterized by high altitude, resulting in cooler temperatures and changes in atmospheric pressure leading to winds and precipitation patterns.
Monsoon climates: Characterized by seasonal variations in wind direction leading to heavy rainfall patterns in certain seasons.
Semi-arid climates: Characterized by dry conditions with sporadic rainfall events that can lead to harsh weather conditions like sandstorms.
Polar tundra climates: These are cold and dry climates usually found in the Arctic and Antarctic where temperatures remain below freezing year-round. Summer period is too short for the growth of any vegetation.
- "Climate change is often popularly referred to as global warming."
- "Since the Industrial Revolution, the climate has increasingly been affected by human activities."
- "The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun and radiates energy to outer space."
- "The balance of incoming and outgoing energy and the passage of the energy through the climate system is Earth's energy budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, Earth's energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and Earth experiences cooling."
- "The energy moving through Earth's climate system finds expression in weather, varying on geographic scales and time."
- "Long-term averages and variability of weather in a region constitute the region's climate."
- "Such changes can be the result of 'internal variability,' when natural processes inherent to the various parts of the climate system alter the distribution of energy."
- "Examples include variability in ocean basins such as the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation."
- "Climate variability can also result from external forcing, when events outside of the climate system's components produce changes within the system."
- "Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism."
- "Climate variability has consequences for sea level changes, plant life, and mass extinctions; it also affects human societies."
- "Variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more, are considered climate change."
- "Since the Industrial Revolution, the climate has increasingly been affected by human activities."
- "The term is now commonly used to describe contemporary climate change, often popularly referred to as global warming."
- "The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun and radiates energy to outer space."
- "When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, Earth's energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and Earth experiences cooling."
- "Long-term averages and variability of weather in a region constitute the region's climate."
- "Examples include variability in ocean basins such as the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation."
- "Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism."