Climate and Microclimate MP 1.4

Climate• Includes temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind

and rainfall in an area over a long period of time as opposed to weather which is the same over a short period of time.

Microclimate• The climate in a small area that is different from the

climate in the surrounding area.• May be as small as a few square feet like in the shade

of a tree or as large as a few square miles like a city.

Microclimates in Matanuska Valley• Areas near the ocean are much warmer in the winter

and cooler in the summer. • North facing slopes lose their snow much sooner so

enjoy more lush growth of plants.

How Climate Change is Effecting the Distribution of Organisms

MP 1.5

Climate Change = Enigma• Climate change is complex and difficult to study

because in some places climate change might mean an area might be cooler

• Because it is so complex, it leads people to believe it is not happening or is not significant. Some corporations also have an financial interest (oil companies etc) in disproving climate change and have produced bogus studies.

Climate change means …• In some places around the globe …

– More droughts – Heavier rainfall/snowfall– Longer, hotter summers– More intense storms

• Might mean cooler summers in Alaska with more low pressure systems coming in off the Pacific– Might also mean more snow/rain in the winter for the same reason

How climate change effects plants/animals?

• Allows plants to increase their range into higher latitudes but decrease in lower latitudes.

• Allows plants to increase their range in altitude but decrease in lower altitudes.

In Alaska it means ….• Trees expanding into tundra communities both alpine

and arctic tundra.• Less ice for polar bears and seals to live and hunt on.• Time for a second reproduction cycle in the summer

for insects like the spruce beetle.• Walrus’s move to land instead of hauling out on ice

floes.• Major erosion issues for Western Alaska’s Coastal

Villages.