Latitudinal variations, Biology

Assignment Help:

Latitudinal Variations

The latitudinal variation of temperature over the earth is the result of two main variables

  • incoming solar radiation and
  • the distribution of land and water masses

 

What do you think could be the other factors influencing temperature?

The movement of wind and water, and the direction of slopes of hills and mountains also modify the temperature.

We know that the length of the day varies at higher latitudes. That means the incoming solar radiation varies. However, if we compute the average, every point on the earth gets the same total hours of daylight each year, an average of 12 hours per day, but not the same amount of heat. The latter depends upbn the amount of radiant energy delivered/unit area/hr and this depends upon the angle of landing sunlight. You have learnt in the previous section that vertical beams afe more intense than the oblique beams that land on the higher latitudes. Hence we find a gradual decrease in the amount of incident radiant energytunit area along the increasing latitudes, horizontally.

On the basis of temperature variation three distinct heat zones can be distinguished in each hemisphere (Figure shown below). The hot torrid zones are near the equator. moderate or temperate zones are in the middle, the cold zones are at the poles. Each zone is characterised by typical plants and animal populations found in the area.

1963_heat zones.jpg


Related Discussions:- Latitudinal variations

Explain properties of amylopectin and amylose, Properties of Amylopectin an...

Properties of Amylopectin and Amylose In plants, starch is packaged in granules, which vary in their  shape and size, when isolated from different sources. The size of these gr

Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases, Rhythmic fluctuations in the abundanc...

Rhythmic fluctuations in the abundance and activity of cell-cycle control molecules pace the events of the cell cycle. • Kinase - a protein which activates or deactivates another

How is water''s importance to life, How is water's importance to life refle...

How is water's importance to life reflected in the normal range of internal pH values that living things are likely to have?

What would be a very wrong way to tell the difference, You have accidentall...

You have accidentally mixed up 3 beakers of solutions. One is water. One is pure methanol. One is pure phosphoric acid. What would be a very wrong way to tell the difference betwee

Are the following statements true for eukaryotes, Are the following stateme...

Are the following statements true for eukaryotes , prokaryotes, both groups, or neither group? Answer They use a deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate as their energy currency"D They us

Which aqueous solution has the lowest ph, The aqueous solution with the low...

The aqueous solution with the lowest pH is: Select one: a. 0.01 M HCl. b. 0.1 M acetic acid (pKa = 4.86). c. 0.1 M formic acid (pKa = 3.75). d. 0.1 M HCl. e. 10 t

Growth curve, GROWTH CURVE - Sigmoid curve or stretched 'S' shap...

GROWTH CURVE - Sigmoid curve or stretched 'S' shaped curve is obtained showing - a - lag phase                              b - log phase c - in flaxion p

How is cancer usually treated, Q. How is cancer usually treated? If the...

Q. How is cancer usually treated? If the cancer is in its initial stage cure is often done by surgical removal of the neoplastic tissue. The Cancers already disseminated are of

Define the term - acoelomate, Define the term - Acoelomate Triploblasti...

Define the term - Acoelomate Triploblastic animals which do not have an internal body cavity. This includes flatworms and ribbon worms. However the term could be applied to oth

Describe in brief about pseudoisoehromatic plates test, Describe in brief a...

Describe in brief about Pseudoisoehromatic Plates test Commonly known as Ishihara's plates, these reveal one pattern to the normal eye and another to the colour deficient. Colo

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd