Climate

• Tropical rainforest climate
• Savannah climate
• Steppe climate
• Desert climate
• Etesienklima
• Wet Temperate climate
• Sinisches climate
• Wet Continental climate
• Trans Siberian climate
• Summer Dry Cold Air
• Tundra
• Eisklima

The climate is as a term for the totality of all meteorological processes that are responsible for the average state of the atmosphere in one place. In other words, climate is the totality of all possible weather conditions in one place, including its typical succession and their diurnal and seasonal variations. The climate is in this case not only of processes within the atmosphere, but rather by the interplay of all spheres of the Earth ( continents, oceans, atmosphere) as well as the solar activity ( ice ages ) and other influences such as Earth's orbit instability marked. It includes a wide variety of sizes, which is especially the temporal and spatial dimension of the climate concept of crucial importance for the understanding.

The science which is called the regularities of the climate, its properties, development and appearance explored as climatology.

• 6.1 Climate human factor

The climate concept

Definition of climate

In the geographical climatology climate of J. Blüthgen is defined as follows:

In the meteorological climatology climate according to M. chicken is defined as follows:

The definition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) is as follows:

Definition by J. V. Hann 1883:

C.D. Schönwiese wrote in 1995:

Etymology

The word climate ( plural: climates or closer to the Greek, climates; rare ( Germanized ) also climate) is a takeover of the ancient Greek word κλίμα klíma whose first meaning ( around 500 BC ) Here in this context, curvature / tilt [ of the sun ] ' and the verb was κλίνειν klínein, tend ', ' bend ', ' arch ', ' lean ' part. About the Late Latin clima (verb: clinare, bend ',' bend ',' tend '), the term eventually came into German.

The word climate is not related to the known from celestial mechanics skewness of Erdekliptik, ie to the fact that the Earth's axis relative to the plane on which the orbit of the Earth is to the sun, about 23 degrees inclined, but on spherical curvature of the earth, practically speaking on the experience that you can watch other climes only by a north -south movement on earth. The situation appropriate Eindeutschung is the compositum " sky bar ", which in our present-day German but is only synonymous with geographical area and not to the area belonging to the weather.

In the 20th century, while the understanding of the terms of the weather entirety ( Fedoroff 1927) to the synthesis of the weather ( WMO 1979) has developed.

Temporal dimension

As a demarcation to the weather (Time frame: hours to a few weeks) and weather conditions ( timeframe: a few days to about a week, in an extreme case, a month or a season ) one understands climate than one over a period of many decades, about 30 years statistically determined state of the Earth's atmosphere. It uses statistical methods to short-term fluctuations in the weather to filter and obtain characteristic values ​​for different meteorological variables, which in turn describe the climate of a place in its entirety. The main areas are the long-term trends in the center of interest, but that blur the opposite direction to the extremes with long reference periods. However, based on the climate are always the weather and the data collected in weather stations, weather and environmental satellites.

Based on this data base provides for the temporal dimension of the climate concept the question of how changeable the weather is, and any variations which therefore have the meteorological variables which adequately describe the weather. The larger this variation is, the less representative is a statistical analysis of the data of a short period of time reference. The claim to characterize a predominantly site-specific climate and not only time- specific weather phenomena, can not be sustained in this case. However, long-term evaluations lose by these fluctuations partly their semantic content, therefore, in a mean in general not sufficient to assess the climate properly time. To charge a distribution of precipitation from a heavy rain within half a decade, and other drought as mean annual precipitation on the five individual years, illustrates the distorting effects that may arise from inadequate application of these statistical methods. Considering the climate of a place with a reference period of 1000 years, so it certainly has filtered all extreme events, but this is at such a long period of time for any short-term fluctuations. No major trends, such as the Little Ice Age, could be simply overlooked by the choice of such a period. However, considering the available data with respect to the distant past era, it is clear in this case that the available climate records provide information only over very long reference periods. The effort to reduce these periods, and thus to capture and in relation to the climatic history of short-term trends in the evolution of the climate with, is an essential aspiration of paleoclimatology.

These modifying influences are always based on the specific application and can not be determined a priori and universal. They can only be answered by an analysis of the data in order here about set the base or reference period, which is adapted to the available data, a representative determination of the relevant climate character and the associated development trends possible.

Starting from the problem of reference periods, the World Organization has defined so-called climate normal periods of Meteorology. These include a pre-defined reference period of 30 years. The specified intervals, the already completed periods 1931-1960 and 1961-1990, and the current climate normal period 1991-2020. You are among others, the comparability of the climatic variables with each other and are hereby used mainly to represent these variables in climate diagrams. Many predictions of future climate development in this case relate to the year 2050, ie the end of the next climate normal period.

Spatial dimension

The term climate is often equated with the global climate and global climate. Here, however, shows that global trends and averages in any way to be representative of individual sites. A global temperature increase of one degree Celsius is merely an abstraction, but which does not have to meet with local weather observations, which retains its validity even over a longer period climate generally. You can locally preclude an increase or decrease of a much larger, but also a much smaller extent, which is why, for example, a local " record summer " "disappear " at the global level and vice versa.

These local effects are closer to the real impact of very abstract and global trends in the context of the fact that meteorological values ​​are not recognized locally and globally, of exceptional interest. Last but not least are the influences of climate on human beings and their vital interests, such as agriculture, dominated by the local correspondences global trends.

Because also arise differences in methodology from the large spatial differences, a three-stage classification of standards has proved.

• The microclimate is limited to a few meters to a few kilometers, for example, a room, a meadow or one block.
• The meso-climate refers to landscapes or countries to a few hundred kilometers stretch.
• The macro describes continental and global contexts.

While the weather is a close bond between magnitude and duration of a phenomenon, this relationship is not or hardly at climatic considerations.

Microclimate (or microclimate )

Microclimate refers to the climate of the near-surface air layers to about two meters in height or climate, in a small, clearly defined area ( for example, between buildings in a city ) trains himself.

It is significantly influenced by the proximity of the bottom surface and the local ground friction of the wind. Here reign weaker air movements, but larger temperature differences. The diversity of the soil, the terrain, the slope, and plant cover can cause a confined space large air opposites. The microclimate is ideal for low-growing plants of importance as they go through life stage most sensitive to climate in the near-surface air layer.

But not only the plants, even the person is exposed to the micro climate directly. In particular, in non-natural habitats, such as cities, the microclimate by the different building materials, the architecture, the variability of the solar radiation ( shading ) or the modification of the wind field may differ substantially from the typical regional conditions, these deviations are very labile and also through small interventions, such as the construction or demolition of a house can change sensitive and abruptly. Since these interactions are highly complex and sometimes change from hour to hour, the microclimate can be detected and described only by measurements (stock air ) and numerical simulations (inventory and the possible effects of climate change ).

Mesoklima

Among the diverse Mesoklimaten Einzelklimate are summarized which have an extent of between a few hundred meters and a few hundred kilometers, but are usually in the lower kilometer area. Due to this broad, yet local, range many fields of applied meteorology and climatology play a major role. Examples of this are the urban climate or the rain forest climate. In general, all Lokalklimate and Geländeklimate be counted among the Mesoklimaten, so for example the Lokalklimate of ecosystems, which in these, the transition to the microclimates is fluid.

Macroclimate

From macroclimate climate it is called in the large-scale effects, with an area of ​​more than approximately 500 kilometers. To this end, therefore, include in particular the elements of the global circulation and the large marine conveyor belt. Even the world's climate even this one. As an orientation in contrast to Mesoklimaten all the whole earth will be counted and spanning ocean or continent-wide effects on income macroclimates. Less clear, however, applicable as a rule, assigns you also have regional effects, such as the monsoon, the El Niño or very large regional climates such as the Amazon rainforest with macroclimates. All macroclimates are employed in a close mutual interaction and thus influence in many ways, especially where these interactions are not yet fully understood and are subject of current research. Ultimately, no Makroklimat can be considered on its own because of this, and in their dynamic interaction they lead directly to the comprehensive concept of global climate.

Climatic factors

Climate components are understood various processes and states, through which caused the climate, maintained or changed. A distinction is made between primary and secondary environmental factors, the primary environmental factors of elementary nature, and the secondary environmental factors consequently derived from the primary environmental factors. For the former include the solar radiation, the land-sea distribution, the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and the altitude of the location. Although they are sometimes also due to causes such as plate tectonics or astrophysical phenomena, these themselves are not directly involved in the air and are therefore counted only indirectly related to climate factors.

The secondary environmental factors comprise various cycles and circulation systems of the Earth, resulting directly or indirectly from the primary environmental factors. These include primarily the general circulation of the atmosphere, the ocean currents, the water cycle and also requires the cycle of rocks. Also regional circulation systems such as El Niño, La Niña and monsoons are counted for this purpose.

In addition, we also differentiated in some applications, depending on whether the environmental factors and their change are anthropogenic or natural origin.

Climate system

The climate system is an extension of the concept of climate factors Represents the Earth's climate system is here from its different geosystems together, the five major components: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and the land surface. The variations within and interactions between geosystems is referred to here as climate noise. The energy forcing of the climate system is the solar radiation and to a lesser degree also in the geothermal heat, which a much more decisive effect on the physical composition of the Earth's atmosphere and thus has the radiation budget in the form of volcanism. Crucial for the interplay of climate systems is their different temporal dynamics. Considering the climate in very short periods of time, such as the climate normal periods, so one can neglect many climatically crucial factors, since these are only over very long periods to change. The drift of the lithosphere characterizes the long-term land-sea distribution and the sea, but is only about 3 to 20 inches per year and is thus irrelevant in short periods of time. One can in this example shows that the climatic role of the climate system is always assign a specific period of time or a temporal inertia. This inertia in the case of the lithosphere be millions of years or in the case of the atmosphere only a few years to decades. In particular, the composition of the atmosphere can change very quickly, but in turn acts out only over very long time scales to a change in the composition of the lithosphere. However, these scales are not mandatory, such as volcanism shows.

The term of the climate system, however, is not limited solely to the Earth's climate system as a whole but can also be applied to niederskalige systems, which in turn represent these parts of the global climate system. Examples are the land-sea wind system or the monsoon systems.

Climate elements

As climate element it refers to any measurable property of the climate system of the earth, which through their interaction the climate characterizes separately or at different levels and can be used for its characterization. This is mostly to meteorological parameters, which are recorded as part of the weather observations at weather stations, but also the sizes of Oceanology and Geosciences, General. They can be distinguished according to whether they are components in the various households of the climate system (budget elements) or the non-planar (non - budget items ). Also, a distinction according to state variables, process variables and field sizes.

Climate elements:

• Air pressure - measured by barometer;
• Humidity - measured by hygrometers;
• Air temperature - measured by thermometer;
• Wind - measured by anemometers;
• Precipitation - measured by rain gauges ( rain gauge );
• Evaporation, distinguishing between potential and actual evaporation - mostly derived and / or estimated from other variables such as temperature and precipitation;
• A and charisma - complicated collection of measurements, estimates and calculations, see also global radiation, albedo and Milankovitch cycles;
• Salinity of the oceans - measured by Salinometer;
• Ocean currents;
• Water temperature;
• Ice thickness and snow depth and its density.

Non - budget items:

• Albedo
• Sunshine duration
• Cloudiness - statistically detected or measured by radar images;
• Roughness height
• Circulation indices

Through global mean values ​​of temperature can be ascertained, for example, whether a year is colder or warmer than was a long-time average. The same is true, however, for the monthly, weekly and daily average temperature. However, it can also refer to other variables such as precipitation. Another task it would be, for example, to compare the annual, monthly, or daily high temperatures with a climatic mean, in the latter case, however, only a very limited informational value exists because differ deviation of the temperatures of a day to a long-term average strong.

Climate history

The earth's climate is changing over long periods of time. So warm and cold periods alternated during the Pleistocene repeatedly each other off and do this maybe even to this day ( Holocene ). On the basis of climatic archives such as Arctic ice cores, geological deposits ( sediments ), fossils and petrified trees growth rings can be traced back over many periods, these climate changes. The more one penetrates it in the past, the less data material is available, and one is forced to consider ever greater periods of time, until you finally reach inaccuracies that may represent several million years. This will effect how the longer-term change in the solar constant, the continental drift and variability of the Earth's orbit ever more decisive importance, as they are superimposed on short-term climate change processes and other factors play only a minor role. Alone, however, from this difference in time perspective is changing and the climate concept, which can lead to inconsistencies between paleontology / geology and climatology in a failure to take account of this effect. Is corrected, however, the temporal or partly spatial perspective, these contradictions dissolve in the rule.

Climate change

The main external causes of climate change lie in the variability of solar radiation, volcanic activity and special events such as meteorite impacts. Solar radiation is affected by cyclical changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun and the inclination of the Earth ( Milankovitch cycles) as well as changes in solar activity itself While sunspots were observed and recorded as an external indicator of solar activity for centuries, are direct instrumental measurements of the physical state the sun and its emissions only been possible since the development of appropriate satellite. Therefore, these researches are only at the beginning.

In the Earth's atmosphere is a chaotic system, which can change relatively suddenly, in certain cases, although it previously often very slow reaction to certain influences, such as by placing them attenuated by negative feedback. However, there are numerous effects that cause a negative feedback very quickly turns into a positive feedback, and so any trends of climate change are fraught with potential uncertainty. The cause of the envelope itself may even be in the past.

The climatic character described by the statistical data and the climate itself are to be distinguished here. The aim of the climatology is to minimize the difference between the two, but this may be due to the complexity of the climate, and thereby caused the need for simplification always have only an approximate character.

See also: greenhouse effect, ozone hole

Climate human factor

With the beginning of industrialization in the 19th century, people increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Particularly the burning of fossil fuels contributed to the fact that the proportion of carbon dioxide ( CO2) has increased more than 390 ppm in the atmosphere of 280 ppm ( parts per million) at present ( 2011). There are also substantial emissions of methane particularly by animal breeding as well as other greenhouse gases. Another important factor is large -scale deforestation. As a result, increased 1906-2005, the global average temperature by 0.74 ° C ± 0.18 ° Celsius. By the end of the 21st century, the so-called Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) expects that the global temperature will increase by a further 1.1 to 6.4 ° C. The changes in the composition of the atmosphere and the resulting induced temperature increase caused by the reports of the IPCC to human activities. Numerous and often severe consequences (also German IPCC ) predicted by the IPCC, including rising sea levels, disappearing species and immense damage to human communities are counted.

Climate models

A climate model is a computer model for the calculation and prediction of the climate for a certain period of time. The model is usually based on a meteorological model, as it is also used for numerical weather prediction. This model is, however, extended for the climate modeling to map all conserved quantities correctly. As a rule, an ocean model, a snow - and ice models for the cryosphere and vegetation model for the biosphere coupled. Climate models represent the most complex and computationally elaborate computer models that have been developed. The " predictions " of climate models are inherently more uncertain than that of the weather models, because here much longer periods taken into consideration and a large number of additional parameters must be considered. For this reason, one speaks of these individual models and climate scenarios and not of climate predictions. The difference between them is that the former can modeled for a variety of different scenarios, on the one hand with other materials and on the other hand with other presuppositions. So a climate forecast is based on the evaluation of various modeling experiments and is also due to difficult comparisons between them very difficult to create. Since the individual scenarios, which are also reflected in the structure of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have different end results, even basing climate prediction can show only the range of possibilities. Therefore, this is also reflected in the forecast of the IPCC global warming with a span from 1.4 to 5.8 ° C by 2100 (IPCC 2001).

Climate diagrams

A climate diagram, the graphical representation of climatic conditions in a particular place during the year. It is usually the climate elements are rainfall and temperature considered and represented as 30-year averages.

Usually, the Walter - Lieth diagram is used, which can be seen on the example of Rio de Janeiro.

Often occurring is also the Thermoisopletendiagramm in which only the temperature is illustrated. This is in this diagram but read for every hour of every day of the year in detail.

Klimazonierung and air classification

Areas of the same climatic conditions are classified in climates characterized and classified. To disposition of the earth in different climates, there is this different classifications. The most famous is that of Wladimir Köppen. The climates are characterized mainly by climate diagrams.

It differs depending

• From the ocean maritime climate and
• From the mainland continental climate.

We divide small-scale climates, inter alia,

• Mountain climate ( orography )
• Interfacial climate,
• Microclimate, local climate, regional climate, location and climate,
• Terrain Climate,
• Topoklima,
• Urban climate and
• Forest climate.

Climate in Germany

Germany has a temperate seasonal climate in the west wind zone and is located in the transition zone between the maritime climate in Western Europe and the continental climate in Eastern Europe. The climate is among others influenced by the Gulf Stream, which is responsible for the unusual for the comparatively northern latitude of high temperature level.

The so-called nationwide area average of the air temperature is in the annual mean of 8.2 ° C ( normal period 1961-1990), the lowest monthly average temperature is reached at -0.5 ° C in January and the highest at 16.9 ° C in July. The highest average annual temperatures recorded the Upper Rhine Graben with more than 11 ° C, while in example Oberstdorf only around 6 ° C can be achieved. The coldest place is the height of 2962 meter high Zugspitze, where the annual average temperature is almost -5 ° C. The mean annual precipitation is 789 mm, the mean monthly precipitation totals range from 49 mm in February and 85 mm in June. The precipitation amount between about 1000 mm in the Alps and the mountain ranges and varies less than 500 mm in the rain shadow of the Harz between Magdeburg in the north, in the east of Leipzig and Erfurt in the south. In general, the Humidität of West decreases to east.

In recent decades, stands out as well as globally, a general trend to higher temperatures: After entering the German Weather Service were up on 1996 and 2010 in all years since 1988, the average temperatures above the long term average (1961-1990) of 8.2 ° C, in 2000 and 2007 even 9.9 ° C were achieved. In particular, the summers have become significantly warmer. In addition, the beginning of spring premature on average, five days per decade: migratory birds keep almost a month longer in Germany than in the 1970s.

The lowest ever recorded temperature was -45.9 ° in Germany C and was registered on December 24, 2001 in the Berchtesgaden Alps on Funtensee. However, it must be emphasized that this is an extreme position, because in the endorheic sink can form extremely cold air in long winter nights over a blanket of snow. The German weather service issues a record of -37.8 ° C, which on February 12, 1929 in Hull (part of Wolnzach, Oberpfaffenhofen circle ) were measured. The highest ever temperature was recorded on 8 August 2003 with 40.3 ° C in Nennig in Saarland.

Extreme weather conditions such as prolonged droughts, severe frost or extreme heat waves are relatively rare because of the offsetting west wind zone. In the fall and winter months, however, there are always individual storm or hurricane lows, preferably pass over the North Sea to the east and mainly affect northern Germany and the Central Mountains, such as the hurricane depression Anatol and Lothar in December 1999 or Kyrill in January 2007. regularly also flood after intense periods of rain in the summer (Oder flood in 1997, the Elbe flood 2002) or after snowmelt flooding and significant damage occurring can lead. Droughts affect primarily the rather dry on average northeastern Germany, but can sometimes also drag the whole country affected, as recently during the heat waves in 2003 and 2006.

More weather extremes represent thunderstorms and tornadoes, which occur mainly in early and midsummer. While mainly Southern Germany is regularly hit by severe hail storms, generally takes the Tornado trend to the northwest too easy. A special feature in this case the waterspouts that occur at the North and Baltic Sea coast, especially in the late summer dar. Overall, it can be assumed that from 30 to 60 tornadoes per year, in some years even more ( 119 tornado 2006).

See also: Time series of air temperature in Germany

Climate on other planets

The climate concept is described in relation to the earth and the most thoroughly classified, but its basic principles are independent of the character of the climate itself, and thus, ultimately, from the planet Earth. Therefore, approaches are being pursued, especially in the field of weather and climate modeling to describe the climate of other celestial bodies in our solar system. Since they have a completely different set of environmental factors and input variables for the climatological models ( see atmosphere and planet products ), thereby transmission problems show. There is also a lack in many cases and areas of data location. The benefits of these projects, however, lies not only in understanding the strange planetary climates in terms of extra- terrestrial human activities, such as a manned flight to Mars, but also in the improvement of terrestrial climate models by testing their modified equivalents of physically completely different type systems. An example of this is the MAOAM project.