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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What, When, Where and Why does El Niño and La Niña occur?
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[Literal Spanish] "boy" Occurs around Christmas-time, when the trade winds become weaker. This causes South American west coast water to become warmer (which causes fish to leave because there are fewer minerals in warmer water), as well as increase the surface pressure in Southeast Asia and decrease the surface pressure in Southwest South America. And because of the heat, the air in South America in which this takes place turns into lower pressure, so there is more precipitation. It's counterpart "girl" causes generally the opposite of what "boy" does: There is more precipitation in Southeastern Asia, it happens whenever "boy" isn't and occurs when the trade winds become stronger (normal).
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Biome
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A major community or space characterized by dominant forms of plant and animal life and the prevailing climate.
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Desert
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Koppen-Bwh:Hot and dry, characterized by less than 10 inches precipitation annually, not many plants (short plants), grass, moss. Animals burrow.
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Steppe
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Koppen-Bs:Hot summers, cold winters (semi-arid), deserts/tall praries. Plants have deep roots (to collect water), and the animals can burrow. They are on the leeward side of a mountain.
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Savanna
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Koppen-Aw:Have 2 seasons, wet and dry [wet- more precipitation, dry-less precipitation]. Grass, scattered trees (which need too much water so they only grow in wet season). Elephants, mostly grazers and their predators, many are hooved to run and have long legs and wings.
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Rainforest
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Koppen-Af:Yearround warmth, between 68-93 degrees F, 77-88% rainfall: sometimes over 100 inches of rain. 70% of plants are trees, have smooth, thin bark. Animals are mainly 4 legged mammals (e.g. monkeys, sloths) adapted to live in trees. Very well-watered.
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Alpine
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Koppen-H:Cold, snowy, windy and 10,000ft. Summers are 10-15 degrees C and winters below freezing. Plants grow in stocks, die over winter but regrow from their seeds. The animals are warm-blooded, have long fur and travel in herds. On a mountain, sandy/rocky soil.
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Tundra
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Koppen-E:Cold, dry in winter, short, cold, wet ground. In addition to moss, there are low/short plants and hairy for insulation (to keep warm). The animals have fur (e.g. foxes) and blubber. It is a wetland because the soil isn't absorbable.
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Taiga
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Koppen-Dfc: Dominated by cold, arctic air, turned from Sun during winter, rainy, hot and short summer, temperatures in winter are -65-30 degrees F and 30-70 degrees F in summer. The rainfall is around 12-33 inches. Only evergreens grow here. All predators also live here. It is a subarctic forest, lots of snow, and is the largest biome in the world.
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Grasslands
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Koppen-Bs:Temperatures range, at 55 degrees N and 35 degrees S. Has clovers, plants have deep roots (to resist wind). The animals can burrow (e.g. dung beetle and burrowing owl). It is flat with no nearby mountains, constant winds and has very deep, dry soil.
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Deciduous Forest
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Koppen-Cf:Mild summers, 70 degrees F, below freezing winters, 4 seasons, near ocean, and 32 inches precipitation annually. The plants lose all of their leaves (American Beech). It's main animal is the American Bald Eagle.
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Chaparral
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Koppen-Cs:Hot and dry in summer, winter mild and moist (but not rainy). 30-100 degrees F, found in 30-50 degrees N and 30-40 degrees S. It has trees and bushes with large roots, and fires start quickly because of the dry climate and foliage. A typical animal is the aardwolf (mix between aardvark and wolf). There isn't much soil.
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