Climatology

Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological variables that are commonly measured are temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, and precipitation. In a broader sense, climate is the state of the components of the climate system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere and the interactions between them. The climate of a location is affected by its lati

thumb|upright=2|Köppen climate classification|Köppen-Geiger climate classification (1980–2016)

thumb|Albedo change in Greenland: The map shows the difference between the amount of sunlight [[Greenland reflected in the summer of 2011 versus the amount it reflected between 2000 and 2006. Some areas reflect close to 20 percent less light than a decade ago.]] Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects all incident radiation). Surface albedo is defined as the ratio of radiosity Je to the irradiance Ee (flux per u

thumb|upright=1.35|A natural arch produced by erosion of differentially weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz ([[Jordan)]]

hypothetical climatic effect of nuclear war

Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation).

urban area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities

accounting of the energy flows which determine Earth's surface temperature and drive its climate

all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events

thumb|upright=1.35|Pleistocene glacial lake varves at Sandend Bay in Scotland A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock.

threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large change in the Earth system

evaluation of climate change by the scientific community

snow produced when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water

temperature difference per length

electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths between 3.0 and 100 μm emitted from Earth and its atmosphere out to space in the form of thermal radiation

climatic effect causing a planet's atmosphere to trap heat and prevent cooling

Bioclimatology is the interdisciplinary field of science that studies the interactions between the biosphere and the Earth's atmosphere on time scales of the order of seasons or longer (in contrast to biometeorology).

effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent global warming and related climate changes on Earth

thermal energy stored in ocean water

heuristic tool in phenology

hypothesis

In geology and climatology, a pluvial is either a modern climate characterized by relatively high precipitation or an interval of time of variable length, decades to thousands of years, during which a climate is characterized by relatively high precipitation or humidity. Subdivisions of a pluvial, which are characterized by relatively high precipitation, are known as a subpluvials. Formally, pluvials were equated with glacial stages of the Quaternary. However, pluvials, as in equatorial regions, can also occur during interglacial stages. No lower latitudes have experienced major pluvials in ea

pool of open water that forms on sea ice in the warmer months of spring and summer

data visualization graphics of long-term trends of annual temperature anomalies

e.g., peak annual temperature typically occurs after the summer solstice

shape of the ocean surface relative to the geoid

Branch of solar physics and aeronomy

amount of evaporation that would occur if a sufficient water source were available