Taiga (Boreal Forest) Biome: Temperature, Climate, Location, Plants, Animals

Taiga (Boreal Forest) Biome: Temperature, Climate, Location, Plants, Animals

Taiga biome is derived from the Russian word, meaning forest. Despite that fact that it’s the largest terrestrial biome in the world, it’s a cold and lonely place, and many people are not familiar with the name. Although Taiga biome is so cold and remote, humans have had a deep influence here. Ancient humans hunted…

Arctic Ocean: Climate, Islands, Depth, Location, Currents

Arctic Ocean: Climate, Islands, Depth, Location, Currents

The Arctic Ocean is the shallowest and smallest ocean with a total area of approximately 13,986,000 square kilometers. It is located around the North Pole and is surrounded by some countries like Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia and Norway. The ocean is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait and the Atlantic Ocean by…

Formation, Movement and Classification of Air Masses

Formation, Movement and Classification of Air Masses

Air mass is an extremely large body of air in the atmosphere whose properties – temperature, humidity and lapse rate, which is the decrease of atmospheric temperature with height, are largely uniform over an area which can be several hundred kilometers across the surface of the earth. Climate science defines air mass as a relatively…

What Causes Seasons and What are Different Seasons?

What Causes Seasons and What are Different Seasons?

Seasons are changes in weather conditions. A season can be defined as the distribution of a calendar year into phases that are marked by changes in temperature, precipitation, vegetation and duration of day and night. The seasons are linked with the position of the Earth in relation to the sun. The Seasons are generally divided…

What is El Niño and What are Causes and Effects of El Niño

What is El Niño and What are Causes and Effects of El Niño

El Niño is a natural phenomenon experienced in the equatorial Pacific which causes temporary alterations in the world climate. It is normally characterized by complex and abnormally warm ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean in the area near the equator which results in global weather events and sea-surface temperature changes. In practical sense, the ocean…

What is the Process of Soil Formation and Factors That Affect Soil Formation?

What is the Process of Soil Formation and Factors That Affect Soil Formation?

The soil formation process depends upon the presence of new soil material which is either acquired by denudation or deposition. Denudation is the abrasion of present rock material by the action of ice, water or wind. Deposition is the accumulation of new materials that have been eroded from another place such as river gravels or…

Ecosystem – Components and Threats To an Ecosystem

Ecosystem – Components and Threats To an Ecosystem

Ecosystem is the interconnectedness of organisms including animals, plants, and microbes with each other and their non-living environment. Examples of the non-living aspects of the environment include climate, soil, water, sun, earth, rocks, atmosphere, temperature, and humidity. In an ecosystem, every living organism has an ecological niche. Hence, what makes an ecosystem is the complex…

What is a Biome and What are Major Types of Biomes on Earth?

What is a Biome and What are Major Types of Biomes on Earth?

Biomes are a group of ecosystems sharing the same characteristics and are well adapted to the prevailing abiotic factors. Any earth surface that has got a very large ecological system characterized by dominant forms of plant and animal life forms adapted to the prevailing climate and other environmental factors is termed as a biome. Biomes…

Metamorphic Rocks: Formation, Types and Examples

Metamorphic Rocks: Formation, Types and Examples

Metamorphic rocks are the rocks formed from other rocks. They are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have undergone changes as a result of extreme pressure and heat. The name defines their formation whereby ‘meta’ means change and ‘morph’ means ‘form.’ Hence, metamorphic rocks are those whose forms have been changed through a geological process such…

Igneous Rocks: Formation, Types and Examples

Igneous Rocks: Formation, Types and Examples

Igneous rocks form from the cooling of magma – molten materials in the earth’s crust. The terminology Igneous means fire or heat. In this sense, igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) solidifies either underneath the earth’s crust to form plutonic (intrusive) igneous rocks or on the surface of the earth to form volcanic…

Physical Weathering – Definition, Processes and Types

Physical Weathering – Definition, Processes and Types

Physical weathering is also referred to as mechanical weathering. It is the weakening of rocks followed by disintegration due to the physical or mechanical forces including the actions on the rocks by abrasion, frost chattering, temperature fluctuations and salt crystal growth. External environmental forces such as wind, water waves, and rain also consistently exert pressure…

10 Reasons To Prove That Climate Change is a Hoax

10 Reasons To Prove That Climate Change is a Hoax

It was Al Gore who began the fuss over climate change and global warming a few years ago. In 2014, it was predicted that we would start to see some of the effects of the wagon. Some said that it would be the hottest year that we have ever had, but the fact of the…

Greenhouse Gases Responsible For Global Warming

Greenhouse Gases Responsible For Global Warming

Global warming and climate change are hot topics in the news media and legitimate concerns for those educated on the topics. Global warming is a result of greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere. When gasses are emitted, the pollution remains within the atmosphere, creating a shield type of blanket around the Earth. This shield of pollution…