what is the causes of climate zones?

Answer 1

Oh dear, this could require an extremely long answer. It depends which climate zones your talking about (primary and / or sub zones) and whether you're looking at just the primary causes.

I'll answer briefly but do email or send a chat message if you want more details.

Some primary causes are latitude, altitude and proximity to water.

There are three primary latitudinal zones (both north and south of the equator) - high, mid and low latitudes, each of which has sub zones. As a general rule the further from the equator the cooler the temps, this is a result of the angle of inclination of the planet and it's movement in space.

The hotter (low latitide zones) include savannah, desert biome and rainforest and the colder or high latitude zones include the Arctic, Alpine and tiaga biomes.

Altitide is another important factor, as you get higher the air becomes rarified (less oxygen), less dense and less able to retain heat per unit volume (what heat there is is spread out over a larger area). This decline in temps is often called the lapse rate and equates to 1°C for every 150 metres of ascent (1°F per 500 feet); this gives rise to the Highland Climate or Alpine Biome.

Proximity to water is also important, an area with very low precipitation is a desert and strange as it may seem the largest desert on the planet is Antarctica. Here the air is bitterly cold and extremely dry (another strange fact - the driest place on Earth can be found in the Dry Valleys of Antractica). When temps are cold no evapouration takes place and without evapouration there's no precipitation. Any snow (or rain in warmer deserts) that does fall has been carried by the wind for hundreds or thousands of miles.

Hope this makes sense. A search for 'Climate Zones' will probably turn up more info and some maps as well.

Answer 2

Geological formations such as mountains affect the air currents around the world. So do the oceans. When a pattern is setup, the weather follows a trend. Like the weather on the west coast, it's very mild most of the time. That's because the ocean brings in warm air, and the mountains help to slow the flow down, so there isn't much in the way of wind - usually.

Answer 3

Trevor hit the nail on the head but he did not include the root cause: Solar Insolation.

The temperature is higher near the equator because it is closer to the sun and the Sun hits it more directly. A matter of simple geometry. That heat moves from the equatorial regions toward the Poles creating a differential which drives weather patterns.

But no that does not mean the Sun is the cause of Global Warming.