Tropics

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Tropical zone
)
"Tropic" and "Tropical" redirect here. For other uses, see Tropic (disambiguation) and Tropical (disambiguation).
World map with the intertropical zone highlighted in crimson
Areas of the world with tropical climates

The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at 23°26′10.1″ (or 23.43613°) N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at 23°26′10.1″ (or 23.43613°) S. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone).

In terms of climate, the tropics receive sunlight that is more direct than the rest of Earth and are generally hotter and wetter as they aren't affected as much by the solar seasons. The word "tropical" sometimes refers to this sort of climate in the zone rather than to the geographical zone itself. The tropical zone includes deserts and snow-capped mountains, which are not tropical in the climatic sense. The tropics are distinguished from the other climatic and biomatic regions of Earth, which are the middle latitudes and the polar regions on either side of the equatorial zone.

The tropics constitute 39.8% of Earth's surface area

global warming, the weather conditions of the tropics are expanding with areas in the subtropics,[3] having more extreme weather events such as heatwaves and more intense storms.[4][3] These changes in weather conditions may make certain parts of the tropics uninhabitable.[5]

Etymology

The word "tropic" comes via Latin from Ancient Greek τροπή (tropē), meaning "to turn" or "change direction".[6]

Astronomical definition

Relationship of Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles: the Tropic of Cancer is a subsolar point only at the June solstice, and the Tropic of Capricorn is only at the December solstice[7]

The tropics are defined as the region between the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at 23°26′10.1″ (or 23.43613°) N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at 23°26′10.1″ (or 23.43613°) S;[8] these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth.

The Tropic of Cancer is the Northernmost latitude from which the

solar year. Thus the maximum latitudes of the tropics have equal distances from the equator on either side. Likewise, they approximate the angle of the Earth's axial tilt
. This angle is not perfectly fixed, mainly due to the influence of the moon, but the limits of the tropics are a geographic convention, and their variance from the true latitudes is very small.

Seasons and climate

Aerial view of Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Tropical sunset over the sea in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Many tropical areas have both a dry and a wet season. The

air quality improves, freshwater quality improves and vegetation grows significantly due to the wet season supplementing flora, leading to crop yields late in the season. Floods and rains cause rivers to overflow their banks, and some animals to retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients are washed away and erosion increases. The incidence of malaria
increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures. Animals have adaptation and survival strategies for the wetter regime. The previous dry season leads to food shortages into the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature.

However, regions within the tropics may well not have a tropical climate. Under the

Perú
.

Climate change

See also: Climate change effects on tropical regions

The climate is changing in the tropics, as it is in the rest of the world.

El Niño
made 1998 the warmest year in most areas, with no significant warming since. Climate models predict a further 1-2°C warming by 2050 and 1-4°C by 2100.

Ecosystems

Coconut palms in the warm, tropical climate of northern Brazil

Amazon Rainforest territories of several South American countries, Madagascar dry deciduous forests, the Waterberg Biosphere of South Africa, and eastern Madagascar rainforests. Often the soils of tropical forests are low in nutrient content, making them quite vulnerable to slash-and-burn deforestation techniques, which are sometimes an element of shifting cultivation
agricultural systems.

In biogeography, the tropics are divided into Paleotropics (Africa, Asia and Australia) and Neotropics (Caribbean, Central America, and South America). Together, they are sometimes referred to as the Pantropic. The system of biogeographic realms differs somewhat; the Neotropical realm includes both the Neotropics and temperate South America, and the Paleotropics correspond to the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, Oceanian, and tropical Australasian realms.

Flora

See also:
tropical wet forests

Flora

are plants found in a specific region at a specific time. Some well-known plants that are exclusively found in, originate from, or are often associated with the tropics include:

Tropicality

Tropicality refers to the image of the tropics that people from outside the tropics have of the region, ranging from critical to verging on fetishism.[14] The idea of tropicality gained renewed interest in geographical discourse when French geographer Pierre Gourou published Les pays tropicaux (The Tropical World in English), in the late 1940s.[15]

uncontacted tribes
to this day.

Tropicality encompassed two major images. One, is that the tropics represent a 'Garden of Eden', a heaven on Earth, a land of rich biodiversity or a tropical paradise.[16] The alternative is that the tropics consist of wild, unconquerable nature. The latter view was often discussed in old Western literature more so than the first.[16] Evidence suggests over time that the view of the tropics as such in popular literature has been supplanted by more well-rounded and sophisticated interpretations.[17]

Western scholars tried to theorise why tropical areas were relatively more inhospitable to human civilisations than colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere. A popular explanation focused on the differences in climate. Tropical jungles and rainforests have much more humid and hotter weather than colder and drier temperaments of the Northern Hemisphere, giving to a more diverse biosphere. This theme led some scholars to suggest that humid hot climates correlate to human populations lacking control over nature e.g. 'the wild Amazonian rainforests'.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "How much land is in the tropics?". God Plays Dice. 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  2. ^ "tropics". National Geographic Encyclopedia. National Geographic Society. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  3. ^
    S2CID 225274572
    .
  4. S2CID 236399809
    .
  5. ^ "We Have a Chance to Keep the Tropics Habitable". Gizmodo. 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  6. ^ "tropic". Oxford learner's dictionaries.
  7. ^ "What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle?". Ask an Astronomer. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Tropical zone". meteoblue. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  9. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (2009). Rainy season. Archived 2009-02-15 at the Wayback Machine American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
  10. ^ Michael Pidwirny (2008). CHAPTER 9: Introduction to the Biosphere. PhysicalGeography.net. Retrieved on 2008-12-27.
  11. ^ "Updated world Koppen-Geiger climate classification map" (PDF).
  12. ^ J . S. 0guntoyinbo and F. 0. Akintola (1983). Rainstorm characteristics affecting water availability for agriculture. Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine IAHS Publication Number 140. Retrieved on 2008-12-27
  13. ISBN 978-1-107-05799-9
    .
  14. ^ "TROPICALITY | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  15. ^ Arnold, David. "Illusory Riches: Representations of the Tropical World, 1840-1950", p. 6. Journal of Tropical Geography
  16. ^ a b Arnold, David. "Illusory Riches: Representations of the Tropical World, 1840-1950", p. 7. Journal of Tropical Geography
  17. ISSN 1448-2940
    .
  18. ^ Arnold, David. "Illusory Riches: Representations of the Tropical World, 1840-1950", p. 13. Journal of Tropical Geography

External links

  • Media related to Tropics at Wikimedia Commons
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tropics&oldid=1213689784"