Climate of Costa Rica Eugene S Takle Professor

Climate of Costa Rica Eugene S. Takle Professor Department of Agronomy gstakle@iastate. edu

Overview • Big Picture – Global circulation – Global climate perspective – Regional and local influences • Local Influences – How can we explain local conditions in the context of global and regional influences?

Latitude of San Jose: ~9. 5 o North http: //jrscience. wcp. muohio. edu/html/costaricaclimate. html

Non-rotating Earth heated uniformly at its Equator Circulation system not to scale! Mean radius of the earth: 6371 km Height of the troposphere: 0 -7 km at poles 20 km at Equator 90% of atmosphere is in the lowest 15 miles (24 km) 99% in lowest 30 miles (48 km)

http: //jrscience. wcp. muohio. edu/html/costaricaclimate. html

wet dry http: //jrscience. wcp. muohio. edu/html/costaricaclimate. html

112 Volcanic formations Chirippo Grande (12, 530 ft) http: //jrscience. wcp. muohio. edu/html/costaricaclimate. html

Volcan Irazu, Costa Rica (11, 260 feet)

Cloud Forest Cloud base Fog drip can be the dominant form of precipitation

Mountain Precipitation: Moist on windward side, Dry on leeward side Cloud base

Forest Tropical Cash crop Cereal grains * San Jose Rice, corn, coffee Climate: The climate in Costa Rica varies depending upon elevation and location. The coastal plains are warm and tropical. Mountainous regions are much cooler and the Central Plateau has a spring-like climate year-round, with little variation in temperature from month to month (the average daily temperature is 75 F or 25 C). December through April is the dry season, when rain is quite uncommon. May through November is considered the rainy, or "green", season, although mornings are usually quite sunny, with most of the rain falling in afternoon showers. http: //www. crtinfo. com/costa_rica_biodiversity. htm

Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean The Central Valley or plateau around San José has an altitude of 1, 165 meters or 3, 880 ft. http: //jrscience. wcp. muohio. edu/html/costaricaclimate. html

Climate of Cost Rica • Costa Rica is a tropical country which contains several distinct climatic zones. • There is no winter or summer as we know it • Most regions of the country have a rainy season from May to November and a dry season from December to April • Annual rainfall averages 100 inches nationwide with some mountainous regions getting as much as 25 feet on exposed eastern slopes. • Temperature is more a matter of elevation than location with a mean of around 72 degrees in the Central Valley, 82 degrees on the Atlantic coast and 89 degrees on the Pacific coast. For Current Weather Conditions and 10 -Day Forecasts: http: //www. 1 costaricalink. com/eng/web/weather. htm

Climate of Cost Rica: Summary * Because of its location an almost constant temperature of 20ºC or 68ºF all year round, Costa Rica's climate is considered the healthiest climate of the world according to a NASA research * Costa Rica has a wide variety of microclimates, depending on your altitude and location relative to the oceans Cool, wet and very green mountain ranges (dairy farming) rain forests and dry tropical forests wet Caribbean coast dry Pacific coast cloud forests.