Final answer:
Landforms and bodies of water, such as oceans, have a significant impact on climate by moderating temperatures and influencing precipitation patterns. Climate change exacerbates these effects, leading to sea level rise and altered species distributions. Human alterations to natural landforms can also result in local climate changes and health problems.
Step-by-step explanation:
Landforms and bodies of water profoundly affect the climate by influencing temperature and precipitation patterns. Large bodies of water, like oceans, moderate the climate of coastal regions, leading to milder temperatures because water heats and cools more slowly than land. This phenomenon means that coastal communities can have more moderate climates compared to inland areas that may experience temperature extremes similar to the upper Midwestern United States. Furthermore, due to their heat retention and movement, oceans redistribute solar energy worldwide through ocean currents, resulting in different climatic zones.
Conversely, climate change poses significant risks by causing sea levels to rise via thermal expansion and glacial meltwater, potentially leading to an overabundance of saltwater and a shortage of freshwater, with far-reaching effects on biodiversity and human health. Ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns, influenced by the positioning of continents, act as conveyor belts redistributing heat from equatorial regions to the polar areas, impacting global climate systems. Additionally, with global warming, there is an expected increase in temperature, particularly at high latitudes, and changes in precipitation, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. For instance, shifts in the geographical distribution of certain species, like the sugar maple, are predicted with increased greenhouse gas levels.
Lastly, human-impacted landforms, such as the desiccated Aral Sea, show that significant alterations to landform can lead to changes in local climate, exacerbating health issues for nearby populations and altering regional precipitation and temperature patterns. Mountains and continent sizes also influence global precipitation and climate behaviors.