The Climate of Populus
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Populus has been described as very "Earth" like because it has much in common with that blue planet. 74% of Populus is covered by water compared to 26% by land. The energy produced by Eris (the star of its solar system) is the main force behind Populus's weather. The warm equatorial temperatures provide lush green tropical rain forests, and the extremely high mountain peaks located on the continents of Durin and Gloen are covered with year round snow. Populus's 19 degrees axis of rotation helps provide its warm summers (average temperature 85 degrees) and cool winters (average temperature 55 degrees). Populus has a thick atmosphere that is mainly made up of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and argon. Some of the heat from the surface is prevented from escaping into space because of the thick atmospheric cloud layers that encompass the planet. Populus's large bodies of water, cloud cover, and polar ice cap admit the perfect amount of solar radiation needed to sustain the large variety of plants and animals that can be found on this fascinating planet. |
| The solar radiation from Eris causes the currents in the water to flow. Since the temperature at the equator is hotter, the water near it flows on top towards the poles. The colder water sinks and pushes the warmer water to the top when the two currents meet. The wind also causes the ocean currents to be driven by the circulation of the wind above the water. The cold wind currents from the poles help push the cold water towards the equator. When the cold water meets the warmer water it gets pushed down underneath the warmer water. Near the shores of each continent there are offshore and onshore flows. During the daylight hours the warmer air above the land flows towards the ocean. Then during the late afternoon and evening hours the air over the ocean becomes warmer and pushes towards the land causing an onshore flow. This onshore flow tends to make the coast wetter (because of its high moisture content) then the inland areas. |
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Rainfall Map
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Populus has a wide variety of rainfall patterns. Near the equator its rain forests stay wet and moist year round and average over 100 inches of rain per year. The Mountains of Gloen and of Northern Durin also receive on average of 80 inches of rain per year. The deserts of northeastern Durin and eastern Gloen receive little rain because the water particles in the cool air coming down from the mountains get absorbed as the air descends and becomes warmer, thus resulting in little precipitation. |
Temperature Maps
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| Populus has different seasons because of the relationship between its revolution around Eris, its sun, and its rotation around its axis. The two maps above show the summer and winter seasons temperature maps. Notice during the northern summer season it is winter near the southern pole and during the northern winter season it is summer near the southern pole. The summers of the northern hemisphere are relatively hot averaging about 85 degrees. The coast remains relatively mild and temperatures rise inland. The hottest areas are the arid deserts which have been known to reach temperatures of 110 degrees. As the elevation rises the temperature generally falls. The average summer temperature in the high mountains is about 60 degrees. It is interesting to note that during the winter months the deserts cool down and have an average temperature of 55 degrees. |
