Climate Controls

What affects the climate of Liberia, Costa Rica

 Meso- Scale

Orographic barrier: Liberia is located in the west of the Guanacaste Cordillera, situated on the leeward side as a result of dry, warm climate from January to April.

  
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• Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affects the weather of Liberia when it migrates north or south. When the ITCZ belt starts moving northward, Costa Rica enters its rainy season and moist air starts entering land from the South Pacific Ocean and the Carribean Sea, convecting air and causing rain.

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• Atmospheric Circulation Patterns: Hurricanes rarely hit Costa Rica; when there is a hurricane on the Caribbean Sea, it produces moisture that brings rain to Costa Rica.

                                                                         Micro- Scale

When the North-easterly winds blow from the Carribean sea towards the Guanacaste Cordillera, all the rain stays on the east side of the cordillera. The air is forced to rise by the orographic barrier, descending on Liberia, creating an arid climate with no precipitation.

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• Vegetation: During the period of arid climate, vegetation is affected. With many days of drought, plants have adapted to lack of water, surviving by losing their leaves. Antropogenic alterations also affects the native vegetation to farm non-navite species plants or raise cattle.

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 Liberia & Costa Rica: Mean Temperature

The data provided in the graph was taken from National Climatic Data Center. In the graph, 26 years of data shows the mean temperatures of January and July of every year.

Data from 1993 and 1998 was not documented due to missing information.

The consistent lowest mean temperature has remained the same for 25 years between 20-25°C with slightly lower temperature. For example, in Januanry 1992, it was 18.4°C .

Also, the maximum mean temperature has remained the same between 30-35°C, and has decreased below normal once in July 1996 with 27.9°C .

During the dry season, temperatures increase and decrease more in comparisone to wet season.

Barcelona, Spain compare to Liberia, Costa Rica

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Barcelona, Spain is located 41.4 N and 2.2 E in Europe in the Iberian penunsula on the Mediterranean sea. Liberia, Costa Rica is located 10.6 N, 85.4 W in  Central America between the South Pacific Ocean and Carribean Sea.

Even though these two locations are found at different latitudes and longitudes, Barcelona is also affected by the ITCZ. The maximum and minimum temperatures are lower in Barcelona than in Liberia due to the location and air masses that affect the climate such as the cT and mP. The temperautes in Barcelona have a greater variety between lows and highs. Barcelona is a more developed country with more buildings, dealing with a micro-scale climate control, a Heat Island Effect, and is really close to a large body of water, creating a humid climate. Costa Rica is a less developed country with more vegetation spaces surrounded by water.

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NCDC

Geography 

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Tropical Dry Forest