Climatology is the scientific study of climate and a major branch of meteorology. There are three approaches to climatology: physical, descriptive, and dynamic. Physical climatology seeks to explain climate differences based on physical processes. Descriptive climatology orients itself geographically and describes climates regionally without causes. Dynamic climatology relates atmospheric circulation to climate. Climate is influenced by both physical processes like ocean currents and heat transport, and biological processes in the oceans like the biological pump. Changes in elements like temperature, precipitation, wind and others are driven by factors like latitude, land-sea distribution, and topography.