3. Recent Evidence Of Climate Variation

Question 1

Ice Traps…

Answer 1

• bubbles of gas
• dust
• ash from fires
• pollen
• salts from ocean
• isotopes created in the atmosphere by cosmic rays

Question 2

What is Dendrochronology?

Answer 2

Dating of past events through the study of tree-ring growth.

Question 3

In Dendrochronology, The width of a growth ring varies from year to year, depends on…

Answer 3

temperature 🌡
- rainfall 🌧
- light availability
- length of growing season
- available water in soil �

Question 4

Is a thick growth ring good or bad?

Answer 4

Thick growth ring = idea growing conditions for plant specie (eg, moist, sunny)

Question 5

What must you do to ensure you are dating the trees correctly in dendrochronology?

Answer 5

Must be compared with other trees to be able to be dated properly

Question 6

How are Aboriginal art sites useful?

Answer 6

Species depicted in Aboriginal art provide evidence about the climate when the art was created

Question 7

An example within Australia, of an Aboriginal art site is??

Answer 7

In the NORTHERN TERRITORY, up to 28,000 years old.

Question 8

What is a human instrumental record ( device) used to measure AIR (TEMP) ?

Answer 8

alcohol thermometer
- elevated about 2m in the air (to increase
accuracy)
- liquid-in-glass thermometer

Question 9

What is a human instrumental record ( device) used to measure LAND (RIVER DISCHARGE) ?

Answer 9

stream gauge

• contains instruments that measure and
  record the amount of water flowing in the
  river or stream
• Streamflow naturally varies over the
  course of a year.
• Climate change can affect streamflow
  through air temperatures that influence
  snow/ ice melting, thus altering the size
  and timing of high streamflows. (rising sea levels)

Question 10

What is a human instrumental record ( device) used to measure OCEAN COLOUR

Answer 10

aqua satellite

• “Aqua” is a NASA Earth Science
  satellite that collects information on
  Earth’s water cycle (including the
  colour of the ocean)
• colour of the ocean can be strongly
  influenced by the presence of
  microscopic algae (phytoplankton).
  → When populations of
  phytoplankton have the right
  combination of nutrients, sunlight, and water temperatures, they
  can explode into “blooms” large enough to be visible from space.

Question 11

Stalagmites?

Answer 11

grow from the ground up

Question 12

Stalactites?

Answer 12

hang from the ceiling

Question 13

heavier ¹⁸O means.. (what type of energy)

Answer 13

more energy to evaporate

Question 14

lighter 16O means… (what type of energy)

Answer 14

less energy to evaporate