Chapter 7

Question 1

What are the 5 climate change suspects?

Answer 1

plate tectonics, the sun, earth’s orbit, unforced variability, and greenhouse gases

Question 2

What is the most important requirement for growth of an ice sheet?

Answer 2

summer temps cool enough that snow falling in winter doesn’t melt the following summer

Question 3

What do ice sheets reflect?

Answer 3

sunlight

Question 4

How do plate tectonics indirectly affect the climate?

Answer 4

by regulating atmospheric CO2

Question 5

What is eccentricity?

Answer 5

ratio of the length of the ellipse to the width

Question 6

What happens when the orbit becomes more elliptical?

Answer 6

Eath-sun distance increases

Question 7

What is obliquity?

Answer 7

tilt of Earth

Question 8

What are Milankovitch cycles?

Answer 8

effects of earth’s movements on its climate over thousands of years

Question 9

What is forced variability?

Answer 9

earth’s climate in response to an imposed energy imbalance

Question 10

What is unforced variability?

Answer 10

changes caused by internal physics of climate systems