Climate Change

Question 1

Global Warming

Answer 1

A specific term referring to increases in the earth’s temperature

Question 2

Climate Change

Answer 2

A term referring to changes in long term weather patterns

Question 3

Factors Driving Climate Change

Answer 3

Milankovitch cycles, Greenhouse gasses, volcanic eruptions, variations in sunspot activity, changes in ocean current and mountain building.

Question 4

Milankovitch Cycles

Answer 4

Referring to how the earth moves

Eccentricity or the orbit of the earth
Obliquity or how much the earth tilts
Precession or the direction of the earth’s tilt.

Question 5

Greenhouse Gasses

Answer 5

Greenhouse gasses trap heat from the sun into the earth, which heats the earth.

Question 6

Volcanic Eruptions

Answer 6

Volcanic eruptions release C02 along with other greenhouse gasses. It can also release sulfur which contributes to global cooling

Question 7

Variations in Sunspot Activity

Answer 7

Sunspots affect climate change because when the hotter parts of the sun (sunspots) are direct towards the earth, the earth heats up

Question 8

Ocean Currents

Answer 8

Ocean currents affect climate change because of the movement of different temperature water keeping the planet’s water at an even temperature. (Warm water from the equator moving to the arctic, cold water from the arctic to the oceans near the equator.)

Question 9

Mountain Building

Answer 9

Mountain building typically accelerates both weathering and erosion. In particular, the weathering and erosion of uplifted silicate rocks (for example, granites) affects the carbon cycle over millions of years by slowly removing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere.