Climate Change Flashcards
What is climate change?
Any significant change in the Earth’s climate over a long period.
It encompasses both long-term changes and variations in climate patterns.
What is the Quaternary period?
The most recent geological time period, spanning from about 2.6 million years ago to the present day.
It is characterized by significant climate changes, including glacial and interglacial periods.
How long do cold glacial periods last during the Quaternary?
Around 100,000 years.
These periods alternate with warmer interglacial periods.
What is the duration of warmer interglacial periods in the Quaternary?
Around 10,000 years.
These interglacials follow the glacial periods.
When did the last glacial period end?
Around 15,000 years ago.
Since then, the climate has been warming.
What is global warming?
The sharp rise in global temperatures over the last century.
It is a specific type of climate change.
What do ice sheets consist of?
Layers of ice, with one layer formed each year.
These layers can be analyzed to determine historical temperatures.
How do scientists analyze ice cores?
By drilling into ice sheets to obtain long cores and analyzing the gases trapped in the layers.
This method reveals temperature changes over extensive periods.
What can tree rings indicate?
The age of a tree and the climate conditions during its growth.
Thicker rings typically indicate warmer, wetter conditions.
What is the significance of preserved pollen in sediment?
It helps scientists identify and date plant species, indicating past climate conditions.
Pollen analysis can provide climate data for thousands of years.
Since when have global temperatures been accurately measured?
Since the 1850s.
This provides a reliable short-term record of temperature change.
What types of historical records can extend climate change data?
Harvest dates and newspaper weather reports.
These records can provide insights into historical climate conditions.
What are the three variations in the way the Earth orbits the Sun?
- Stretch (eccentricity)
- Tilt
- Wobble (precession)
These variations affect solar radiation received by Earth, influencing climate patterns.
What is the effect of volcanic activity on climate?
Volcanic eruptions can cool the Earth’s surface by reflecting sunlight back into space.
For instance, the Earth cooled by about 0.5 °C after Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991.
True or False: The Sun’s energy output is constant.
False
The Sun’s energy output changes in cycles of about 11 years and possibly longer cycles.
Fill in the blank: The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases, such as _______ and methane, absorb outgoing heat from the Earth.
carbon dioxide (CO₂)
This effect is essential for maintaining the planet’s warmth.
What human activity contributes significantly to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
- Burning fossil fuels
- Cement production
- Deforestation
- Farming
These activities release greenhouse gases, exacerbating global warming.
How does deforestation contribute to climate change?
Trees remove CO₂ from the atmosphere; cutting them down stops this process and releases CO₂ when burned.
Deforestation not only reduces carbon absorption but also adds to atmospheric CO₂ levels.
What is global warming?
The sharp rise in global temperatures in recent years, attributed to human activities.
There is a scientific consensus that this warming is primarily caused by the greenhouse effect.
What gases are primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect?
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
- Methane
These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to increased global temperatures.
What impact does reduced solar output have on climate?
It may cause cooler climate conditions in some areas.
However, solar output is not considered a major factor in global climate change.
What is the relationship between farming livestock and climate change?
Farming livestock produces a significant amount of methane.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
What happens to carbon dioxide during cement production?
CO₂ is released into the atmosphere when limestone is processed.
Cement production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the significance of orbital changes in relation to climate?
They may have caused glacial and interglacial cycles during the Quaternary period.
These cycles are linked to variations in solar radiation received by Earth.
