Climate Change

Question 1

How can we find evidence?

Answer 1

Ice core samples, fossils, nature’s calendar, landforms, tree rings and historic records

Question 2

Historic records evidence

Answer 2

Diaries/images (landscape paintings) from the past. E.g the River Thames froze

Question 3

Tree rings evidence

Answer 3

1 ring means 1 year. Thicker rings means longer growing time & higher rainfall that year. Varied ring size means the climate changed

Question 4

Landforms evidence

Answer 4

Flowing rivers cause valleys and glaciers cause v-shaped valleys. Dry valleys mean there used to be a river there indicating less rainfall

Question 5

Nature’s Calendar evidence

Answer 5

Birds nest in warm shelters with food supplies. Flowers open and are ready for pollination by bees. Animal/flower patterns change meaning they’ll hibernate for longer/won’t blossom

Question 6

Fossil evidence

Answer 6

Indicate past climates; different to animals which populate the area now show the climate changed from before. Identified by palaeontologists

Question 7

Ice core sample evidence

Answer 7

Glacier forms tiny air bubbles get trapped/isolated in the ice. Past air measured for how old they are from the depth. Show the temperatures by Co2/methane levels. Lots of Co2 means it was warmer

Question 8

What are the natural climate change theories?

Answer 8

Eruption theory, asteroid collision theory, sunspot theory and orbital theory

Question 9

What is eruption theory?

Answer 9

Powerful volcanic eruptions release ash/gas high into the atmosphere and it can travel around the Earth forming a blanket if it gets high enough

Question 10

How does eruption theory affect temperatures?

Answer 10

Sunlight can’t get through, reflects of back into the atmosphere. This causes the planet to get cooler

Question 11

How long can the ash stay in the atmosphere?

Answer 11

2 years

Question 12

Example of eruption theory

Answer 12

Mount Pinatubo in 1991, global temperatures dropped for 2 years by 0.5 degrees