Climate Data

Question 1

Define Climatology

Answer 1

The study of weather patterns at a given location for a minimum of 30 years

Question 2

Have there been times in history that are warmer than today, if so, when>

Answer 2

Yes
- epoch holocene
- pre-industrial

Question 3

How are ice ages characterized

Answer 3

Gradual cooling and rapid warming

Question 4

Within an ice age, how can conditions change?

Answer 4

• Glacial/interglacial cycles
• oscillations in temperatire
• changes in ice cover

Question 5

We are currently in an interglacial since when?

Answer 5

15 ka BP

Question 6

When was the last glacial maximum? What were some of the characteristics? (ice thickness, air mass temperature, southern US temperatures)

Answer 6

20 ka BP
- 4 km thick ice sheets
- 120 m lower sea level than today
- Maritime Tropical (mT) air masses in western North America maintained modern temperatures
- In Southern US, temperatures were 20 C lower than today

Question 7

What was the Holocene known for? How long ago was it?

Answer 7

Holocene 10 ka BP, known for rapid warming

Question 8

What and when was the Younger Dryas?
What caused the younger dryas

Answer 8

A cool period that lasted 1200 years
occurred 12 ka BP
Caused by a large influx of freshwater into the Labrador Sea

Question 9

When was the Medieval warm period?

Answer 9

1 ka BP - viking settlement in greenland

Question 10

When was the little ice age?

Answer 10

400 years ago

Question 11

What is the Adjusted and Homogenized Canadian Climate Data AHCCD?

Answer 11

Adjusted for climate station movement through time
Homogenized the instrument calibrations through time
Because climate stations are not always in one place throughout time and to adjust for the change in technology throughout history