Earth's Changing Climate (CH #?) Flashcards
In the Pliocene, temp variation never went above …
+2
Humidity increases ___ which increases evaporation which increases humidity …
infrared
Ice is ? % of Earth
10
climate data from the past is also known as …
climate proxies
In corals, ____ ratios record temperature and salinity
oxygen-isotope
What about “the ear stones of fish”?
hold a record of water temperatures
Calcium carbonate in ___ stores temperature history
stalactites
When looking at oxygen isotopes in ice cores, a higher ratio of oxygen 18 to 16 means …
warmer conditions
When looking at oxygen isotopes in sea shells, a higher ratio of oxygen 18 to 16 suggests …
More water (less ice) warmth
What isotope in ice cores indicates fluctuating solar activity?
Beryllium
The last Ice Age started around …
2.58 Mya
The last Ice Age ended aroudn ….
18 Mya
The warming spell that followed the last Ice Age was called …
Bolling-Allerod Period
What started 12 Kya and ended 1000 years later?
Younger-Dryas (brief glacial period)
What happened after the Younger-Dryas ended?
Holocene began.
When did the Holocene begin?
After Younger-Dryas ended 13 Kya
Name of period during Holocene when temps were best for growth (ended shortly after)
Mid-Holocene Maximum
Ice cores show that climate can change in a SNAP … Why do they think this is?
Ocean Conveyor Belt? (is that the deep ocean currents)?
The melt after Young Dryas brought what to the ocean waters …
desalination / lighter water / warming
What will happen to the “oceanic conveyor” if CO2 increases more?
It will slow down (and Global North will be better off than most places)
What natural processes can explain warming trends since the 1970’s?
None.
1951-2012 we have seen ___? of rise …
0.85
What minerals sequester most CO2?
calcite / calcium carbonate
Eccentricity means
distance from sun
Precession means
23 K year cycle of planetary wobbly-wobbliness
Name for change that happens every 41 K?
Obliquity = earth tilt changes
In the case of eccentricity, records show that _______ changes precede the release of CO2
temperature
The most insane way we could cause negative forcing and cool the planet …
Nuclear winters
Phytoplankton produce what? when they die
dimethylsulphide (DMS)
El Chichon, Mexico, what year?
1982 - results in warming
What 1991 even resulted in warming
Mount Pinatubo, Philippines
Volcanic activity may have caused
Little Ice Age (sediment in ice samples)
Bright areas of sun
faculae
Maunder Minimum
Cool spell / reduction of solar output
Radiative Equilibrium is when …
incoming solar = outgoing solar
The “newest” climate models are also called
General Circulation Models
ENSO =
El Nino Southern Oscillation
weather prediction model use to predict weather …
Numerical weather prediciton model
RCM =
regional climate model
Tundra is no longer a sink. It is a …
source of CO2
What percent of CO2 release caused by agro>
30%
With added warmth, clouds are turning into …
Cirrus
