Geography climate Flashcards
What is the name given for a cooling period in Earth’s history?
Glacial Period
What are the four natural causes of climate change?
Orbital Theory, Solar Activity, Volcanic Activity and Asteroid Collision (Surface
Impact)
How has volcanic activity impacted upon the Earth’s climate in the past?
Causes global temperatures to drop as the ash fills the atmosphere and blocks the
Sun’s rays
What are three pieces of evidence for natural climate change?
Tree Ring Analysis, Ice Core Analysis, Historical Sources
How do historical records provide evidence of past climate change?
Historical records such as paintings, newspaper articles and religious records may provide us with information about the past climate e.g. frost fairs on the River Thames
What is the greenhouse effect?
It is a natural process which helps to keep the Earth warm - greenhouse gases in the atmosphere act like a blanket and trap some of the heat which would otherwise be reflected back out into space
Give an example of a greenhouse gas.
Carbon dioxide or methane
Name at least three human activities that produce greenhouse gases and enhance the greenhouse effect.
Electricity production, transport, industry and agriculture
What are three pieces of evidence for human-induced climate change?
Global temperature records, rising sea levels, decline of Arctic sea ice, increased extreme weather events
What are the two reasons for global sea level rise?
Sea level rise is caused by melting glaciers and ice caps (there is physically more water in our oceans) and thermal expansion (as water gets warmer, it expands)
Identify at least three possible consequences of climate change.
Coastal flooding - loss of homes & agricultural land; stronger and more frequent tropical storms; longer and more frequent droughts; pests and diseases are more widespread; food and water supply problems
Why is it difficult to make projections for how much sea levels could rise by?
We can’t say for certain what the world population will be in 50-100 years time. This makes it difficult to predict things like how much energy we will be consuming, how many greenhouse gases we will be producing, how long it will take to impact upon the glaciers and ice caps etc.
