Hazardous Earth - Natural Climate Change Flashcards
List 5 natural causes of climate change
(1) Changes in Earth’s orbit, which happens 100,000 years (Milankovitch cycle)
(2) Changes in energy from the sun (over a 11 year cycle)
(3) Volcanic eruptions - pumping ash dust into atmosphere causes cooling effect
(4) Large asteroid collisions - can cause cooling as they block out the sun. Also, they can cause huge fires when they hit earth and hence release CO2 which has a warming effect
(5) Ocean current changes can cause cooling and warming.
What is the Milankovitch cycle
It is a natural cause of climate change. Changes in Earth’s orbit, which happens 100,000 years
How do Volcanic eruptions affect climate change
They pump ash dust into atmosphere which causes a cooling effect
How do large asteroid collisions cause climate change
They cause cooling as they can block out the sun. Also, they can cause huge fires when they hit earth which means CO2 is released which has a warming effect
Can ocean current changes cause climate change.
Yes, ocean current changes cause cooling and warming. In the UK, we have a warm and wet climate owing to the warm Atlantic currents. Sometimes the current shifts and we get a cooler climate for a short period
what are Ice cores and what can they tell us
ice cores are cylinders of ice obtained by drilling through glaciers up to 3km deep in ice up to 500,000 years old. They can indicate how temperature has changed over the years
How do we read Ice cores and the trapped isotopes
As snow falls, it is converted to ice and isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen become trapped. Measuring the way their concentration has changed over time (using ice cores) provides a record of temp change
Explain the different between a Ice/glacial age and an interglacial period.
An Ice age is when the temp is cooler for longer periods, more of the Earth is covered in ice.
Interglacial - where we are now! We are in a warmer period of an Interglacial period.
