Natural Forcing Flashcards
Eccentricity - impact of more elliptical vs more circular
More elliptical - further away during N Hem summer - colder/glacials
More circular - closer during summer - hotter - melting - interglacials
Obliquity - range of Earth’s tilit
22-24.5 degrees
Obliquity - impact of increased/decreased tilt
Increased - N Hem more exposed to sun in summer to more heat energy - more melting - interglacials
Decreased - N Hem less exposed to sun in Summer - less melting - glacials
Length of Eccentricity cycle
100,000 years
Length of Obliquity cycle
41,000 years
Length of precession cycle
26,000 years - around
Impact of precession
Can increase/decrease impact of Eccentricity
When N Hem closer towards sun during circular - increased impact
When N Hem closer towards sun during more elliptical - decreased impact
Makes seasonal contrast more extreme in 1 hemisphere and less in the other
What would the average temp be without GHGs
-18 degrees
What do GHGs absorb and re-emmit
Long wave solar energy/IR waves that have been re-radiated from the Earth’s surface
How much can increased sun spots increase the temperature
0.1 degrees
Length of solar activity cycle
11 years
What is it called when sun activity decreases for a sustained period of time
Grand Minimum
How long do Grand Minimums last
10s-100s of years
When was the last Grand Minimum
During the ‘Little Ice Age’ - Maunder Minimum
What gas is produced by volcanic eruptions that decreases the global temperature
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)