past climeats

Question 1

Snowball Earth

Answer 1

The whole earth was glacia

Question 2

Ice house earth

Answer 2

A period in Earth’s history characterized by cooler global temperatures, lower greenhouse gas concentrations, and the presence of extensive ice sheets.

Question 3

Isotope

Answer 3

Variants of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons, important in geology for dating rocks and tracing environmental changes

Question 4

Greenhouse Effect

Answer 4

The warming of Earth’s surface caused by the trapping of heat from the Sun by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor in the atmosphere.

Question 5

Albedo

Answer 5

The reflectivity of a surface, where higher albedo (e.g., ice and snow) reflects more solar radiation and lower albedo (e.g., oceans or forests) absorbs more heat, influencing global temperatures.

Question 6

Insolation

Answer 6

The amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface, which varies based on location, time of year, and atmospheric conditions, affecting climate and temperature patterns.

Question 7

Dropstone

Answer 7

Large rocks that are transported by glaciers or icebergs and dropped into marine sediments as the ice melts, often used as evidence for glaciation.

Question 8

Ice Sheet

Answer 8

A large, continent-sized mass of glacier ice that covers significant portions of Earth’s land surface, such as the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.

Question 9

Glacier

Answer 9

A slow-moving river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or polar regions, crucial to Earth’s hydrological and climate systems.

Question 10

Sea Ice

Answer 10

Frozen seawater that forms, expands, and melts in the ocean, distinct from icebergs, glaciers, and ice sheets, and plays a critical role in Earth’s climate by reflecting sunlight and insulating the ocean.

Question 11

Ocean Current

Answer 11

Large-scale movement of water within the oceans, driven by wind, salinity, and temperature differences, important for regulating global climate by transporting heat.

Question 12

Thermohaline Circulation

Answer 12

The global “conveyor belt” of ocean water driven by differences in temperature (thermal) and salinity (haline), essential for distributing heat across the planet and regulating climate.

Question 13

Glacial Till/Boulder Clay

Answer 13

Unsorted sediment deposited directly by a glacier, consisting of a mix of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders, often used as evidence of past glaciations.

Question 14

Palaeomagnetism

Answer 14

The study of the record of Earth’s magnetic field preserved in rocks, sediments, or archaeological materials, used to understand plate tectonics and the movement of continents.

Question 15

Cap Carbonates

Answer 15

Layers of carbonate rocks that form on top of glacial deposits, typically following a “Snowball Earth” event, representing a return to warmer, ice-free conditions.

Question 16

Foraminifera

Answer 16

Marine microorganisms with calcareous shells, whose fossilized remains are used as bio-indicators for paleoclimate reconstructions due to their sensitivity to environmental conditions.

Question 17

Coccolith

Answer 17

Tiny, calcite-producing algae (coccolithophores) that contribute to marine sediments, such as chalk, and provide key data for studying ancient climates.

Question 18

Radiolarian

Answer 18

Single-celled marine organisms with siliceous skeletons, which, when fossilized, help reconstruct past oceanic conditions and sedimentary environments.

Question 19

Microfossil

Answer 19

Tiny fossils, often of planktonic organisms like foraminifera, diatoms, or pollen, used in biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental reconstructions.

Question 20

Pollen

Answer 20

Microscopic grains released by plants for reproduction, preserved in sediments, and used as proxy data for reconstructing past vegetation and climates

Question 21

Spores

Answer 21

Reproductive cells produced by fungi, algae, and some plants, which can be preserved in sediments and serve as indicators of past environmental conditions.

Question 22

Zone Fossil

Answer 22

Fossils of organisms that were widespread but only existed for a short geological time period, useful for dating and correlating rock strata.

Question 23

Palaeoclimate

Answer 23

The study of past climates on Earth, inferred from geological evidence like ice cores, tree rings, and sediment layers, often using proxies.

Question 24

Proxy Data

Answer 24

Indirect evidence (e.g., ice cores, tree rings, sediment layers) used to infer past environmental conditions, since direct measurements are unavailable for ancient climates.