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You will be assessed on your ability to:
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How?
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What are the current thoughts?
Here are a number Climate Science: What You Need To Know
of current ideas with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffjIyms1BX4
leading figures.
Please take the time
to watch these for Denier and Brian Cox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG8gLt4GChg
homework.
Why People Don't Believe In Climate Science
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2euBvdP28c
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OK, let’s get something straight…
What is weather?
Weather is what we get on a day to day basis.
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Ah, so the planet is warming.
Yes, global warming is fact I sense a but...
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But some people say there is evidence to suggest climate
change is a natural process.
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• Climate change is nothing new.
• Look at the graph below. This shows temperature changes during
the last 400,000 years. The red line shows today’s global
average temperature at 0’C.
• Humans have only been around for 200,000 years.
The graph shows what?
Cold glacial periods have alternated with warm inter-glacial
periods.
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In the last few decades the average global temp has
increased. It is the current warming trend that has become
known as Global Warming.
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Tree rings
How do we know?
Well we can’t stick
a thermometer in
the planet and take
its temperature,
that’s for sure.
Ice Cores
Fossilised
Pollen
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Fossils
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Ice cores https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSb0DUn79dY
Ice cores extracted from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have
provided evidence of past global temperatures. When snow falls, it
gradually builds up layer upon layer of snow every year. The Antarctic ice
sheet is nearly 5km thick and the oldest ice – at its base – is roughly
800,000 yrs. old.
The layers of trapped water molecules are analysed and the temperature
calculated to produce graphs of temperature change over the last 400,000
yrs.
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Ocean sediments
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Look at the chart, what do you notice? How about the volcanoes?
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4 natural causes of climate change
1. Meteorite strikes
•Large meteorite impacts could throw so much dust up into the atmosphere that the
amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface would be drastically reduced.
•The dust could remain in the air for months.
•The reduced sunlight would cause the both the air and Earth's surface to cool,
producing winter-like conditions throughout the world.
•Plant growth would be severely affected, and food crops could fail.
•Example: A meteorite strike at the end of the Mesozoic Era, 65 million years ago, is
thought to have been responsible for the mass extinction of almost half the species
alive at the time, including the dinosaurs.
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2. Volcanic Eruptions
•When a volcano erupts it throws out large
volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO2), water
vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere.
•The gases and dust particles in the ei-ya-fyat-LA-yer-kwllsh)
stratosphere (upper atmosphere) reflect Eyjafjallajökull
some of the incoming rays of the sun,
leading to cooling.
•The large volumes of gases and ash can
influence climatic patterns for years.
•Example: Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippines, in 1991 - caused a 10%
reduction in sunlight, so average global
temperatures dropped by 0.5oC for 1 year.
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3. Sunspots
Dark spots/patches on the surface of
the Sun. the number increases from a
minimum to a maximum over a number
of years – 11 years.
Sunspot cycle – strong magnetic fields
and gives rise to large explosions
causing solar flares.
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4. The Milankovitch Cycles
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Eccentricity (shape)
• The combined gravitational pull of the Sun,
Saturn, Jupiter and other planets cause
the shape of the Earth’s orbit to vary from
its most elliptical to almost circular.
• It has a 110,000 year time scale.
• The Earth is currently closer to the Sun in
January than in July. This makes the
Southern Hemisphere seasons more
extreme.
http://www.skepticalscience.com/Milankovitch.html
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Tilt
• The tilt or obliquity of the Earth’s axis
varies over time
• 41,000 year cycle
• If the Earth’s axis were vertical, we
wouldn’t have any seasons at – the same
part of the Earth’s surface would be
facing the Sun all year.
• The more angled the axis, the more
extreme the seasons. Currently tilted at
23.44°, half way between its maximum and
minimum value.
• The angle is currently decreasing.
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Precession
‘Wobble’
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HW –
1. Explain the 4 natural causes of climate change IN
DETAIL. [15]
Make sure you can explain each in an exam with an
example.
2. Watch the videos from slide 4. (All links on
homepage).
3. Explain what global warming is (natural and the
enhanced greenhouse effect). [15]
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