Climate Change Flashcards
(36 cards)
What is climate?
The long-term pattern of weather in a particular area, usually tracked for at least 30 years.
What is climate change?
Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, which can be natural or anthropogenic.
How long ago did the Quaternary period begin?
2.6 million years ago.
What are the two epochs of the Quaternary period?
The Pleistocene and the Holocene.
When did the last ice age end?
11.7 thousand years ago.
How many ice age cycles have occurred during the Quaternary?
About 20.
How long does an ice age cycle typically last?
About 100,000 years.
What is an interglacial?
A warmer period between glacial periods (ice ages).
What causes temperature fluctuation leading to ice ages?
Changes in Earth’s orbit known as Milankovitch Cycles.
What are proxy data?
Data from various sources used to estimate past climatic conditions.
Name three sources of proxy data.
Ice cores, ocean sediments, and tree rings.
What is a key benefit of ice core data?
Can go back hundreds of thousands of years and are generally reliable.
What is one limitation of tree ring data?
Only useful for the past 10,000 years or less.
What is a historical example of proxy data?
Samuel Pepys’ diary describing the frozen Thames during the Little Ice Age.
What do Bruegel’s paintings show about climate?
They depict scenes from the Little Ice Age, indicating colder climates during the 16th century.
What was significant about the Vostok ice core?
It reached a depth of 3,623 meters and covers more than 400,000 years of climate data.
Which countries collaborated on the Vostok ice-core project?
Russia, the United States, and France.
What is the age of the Earth?
4.54 billion years.
How thick did the Thames freeze in the 17th century?
Up to 11 inches.
How much have global surface temperatures risen since pre-industrial levels?
+1.1°C.
How much has Arctic sea ice reduced on average per decade since 1979?
13.3%.
By how much have sea levels risen since pre-industrial levels?
30 cm.
What causes sea level rise?
Melting terrestrial ice and thermal expansion of warming oceans.
How much sea level rise is forecast by 2100?
Up to 1 metre.
