Climate Chnage Flashcards
What is the name given for a cooling period in the Earth’s history?
Glacial period
What are the four natural causes of climate change?
Volcanic activity, Earth’s orbit, ocean currents, and carbon dioxide levels
How has volcanic activity impacted upon the Earth’s climate in the past?
It has emitted large amounts of greenhouse gases
What are three pieces of evidence for natural climate change?
Ice sheets shrinking, oceans are warmer, global temperature is rising
How do historical records provide evidence of past climate change?
Ice core analysis, tree ring analysis etc.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is where heat is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gases
Give an example of a greenhouse gas.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Name at least three human activities that produce greenhouse gases and enhance the greenhouse effect.
Burning fossil fuels, deforestation and farming livestock
What are three pieces of evidence for human-induced climate change?
Sea temperatures are much warmer, global temperature rise and shrinking of glacier and ice sheets
What are the two reasons for global sea level rise?
Thermal expansion and melting of glaciers
Identify at least three possible consequences of climate change.
Water scarcity, intense droughts and global warming
Why is it difficult to make projections for how much sea levels could rise by?
Scientists don’t know how much humans will play a part in melting glacier and other impacts of this so there can’t be an exact measurements as the rate of the sea level rising can change over time.
