Earth Science Chapter 21

Both views accept that the Earth's climate has changed in the past. Old earth believers are centered in the evolution of the Earth's surface, volcanism, astronomical cycles, and multiple ice ages. Young Earth believers consider the Flood and a single ice age and what has followed after those events.

How do both young and old Earth scientists believe that the history of the Earth's climate is a history of change?

1. Mountains can produce rain shadows- precipitation on one side and dry zones on the other 2.With increasing elevation there is a drop in average temperature.

How do mountains affect climate?

Each season has different length days and therefore varying amounts of sunshine.

How do seasons affect the temperature of a given location?

Weathermen use temperature data to predict what will soon happen, while climatologists use it to look at long periods of time.

How do weathermen and climatologists handle temperature data differently?

Higher elevations have lower temperatures.

How does elevation affect temperature?

Lower latitudes have longer days and more direct rays from the sun.

How does latitude affect the temperature of a given location?

Large bodies of water and currents change temperature on adjacent land.

How does water affect temperature?

Less than two centuries

How long have scientists been gathering data related to natural processes and the world's climate?

Winter

If it is summer in the Southern Hemisphesphere, what is it in the Northern hemisphere?

Tropical rainy climates

In what climate zone do most of the plants and animals reside?

Polar and Highland

In what climates would you be most likely to find animals that have adapted to cold, snowy weather.

Greenhouse gas

Normal atmospheric gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane that contribute to the greenhouse effect.

rising Temperatures, melting glaciers, rises in sea level resulting in flooding of coastal towns and islands, loss of wildlife to the point of extinction, and increased heat related deaths.

What are some of the predicted effects of catastrophic global warming?

burning fossil fuels and deforestation

What are two kinds of human activities that scientists believe contribute to climate changes?

Average temperature and precipitation

What are two things that can be affected by climate change?

Annual precipitation, average temperature, and vegetation.

What do climatologists look at to categorize an areas climate?

(F) Long term climate change is attributed to natural events and human activities.

(T/F) Long term climate change is only attributed to human activities.

True

(T/F) The climate in two different places in different parts of the world can greatly vary even if they are at the same latitude.

Dry Climate

A climate zone that gets little precipitation or where the amount of evaporation is greater than the amount of precipitation recieved.

polar climate

A climate zone that receives varying amounts of frozen precipitation with consistently cold temperature

Tropical rainy climate

A climate zone that's both very warm and very wet year round. Located near the tropics; includes tropical wet zones and tropical rainforests.

temperate marine climate

A climate zone with moderate temperatures and either seasonal or continual moderate precipitation.

global warming

A form of climate change involving a general increase of average global temperatures.

Highland climate

A microclimate representing one of the lowland climate zones at some higher elevation.

El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A shift in pressure systems, winds, and current sun the equatorial and southern Pacific Ocean regions.

Climate zone

An area in the world that has a particular kind of climate based mainly on precipitation and temperature. World climate zones include tropical rainy, dry, temperate continental, and polar climate zones, as well as Highland microclimates.

Environmentalism

Concern for protecting the natural environment, especially from harmful human activity and conservation of natural resources.

Seasons

Repeated natural changes in temperature, precipitation, and the amount of daylight, resulting from the Earth's axial tilt and its revolution around the sun.

Climate

The average weather for an area over the span of many years.

Greenhouse hypothesis

The suggestion that human activities over the past two centuries have increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and have triggered global warming because of the green house effect.