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- 1Orbital theoryA Milankovitch cycle is a cycle movement related to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. There are three of them: eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession. According to the Milankovitch Theory, these three cycles combine to affect the amount of heat that we get from the sun. Some scientists think our climate is changing because of the factors below!
- 2Axial TiltThe earth is spinning on it’s own axis but this axis sometimes shifts. The title of the Earth can be between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees. The angle of the title will alter how much sunlight hits the Earths surface. It can make our summers and winters warmer or colder than usual.
A cycle of Earth’s tilt can last for 41,000 years. - 3EccentricityThis refers to the shape of the Earths orbit around the sun. Sometimes the Earth has a circle shapes orbit but sometimes it has a more oval shapes orbit. This will affect how much sunlight (and heat) hit the earth! If the earth have a very oval shaped orbit it will be further from the sun!
One complete cycle for this kind of variation lasts for about 100,000 years. - 4PrecessionAs well as the Earth being on a tilt the Earth also wobbles! A ‘wobble cycle’ of the Earth is around 26,000 years and it can impact the tides on Earth!
- 5Sun SpotsSunspots are storms on the sun’s surface that have intense magnetic activity (they look like spots). These storms send out solar flares that are hot gassy ejections from the sun’s surface. These reach the Earth and are believed to make it warmer temporarily. Sun spots are believed to happen in cycles, with large sun spots happening every 11 years. Some studies indicate that sunspot activity overall has doubled in the last century. The apparent result down here on Earth is that the sun glows brighter by about 0.1 percent now than it did 100 years ago.
Scientists believe however that the overall impact of sunspots on our climate is minimal with other factors having much more of an impact. - 6Volcanic EruptionsWhen volcanoes erupt they emit thousands of tones of aerosols into the atmosphere. An aerosol is a particle of gas or solid material that get sent into the stratosphere (middle part of the atmosphere). The aerosol particles have an important impact on the climate, because they block out sunlight, making the climate colder! The more aerosol is put into the atmosphere the higher the solar radiation is (sunlight bouncing back to space).
The effects of a large volcanic eruption could last a few years - 7Astroid CollisionsAsteroids are smaller than planets. They are rocks left over from the formation of the Solar System. Most are found in an ‘asteroid belt’ in orbit around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can crash into each other. When they do, they can break apart and change orbit.
The orbits of some asteroids cross the Earth’s orbit. At various times during the Earth’s history, asteroids have hit it. A tremendous amount of energy was released, throwing up billions of tonnes of dust and hot rocks (aerosols). Together with smoke from widespread fires, this blocked heat and light from the Sun. It changed the Earth’s climate, making it very cold. - 8—
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- Flashcards on Untitled, created by mae smith on 30/09/2015.
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