Flashcards
2.2 weather
Cards in this deck (18)
- 11. What are glacial periods?Times when the temperature has dropped. Continental ice sheets covered the northern hemisphere.
- 22. What are inter-glacial periods? What evidence is there that it was warmer during these periods?When the temperature becomes warmer, melting the large ice sheets.
- 33. When did the most recent glacial period occur?Between about 120,000 and 11,500 years ago.
- 44. What do we call the inter-glacial period that we are in?The Holocene epoch
- 55. The remnants of the last ice age still cover what % of the Earth’s surface? Where is this found?10% - Found in Greenland, Antarctica and mountainous regions
- 66. The Milankovitch Cycles are a reason given for past climate change. What is eccentricity?The measure of the change in the shape of the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
- 77. Explain how eccentricity might have resulted in climate change in the pastThe path of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not a perfect circle – it’s an ellipse. This shape can change from being nearly a perfect circle to more elliptical and then back again. This is due to the gravitational pull of other planets on the Earth, such as Jupiter and Saturn. Colder periods occur when the Earth’s orbit is more circular and warmer periods when it is more elliptical.
- 88. What is precession?The slow movement of the axis of a spinning body (the Earth) around another axis due to a gravitational influence.
- 99. Explain how precession might have resulted in climate change in the past.The Earth’s axis wobbles like a spinning top. A wobble cycle usually takes about 26,000 years. The motion is caused by the gravitational action of the Sun and the Moon. This cycle has an impact on the seasons and can cause warmer summers as the wobble results in the Earth being tilted slightly more towards the sun at times.
- 1010. What does axil tilt mean?The angle between the Earth’s rotational axis and its orbital axis.
- 1111. Explain how axial tilt might have resulted in climate change in the past.The Earth is spinning on its own axis. The axis is not upright; it tilts at an angle of between 22.1ᵒ and 24.5ᵒ. It’s the Earth’s tilt that gives the seasons. A greater degree of tilt is associated with the world having a higher average temperature giving a reason for past climate change.
- 1212. What is solar radiation?The heat energy that comes from the sun.
- 1313. Explain how variations in solar radiation might have affected climate in the past.Sunspots on the Sun’s surface seem to have an impact on the heat energy of the Sun and therefore the climate of the Earth. There was a reduction in sunspot activity between 1645 and 1715 which corresponds with the Little Ice Age. There has been a lot of sunspot activity since the 1940s, which could be a reason for the Earth’s climate becoming warmer.
- 1414. Explain how volcanism might have affected climate in the past.Large eruptions lead to ash and sulphur dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The ash acts like a blanket stopping solar radiation from reaching the ground and sulphur dioxide mixes with water to form sulphuric acid. The droplets of this acid absorb radiation. Therefore, the ash and sulphur dioxide have a cooling effect on the Earth’s temperature.
- 1515. Explain how ice cores can be used as evidence of climate change in the past.The ice in areas such as the Antarctica and Greenland have been there for millions of years. Cores can be drilled into it to measure the amount of carbon dioxide trapped in the ice. This is a climatic indicator because levels of carbon dioxide tend to be lower during cooler periods and higher when it’s warmer.
- 1616. Explain how pollen records can be used as evidence of climate change in the past.Pollen can become trapped in ice and in sedimentary rocks. Since certain plants can only grow in certain conditions, this gives us information about what the climate must have been like when the rock or ice in which the pollen was trapped was formed.
- 1717. Explain how tree rings can be used as evidence of climate change in the past.Since trees can live for hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of years, they can experience the impact of climate change. Each year the growth of a tree is shown by a single ring. A narrow ring means a cooler, drier year. A thicker ring means a warmer and wetter year.
- 1818. Explain how historical sources can be used as evidence of climate change in the past.These include cave paintings, diaries and documentary evidence. For example, frost fairs on the River Thames when it froze during the Mini Ice Age are shown in posters, books and diaries. Weather data has been kept since 1873 and many Parish records have kept climate data.
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- GCSE Geography Flashcards on 2.2 weather, created by Samuel Harris on 01/12/2022.
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- Samuel Harris
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