Is It Getting Hot In Here?
Student Worksheet
Refer to “Climate TimeLine Tutorial” and “Overview of Climate Processes” that begin at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/drought.html and http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/about4.html respectively.
- The primary force outside the Earth’s internal system that drives the planet’s weather and climate systems is _____________.
- Two factors outside Earth’s environment and climate system that can cause the amount of energy reaching the surface of the Earth to vary are _____________ and _____________.
- About _____________ % of the radiation entering the Earth’s atmosphere is reflected back to space, and about _____________ % is absorbed by the atmosphere and surface of the planet.
- About _____________% of the radiation entering the Earth’s atmosphere is absorbed by greenhouse gases.
- In recent years, concern has grown that human activities, most particularly _____________, are increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to levels that haven’t been seen in over 400,000 years.
- Venus receives about _____________ the radiation received by Earth, and has an atmosphere rich in _____________.
- _____________ is the time it takes for a volume of water to cycle through the hydrologic system.
- _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past 300 million years.
- _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past 3 million years.
- _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past1000 years.
- _____________ is the primary measure of climate and can be measured or reconstructed for the Earth’s surface and sea surface.
- _____________ may be discerned in a variety of ways and provide evidence of how ecosystems change to adapt to climate change.
- Sea Level is usually related to the degree of _____________ in high latitudes and elevations.
- _____________ can alter climate due to aerosols emitted into the atmosphere.
- _____________ refers to specific phenomena that directly influence changes in climactic dynamics.
- The _____________ has been described as Earth’s thermostat.
- _____________ is the primary greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
- _____________ are changes in Earth’s orbit that occur in 100,000, 41,000, and 21,000 year periods.
- _____________ is an oscillation in the sea surface temperature pattern across the North Pacific Ocean.
- _____________ is an oscillation in sea surface temperature and surface pressure across the tropical Pacific Ocean, causing both local and far away changes in weather and climate.