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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.

1. The primary force outside the Earth’s internal system that drives the planet’s weather and climate systems is _____________.


2. 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 _____________.


3. 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.


4. About _____________% of the radiation entering the Earth’s atmosphere is absorbed by greenhouse gases.


5. 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.


6. Venus receives about _____________ the radiation received by Earth, and has an atmosphere rich in _____________.


7. _____________ is the time it takes for a volume of water to cycle through the hydrologic system.


8. _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past 300 million years.


9. _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past 3 million years.


10. _____________ scales are used to describe variation in Earth’s climate over the past1000 years.


11. _____________ is the primary measure of climate and can be measured or reconstructed for the Earth’s surface and sea surface.


12. _____________ may be discerned in a variety of ways and provide evidence of how ecosystems change to adapt to climate change.


13. Sea Level is usually related to the degree of _____________ in high latitudes and elevations.


14. _____________ can alter climate due to aerosols emitted into the atmosphere.


15. _____________ refers to specific phenomena that directly influence changes in climactic dynamics.


16. The _____________ has been described as Earth’s thermostat.


17. _____________ is the primary greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.


18. _____________ are changes in Earth’s orbit that occur in 100,000, 41,000, and 21,000 year periods.


19. _____________ is an oscillation in the sea surface temperature pattern across the North Pacific Ocean.


20. _____________ 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.