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Climate TimeLine Fact Sheet
What is
the Climate TimeLine? The Climate TimeLine has been
selected by the National Science Teachers Association's SciLinks
Program for excellence in science education. In particular, the Climate
TimeLine helps in the following science education standard: Beginning with daily diurnal
cycles and climate and weather forecasts for the near-term, the Climate
Time Line uses the exponential powers of ten to frame time periods from
annual to 100,000 year scales, with a brief overview of natural history
and climate for even older time frames. Each time period has an overview
and sections on climate science, climate history and resources, including
online links and inquiry questions for further exploration. For more information
contact Mark McCaffrey
or Dan Kowal. What is the difference between Weather and Climate? Weather
is the state of atmosphere-ocean-land conditions (hot/cold, wet/dry, calm/stormy,
sunny/cloudy) that exist over relatively short periods like hours or days.
Weather includes the passing of a thunderstorm, hurricane, or blizzard,
a persistent heatwave, a cold snap, a drought. Weather variability and
extreme events may respond unpredictably in response to climate change.
How is Climate related to the Hydrologic Cycle? The
hydrologic cycle has been described as the Earth's thermostat, keeping
the planet's climate from either becoming so cold that all water freezes
(as on Mars) or so hot that all water is vaporized (as on Venus.) Water
vapor is the primary greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Were it not for an active greenhouse effect, the Earth's temperature would
be some 32 degrees Celsius (60F) colder than it is today, and most water
would likely be frozen. Climate forces, including external (such as the
tilt of the Earth's axis) and internal (ocean dynamics) can impact the
dynamics of the hydrologic cycle. |
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/about.html Downloaded Tuesday, 16-Sep-2008 09:05:24 EDT Last Updated Friday, 07-Oct-2005 12:25:59 EDT by paleo@noaa.gov Please see the Paleoclimatology Contact Page or the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments. |