Climate change and its causes

Another addition to the revision for the geography unit 1 exam for Edexcel.

Don't use this as your sole revision tool.

Good luck for your exam! :)

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Evidence of climate change
You need to know short term, medium term and long term.
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Short term
Weather records (detailed change in the climate), polar ice melt (reduction at both poles because of global warming) and ecosystem changes (the changes in availability of food and shelter).
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Medium term
Tree rings (one is formed every year and if the climate was good then the ring will be thick), historical records (indirectly show the changes in conditions) and retreating glaciers (the change in temp by rocks dating and glacier size).
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Long term
Pollen analysis (they become trapped in sediment and scientists can compare the plants as pollen can be dated), sea level change (the volume difference as beaches can be dated) and ice cores (a layer created each year, traps gases and shows temp).
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What does anthropogenic mean?
Human and natural causes. In this context it is relating to climate change.
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Eruption theory
Volcanoes produce ash and Sulphur Dioxide. This rises into the stratosphere and the high level winds form a blanket reducing UV rays. E.g. Mount Pinatubo, 1991 produced 17 million tonnes of Sulphur Dioxide and this cooled the Earth by 0.5% a year.
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Sunspot theory
This causes variations in solar energy and this accounts for the cooler periods such as the Medieval period and the little Ice Age.
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Asteroid theory
Every 50 to a 100 million years, an asteroid hits the Earth large enough to cause planet devastation. This accounts for the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
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Orbital theory
The orbit varies every 100,000 years and changes every 41,000 years. This affects glacial cycles. Deep sea samples show that over 800,000 years the Earth has had 8 inter glacial cycles.
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Climate change is very hard to predict.
Levels of greenhouse gases in the future cannot be known today. Role of feedback mechanisms are uncertain. Interaction of natural processes and human pollution is unclear.
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Climate change is unprecedented
Levels of Carbon Dioxide is way above natural levels. 11 of the 12 warmest years occurred between 1995 and 2006. Period between 1950 and 2000 is the warmest 50 year period in 1,300 years.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Weather records (detailed change in the climate), polar ice melt (reduction at both poles because of global warming) and ecosystem changes (the changes in availability of food and shelter).

Back

Short term

Card 3

Front

Tree rings (one is formed every year and if the climate was good then the ring will be thick), historical records (indirectly show the changes in conditions) and retreating glaciers (the change in temp by rocks dating and glacier size).

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Pollen analysis (they become trapped in sediment and scientists can compare the plants as pollen can be dated), sea level change (the volume difference as beaches can be dated) and ice cores (a layer created each year, traps gases and shows temp).

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Human and natural causes. In this context it is relating to climate change.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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