GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: IMAGES

Chapter 1 Images

We will use Celsius throughout this class as much as possible. Please familiarize yourselves with this scale relative to Fahrenheit and Kelvin.

 

 

Time scale and Resolution: How does Resolution (detail of climate characteristics in the past) change through time? Distant past -- millions of years -- thousands of years -- hundreds of years -- tens of years? How do our records of past climate change over these time scales?

Time scales of different forcing mechanisms

 

Forcing Mechanisms -- Factors that cause changes in climate over time:

Tectonic mechanisms, plate tectonics -- rates of spreading of plates

Changes in Earth's Orbit around the Sun -- changes in amount of insolation received in different hemispheres, seasonality

Changes in the energy output of the Sun -- sunspot cycles, gradual increasing in intensity

 

 

Response Time: How much time it takes for climate to respond, to change, in response to a forcing mechanism

Example: time it takes for water to heat up in response to flame under crucible, from time heat is turned on.

 

Heat is applied, water heats up, but keeps warming for a while after heat is turned off.