Flashcards: Earth's Climate History and Cycles — 20 cards

Recent climate warming — cause?

Human greenhouse gas emissions drive recent warming.

Greenhouse gases — role?

Trap infrared radiation, cause greenhouse effect.

Quaternary cycles — definition?

Glaciation and interglacial periods over last 2.6 million years.

Ice core isotopes — proxy for?

Past temperatures via δ18O ratios.

Milankovitch cycles — influence?

Orbital variations affecting insolation and climate.

Tectonic activity — climate effect?

Alters ocean currents, CO₂, and mountain uplift.

Cenozoic cooling — trend?

Gradual global temperature decrease over last 66 million years.

Mesozoic climate — evidence?

Warm, high CO₂, tropical fossils at high latitudes.

Paleozoic glaciations — timing?

Late Paleozoic, notably Carboniferous-Permian, with extensive ice sheets.

Carboniferous-Permian — climate?

Cooler, with widespread glaciation due to reduced CO₂.

Ice core — key data?

Isotope ratios, trapped gases, and particulate records.

δ18O — indicates?

Past temperature and ice volume.

Milankovitch cycles — components?

Eccentricity, obliquity, precession.

Tectonics — long-term climate?

Influences CO₂, ocean currents, and mountain uplift.

Cenozoic cooling — cause?

Tectonic uplift, decreased CO₂, orbital variations.

Mesozoic climate — evidence?

Warm, greenhouse conditions, high sea levels.

Paleozoic glaciations — evidence?

Glacial deposits, δ18O data, high albedo.

Carboniferous-Permian — climate?

Cooler, extensive glaciations, reduced greenhouse gases.

Ice cores — resolution?

Decades to millennia, depending on depth.

Milankovitch effect — mechanism?

Modulates solar radiation, triggers climate feedbacks.