ISP 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Greenland Ice Sheet, Giant Planet, Solar Wind
12 Oct 2015
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Document Summary
Continental motion: motion of continents can be measured with gps; they move at about 1 cm per year, idea of continental drift was inspired by puzzle- like fit of continents, mantle material erupts where seafloor spreads. Seafloor recycling: seafloor is recycled through a process known as subduction. Plate motions: measurements of plate motions tells us past and future layout of continents. These (and many other) unique features are intertwined: plate tectonics creates climate stability, climate stability allows liquid water, liquid water is necessary for life, life is necessary for atmospheric oxygen. Global warming: earth"s average temperature has increased by 0. 5 c in the past 50 years, the concentration of co2 is rising rapidly, an unchecked rise in greenhouse gases will eventually lead to global warming. Co2 concentration: global temperatures have tracked co2 concentration for the last 500,000 years, antarctic air bubbles indicate the current co2 concentration is at its highest level in at least.
