EAPS 11100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Glacier, Moraine, Active Channel
15 Jun 2018
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EAPS 111 - Exam 3 Study Guide
Green: Still in the progress Purple: Almost Blue: MASTERED
Climate Change (Lecture 16)
1. Which parts of the earth system are involved with the climate system?
A: All of it
2. What is the primary energy source for the climate system?
A: Solar energy is the primary and CO2 and methane drive the rest
3. What influence does the ocean have on the climate of nearby continents?
A: Ocean moves heat across planet - just as much as the atmosphere. Heat
transport is more localized and channelled to specific regions.
4. What are the ways that plate tectonics can affect climate?
A: Continents shift position, affecting wind patterns.
5. How does climate influence tectonics?
A: When tectonic plates shift, CO2 increases w/ new volcanoes as well as
SO2. Leads to rise in temperature globally
6. How do changes in Earth’s orbit drive drive short term (less than 1 million
years) climate change? Is it predictable and cyclic? What are the three
components of orbital variations that generate much of cyclic climate
change?
A: Eccentricity = Noncircular shape of Earth’s orbit around sun.
Changes in orbit cause variations in amount of solar radiation reaching earth
3 components = tilt, precession, eccentricity
They are predictable, known as milankovitch cycle
7. Can orbital variations explain recent climate change? If not, what else is
involved?
A: Yes, the primary cause of climate change is orbital variation.
8. What is the significance of methane and carbon dioxide in the climate
system.
A: CO2 and methane are higher due to increase in human activity. Thus, the
planet is warming more than it should be.
9. What are climate proxies and how do they help us extend the instrumental
record?
A: Sources of climate information from natural archives such as tree rings,
ice cores, corals, lake and ocean sediments, tree pollen, or human archives
such as historical records or diaries, which can be used to estimate climate
conditions prior to the modern period. They show how fast the earth is
warming over the last 140 years.
10. We have evidence that earth has been much warmer in the past and much
colder. Why are we concerned about climate change today given this
information?
A: It's warming much faster than it should be, and it’s scary b/c we’re not
seeing it go down as much as it is going up.
Glaciers (Lecture 17)
1. What does sea level change have to do with past glaciations? Explain this
linkage.
A: Sea level is lower during ice ages and higher in past. As glaciers melt, sea
levels rise.
2. Within a glacier what is the primary force driving its motion? (This force
acts on all of us.)
A: Gravity
3. What are the main differences between an alpine from a continental glacier?
A: Location and Size. Alpine glaciers are smaller relative to continental
glaciers, and alpine glaciers are found on mountain tops while continental
glaciers are found at poles regardless of elevation.
4. What are the different types of moraines, and how do they form?
A: Lateral Moraine - Forms along sides, when glaciers melt lateral ridges
from low ridges along what were edges of the glacier.
Medial Moraine - Middle of glacier, form where 2 glaciers join trapping
lateral moraine
Terminal Moraine - Forms at end of glacier
5. What kinds of continental glacier features have been left in Indiana,
especially as the last glaciation receded?
A: Continental ice sheets once covered area south of the Great Lakes.
Ridges represent large areas of glacial sediment. Smooth troughs.
6. How does the physical behavior of glacial ice change with depth from top to
bottom in a glacier (where does the ice flow and where does it break)? (this
is in a figure in lecture).
Document Summary
A: ocean moves heat across planet - just as much as the atmosphere. A: when tectonic plates shift, co2 increases w/ new volcanoes as well as. A: eccentricity = noncircular shape of earth"s orbit around sun. Changes in orbit cause variations in amount of solar radiation reaching earth. A: yes, the primary cause of climate change is orbital variation: what is the significance of methane and carbon dioxide in the climate system. A: co2 and methane are higher due to increase in human activity. They show how fast the earth is warming over the last 140 years: we have evidence that earth has been much warmer in the past and much colder. A: it"s warming much faster than it should be, and it"s scary b/c we"re not seeing it go down as much as it is going up. A: sea level is lower during ice ages and higher in past.
