ERS103H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Metasequoia, Sauga, Industrial Revolution
Document Summary
It has gone up and down many time in earth"s history. Sedimentary rocks preserve evidence of sea level changes. Most of the incoming visible light from the sun penetrates the atmosphere and warms earth"s surface. H2o, co2 (carbon dioxide), and ch4 (methane) absorb thermal energy and reradiate it, warming the lower atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect because it operates in a manner similar to the way glass traps heat in a horticultural greenhouse. We are returning co2 into the atmosphere at a rate like never before. The earth is heating faster than usual, uninhabitable environments causing movement, migration of animals (not easy now because of city"s) Animals and populations of animals cannot adapt as they were able to in the past. The long-term sea level shows a gradual rise through the cambrian, reaching a zenith (highest)in the late ordovician. Very high sea levels with continents flooded by shallow seas.
