ENVS 137 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Sea Level Rise, Erms, Kyoto Protocol
16 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
The pleistocene - the last 2 million years. Climate change - variations/ long term changes in climate. Pleistocene epoch - for nearly 2 million years, earth"s climate has cycled between cold (ice ages) and warm periods (interglacial periods) each cycle lasting about 100,000 years. Cold periods sea level dropped (water froze in glaciers) Changes in earth"s orbit that influence the amount and distribution of solar radiation caused these cycles affect the average amount and distribution of solar radiation striking earth"s surface. Milankovitch cycles - shifts from glacial to interglacial conditions. Accumulation of snow and ice reflect more of sun"s energy land absorbs less heat. Earth cools allows ice to grow and spread (speeds cooling process) Changes in ocean currents can also contribute to spread of glaciers. Changes in chemical composition of earth"s atmosphere (air bubbles trapped in each layer of ice) Concentrations of co2 much lower during cold glacial periods.
