5.5 Climate Change: Past and Present

Open Ended

Think about it...

Earth's climate has been changing since the early evolution of the atmosphere to the present.​

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How do we know what the climate was like in the past and that it has changed?

Multiple Choice

According to Milankovitch, which cycle is the most influential for the climate?

• axial precession

• apsidal precession

• obliquity

Multiple Choice

John is researching climate changes occurring in a forest area. Which of the following methods can he use for this research?

• studying air pockets in ice & snow melt

• studying sediment cores & rings of trees

• studying the current troposphere & stratosphere

Reorder

Drag to chronologically order the following periods, which represent past climate changes.

• Snowball Earth

• Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

• Ice ages

• Younger Dryas

• Little Ice Age

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Multiple Choice

Which of the following names the three primary Milankovitch cycles?

• precession, Coriolis, and obliquity

• eccentricity, obliquity, and Coriolis

• eccentricity, obliquity, and precession

Multiple Choice

What is paleoclimatology?

• the study of global warming's effects on marine ecosystems

• the study of weather and climate in today's atmosphere

• the study of past climates and climate change over long periods

Open Ended

How are the climate changes of the past different from the climate change of the present?

_{You can start your response with:}

Past climate changes were caused by . . .

Open Ended

David is part of a team of climatologists searching for evidence of past climate changes in Antarctica. Explain any two methods that the team can use to trace past climatic changes in the region.

_{You can start your response with:}

Two methods that David's team can use are . . .

Multiple Choice

Exit Ticket...

What is the main reason Milankovitch cycles are important for understanding past climate changes?

• They provide a complete explanation for all climate changes.

• They help explain natural climate variability over long periods.

• They predict future climate changes with high accuracy.