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Questions and Answers
What is the main factor that drives the Earth's climate system?
What is the term used to describe the natural cycle of carbon exchange between the atmosphere and living organisms?
What is the layer of rock at the surface of the Earth where most interactions between the geosphere and other subsystems occur?
What is the term used to describe the process of human activities accelerating the natural carbon cycle?
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What is the term used to describe the combination of components that shape the climate around the globe?
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What is the term used to describe the Earth's water system?
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What is the term used to describe the impact of volcanic eruptions on climate change?
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What is the term used to describe the Earth's climate system as an open system?
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What is the approximate duration of the Earth's cycles that influence the amount of solar energy received by different parts of the planet?
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What is the term for the process by which certain gases in the atmosphere trap heat, leading to climate change?
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During which time period did the Earth experience a decrease in solar activity, corresponding to a period of fewer sunspots?
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What is the term for the entire range of living things on, in, and around the Earth?
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What is the result of the interaction between the Milankovitch cycles and the Earth's climate?
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What is the term for the energy re-radiated by the Earth back into space after being heated by the Sun's rays?
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What is the primary reason for the increase in global temperatures according to the resource guide?
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What is the term used to describe the complex process of changes in the natural world?
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What is the distinctive approach of Earth System Science (ESS)?
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What is the primary focus of Section I of the resource guide?
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What is the term used to describe the study of the Earth's different parts in interaction?
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What is the primary difference between the approach of Earth System Science and other scientific approaches?
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What is the source of the depiction of the four subsystems of Earth System Science?
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Study Notes
Climate Change and the Atmosphere
- The atmosphere plays a crucial role in climate change through the greenhouse gas effect, which traps heat in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
- Certain gases, transparent to the Sun's rays, allow them to reach the surface, and when re-radiated by the Earth, they lose energy and drop to the infrared level.
- Greenhouse gases absorb these infrared rays, trapping heat in the atmosphere.
The Milankovitch Cycles
- The Earth's movement and its relation to the Sun have driven climate change for hundreds of thousands of years.
- The Milankovitch cycles reflect the Earth's completion of different cycles that influence which parts of the Earth receive more or less solar energy.
- These cycles occur at intervals of around 100,000 years, 41,000 years, and 26,000 years, and have interacted with each other to steer the climate of the Earth into and out of periodic ice ages.
The Biosphere
- The biosphere is composed of all living things on, in, and around the Earth.
- Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, are now a major cause of climate change.
Earth System Science
- Earth System Science (ESS) is a scientific approach that views the Earth's land, oceans, and atmosphere as a single system.
- ESS looks at the interactions between air, water, land, and living organisms.
The Four Subsystems
- The four subsystems of Earth System Science are the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.
- The geosphere is the Earth's crust, where most interactions between the geosphere and other subsystems occur.
- The hydrosphere is all the water on the Earth, in the ground, and in the atmosphere.
Forcings
- The Earth's climate system is an open system, influenced by external energy from the Sun.
- The Earth's climate system is shaped by interactions between the four subsystems and solar energy.
Carbon Cycle
- The public is familiar with the carbon cycle, where humans participate by breathing oxygen produced by plants from their absorption of carbon dioxide.
- Human use of fossil fuels has accelerated the Earth's natural carbon cycle, rapidly increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere above natural levels.
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Description
This quiz explores the role of the atmosphere in climate change, including the greenhouse gas effect and the impact of solar activity on climate patterns.
