Milankovitch Cycles
The Earth's orbit may be circular or __________.
Oval
What is an interglacial period?
A warm period; the time between ice ages
Do volcanoes cool or warm the planet?
Both!
Slower
What is a glacial period?
What is precession?
The direction of the Earth's tilt.
What two stars does the Earth wobble between?
Polaris and Vega
Name one way that volcanoes warm the climate.
Does the atmosphere circulate heat faster or slower than the ocean?
Slower
What is Ms. Otis's favorite type of candy?
Milky Way
Sour Patch Watermelon
The Earth tilts between __________ degrees and ___________ degrees.
22.1 and 24.5
What is obliquity?
The angle of the Earth's tilt.
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.
Describe the pattern of ocean currents on Earth.
Tropical water (warm water) moves towards the poles and vice versa.
Climate is characterized by a place's _______________ and ___________________.
Temperature and humidity
How many years does it take for Earth's obliquity to change?
41,000 years.
Describe what conditions (obliquity, precession, and eccentricity) would be required to create a glacial period.
22.1 degrees
Towards Vega
Volcanoes release carbon dioxide and...
Sulfure dioxide
What is El Nino?
El Nino occurs when changing wind patterns displace warm and cool water in the equatorial Pacific.
Define: A change in the Earth's orbit.
Eccentricity.
The combined gravity from Jupiter and Saturn (Bonus Points: Every 100,000 years)
How many years does it take for Earth to move from Polaris to Vega?
How do volcanoes cool the climate?
Sulfur dioxide creates a protective layer over the area, which reflects sunlight.
Describe what would happen to Earth's climate if ocean currents did not exist.
There would be much more extreme climates and land would be dry; many places would be inhabitable.
DOUBLE POINTS: Describe a positive feedback loop.
A positive feedback loop occurs in nature when the product of a reaction leads to an increase in that reaction.