Glacier Basics
This season's data is most important when studying glacier changes.
What is summer?
This type of feedback loop amplifies an initial warming effect in climate systems.
What is a positive feedback loop?
This geological epoch, starting about 11,700 years ago, marks the end of the last ice age.
What is the Holocene?
The Arctic is warming about this many times faster than the rest of the globe.
What is 4 times?
This describes a relationship between factors but doesn't prove one causes the other.
What is correlation?
This term refers to climate changes originating from human activity.
What is anthropogenic?
This type of feedback loop reduces an initial warming effect in climate systems.
What is a negative feedback loop?
This orbital factor has a cycle of approximately 26,000 years.
What is axial precession?
This feedback loop is a major reason for accelerated Arctic warming.
What is the albedo feedback loop?
Scientists use these geological samples to gather evidence about past climate conditions.
What are ice core samples?
This process occurs when a glacier loses more mass than it gains over a year.
What is glacier retreat?
This process, taking about 1,000 years to complete one cycle, affects ocean circulation.
What is thermohaline circulation?
This orbital factor has a cycle of approximately 100,000 years.
What is orbital eccentricity?
Whiter objects have this kind of albedo.
What is high albedo?
The components of this include an explanation, pictures, color, questions and labels.
What is a model?
This is the amount of salt in water.
What is salinity?
This greenhouse gas is produced by decomposing organic matter in wetlands and landfills.
What is methane?
This orbital factor has a cycle of approximately 41,000 years.
What is obliquity?
Darker objects have this kind of albedo?
What is low albedo?
Surface currents deflect or change direction when they meet these.
What are continents?
Melting ice caps can cause this to stop
What is circulation?
This term describes the movement of carbon between the atmosphere, land, and oceans.
What is the carbon cycle?
During this period, temperatures changed by approximately 10°C over 10 years.
What is the Younger Dryas?
When light from the sun hits the Earth some of it is absorbed and the rest is this.
What is reflected?
Wind, tides, changes in water density, and Earth’s rotation drive these.
What are ocean currents?