1. Relevant concepts for Earth’s climate system
GEOL 3100
Earth’s Climate and Environment:
Past, Present, and Future

2. Earth’s Climate System Components:
Atmosphere
Ocean
Ice
Land
Biosphere

8. Does the response
time vary during
the experiment?
No: the response
time is defined as
the time it takes for
50% of the remain-
ing change to occur

9. Activity:
In groups of 4 to 5,
and NOT using your
book:
Come up with
1 to 2 examples of
a) forcing agent
and
b) a climatic
component that
responds to
that forcing
as illustrated in
panels A-C

11. Real systems are often cyclical instead of square-waved in behavior
Name three parameters to describe cyclical systems

12. How have the parameters changed in this figure vs. the previous figure?

13. What is the mathematical
definition of a response time?

14. At the peak of an ice age, which would better reflect the response of the air over
the ice to solar forcing, the fast or slow response time?

15. Activity:
In groups of 4 to 5,
and NOT using your
book:
Come up with
1 to 2 examples of
a) A positive feedback
b) A negative feedback
Feel free to come up with examples that aren’t related to climate