1. Climate Shifts

2. Example of a physical geography problem
The ___________________ and ___________ – human actions such as burning of fossil fuels and deforestation result in carbon dioxide inputs to the atmosphere, where it acts as a ______________________, causing harmful climatic changes.
Therefore, this is an example of processes that occur at the interface of human activities,
the atmosphere and the biosphere and its study belongs to the domain of Physical Geography.

3. A Simple Model of the Earth System – The Four Great Realms
______________ - All processes associated with the solid earth
______________ - All processes associated with water
______________ - All processes associated with the gases that envelope the earth
______________ - All processes that involve living organisms

4. System Interactions and Dynamics
______________
When interactions between subsystems exactly balance one another (what comes in goes out) Example – ___________
_______________
When interactions aren’t exactly balanced at one point in time, but balance out over a long time Example – __________________
____________________
Changes in the system that lead to further changes in the system
When changes in the system lead to additional changes that re-enforce the initial change
Example - _________________
_____________________
When changes in the system lead to additional changes that dampen the initial change
Example – __________________________________

5. Positive Feedback: Ice-Albedo Feedback
Cooler temperatures
More ________________
____________ absorbed from the sun
Warmer temperatures
_________ snow cover
More energy __________ from the sun

6. Space and Time Scales Spatial scales
______________ – Long term climate changes
______________ – El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
______________– Geographic shifts in climate regimes (e.g. dust bowl of the 1930’s)
______________ – Extreme events (e.g., short duration droughts; Hurricanes)
Time scales
Short – ________________________ (hourly to weekly)
Seasonal – _____________________
Interannual - ENSO
Decadal – Solar influences
Long scale – ____________________
Very very long scale – _____________________

7. Weather? Large scale fluctuations in the atmosphere from
__________________ or _____________________
Weather systems arise mainly due to ________________________________, the evolution of which is governed
by non-linear chaotic dynamics.
That is why weather is not really ___________
beyond a week or two into the future.

8. Climate?
Climate is defined as ______________________, typically defined in terms of mean and other statistical quantities (higher order moments), that measure variability over a period of time and over a geographical region (space).
_________ = What you expect,
_________ = What you get.