2.  What is your view on climate change? Write down either: What you believe about climate change What you have heard someone say about climate change  Add your view to the Venn diagram on the board

3.  Atmosphere: thin layer of gases that surround Earth  Weather: condition of the atmosphere at a specific time (describes wind, temperature, amount of moisture, etc.)  Climate: characteristic pattern of weather conditions in a region including: temperature, wind, precipitation, etc. over a long period of time

4.  Climates have changed many times over the billions of years of Earth’s history

5.  In 1988 an international scientific panel was organized to study the evidence & advise governments about the effects of climate change  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sto ry/2011/12/05/environment-co2- emissions-record.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sto ry/2011/12/05/environment-co2- emissions-record.html

6. 1. The Sun (most important) 2. The Atmosphere 3. The Hydrosphere 4. Moving Continents 5. Human Activity

7.  Energy from the Sun is the MOST important factor that affects climate on Earth Changes in Solar Activity:

8. Movements of Earth in Space  Seasons are caused by a combination of Earth’s tilt (23.5 °) & Earth’s annual orbit around the Sun

9. Changes in Earth’s Rotation, Orbit & Tilt (Milankovic – early 1900s)  Eccentricity: due to gravitational attraction of other planets, the orbit of Earth fluctuates slightly over 100 000 years (elliptical) Changes length & intensity of seasons

10.  Tilt: angle the Earth’s tilt on its axis changes 2.4° over 41 000 years Greater the tilt, greater the temperature differences between summer & winter  Wobble: Earth is not a perfect sphere, so wobbles slightly as it rotates on its axis Amount & intensity of solar energy received in different hemispheres is affected

11.  http://www.mathsisfun.com/earth- orbit.html http://www.mathsisfun.com/earth- orbit.html

12. Effect of Latitude on Climate & Seasons  Curved shape of the Earth affects the amount of sunlight reaching surface Rays that hit Earth more directly have a higher intensity than those hitting at an angle  Equator = highest intensity  45° = moderate intensity  Poles = lowest intensity

13.  Earth’s atmosphere can absorb and reflect solar radiation It can also prevent radiation from escaping into space.

14. Greenhouse Effect:  Natural part of Earth’s climate system  Caused by gases in Earth’s atmosphere that absorb energy that is radiated by the Sun & Earth

16.  Wind: movement of air from an area of high pressure to low pressure (convection) Warm air rises Cold air sinks

17.  Winds disperse heat energy through the atmosphere  Affects global ocean currents & precipitation patterns

18.  Hydrosphere: all water in its different forms on Earth (liquid water, ice & water vapour)  Oceans & lakes act like heat reservoirs Water has a large specific heat capacity (lots of energy is required to raise one gram by 1° C in temperature vs. other substances)  Ice and snow reflect heat Albedo: amount of light reflected by the surface of the object

19.  Turn on the lamp and record the temperature of soil, sand and water each minute for 10 minutes  Turn off the lamp and record the temperature of soil, sand and water each minute for 10 minutes

20.  Earth’s 12 tectonic plates change the shape of oceans and continents  Affects: Heat transfer Wind patterns Precipitation Ocean currents

21. Volcanic Eruptions  Volcanoes are located at the boundary of tectonic plates  Volcanic eruptions spew ash & particles into the atmosphere (aerosols) which reflect solar radiation, cooling the Earth  Volcanic eruptions also add large amounts of greenhouse gases (CO 2 ) to the atmosphere which might cause global temperatures to rise

23.  Warming trend since the 1970s caused partially by humans (anthropogenic)

24.  Burning of fossil fuels (since the Industrial Revolution – 1700s) has increased concentration of gases in the atmosphere  These gases produce the greenhouse effect

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