Exam 8: Global Climates and Climate Change

The _______________ cycle deals with the shape of Earth's orbit and lasts approximately 100,000 years.

The most widely used climate classification based on temperature and precipitation patterns is the _______________ system.

A cool period in continental Europe and North America between 1,560 and 1,880 is known as the _______________. (three words)

A plot of mean monthly temperatures and precipitation summarizing the climate at any point on Earth is called a(n)____. ​

Weather and climate are essentially the same thing.

Scientists have known for many years that carbon dioxide acts as a _______________ gas, impeding outgoing longwave radiation emitted by the Earth.

Complex computer simulations of the variables affecting climate are called ____. ​

In a typical climograph, a continuous line connects average monthly values to produce an annual _______________ curve.

In the Köppen classification system, polar climate are assigned the letter D.

The formation, disappearance, or movement of landmasses over geologic time has altered oceanic and atmospheric circulation.

Warm periods between glacial advances are called _______________.

Oxygen isotopes in glacial ice cores provide records of past temperature changes.

The warm period on Earth about 7,000 years ago is known as the _______________.

The ____ climate classification is a system that concentrates on a local scale, and is most useful for water resources specialists, soil scientists, and agriculturalists. ​

Describe two causes of climate change that help explain the repeated glacial advances and retreats over the last million years.

The two most common indicators for describing climate are ____. ​

A "greenhouse gas" that is currently thought to be a significant cause of recent global warming is ____. ​

Which of these factors creates a major problem for scientists studying a particular cycle of glaciation? ​

Short-term changes in Pacific Ocean circulation are primarily responsible for climatic events associated with ____. ​

The _______________ cycle shifts the time of year that the Earth reaches aphelion.