By John B.

1. Plate tectonics and Climate By John B.

2. Plate tectonics The movement of the plates caused by convection in the mantle. Moves the continents and widens/compresses the oceans. –affects ocean currents Where oceans meet continents they subside. The sublimation of oceans and collision of continents creates mountains

3. Plate Tectonics Cont • Mountain ranges affect low level winds and temperature drops as altitude increases. • Volcanoes form along plate boundaries volcanoes release greenhouse gasses which heats the earth. • The location oceans reduce climate variance.

4. How Ocean Currents are affected by the position of the continents. • Ocean currents (mainly the thermalhaline belts) distribute heat from the tropics to higher latitudes. • Ocean currents are deflected by continents.

5. Some important examples. • The northern polar ice caps were created when the isthmus of panama was formed blocking direct circulation of the waters of the pacific and Atlantic oceans.

6. Some important examples cont. • Antarctica even thought it has stayed relatively close to its current position wasn’t always locked in ice. The ice sheets only formed when Antarctica and South America separated allowing the cold ocean currents to continually circulate around the continent.

7. Some important examples • Dublin Ireland is on approximately the same latitude as Saskatoon Saskatchewan but palm trees grow in Ireland and Saskatchewan has some of the highest snow fall in the western hemisphere. The reason for Irelands relative warmth is the gulf steam.

8. Mountains affect on climate. • Mountains disrupt low level winds. • Mountains can channel water to one side or the other creating deserts • As altitude increases temperature decrease 3-5˚F for every thousand feet.

9. Volcanoes affect on climate • Volcanoes of course heat every thing around them of course, but they also spew greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Major eruptions can also launch large amounts of ash into the atmosphere which can cause wide spread cooling.

10. Some important examples • Mount Tampora erupted causing the year without a summer in 1816 . This caused widespread cooling. As a direct result of this crops died and many people starved to death.

11. Some important examples Cont. • A similar affect accrued with the eruption of Krakatau in 1883 which caused the temperature to drop up to1.2˚C. Also both these eruptions caused acid rain which decimated ecosystems.

12. Oceans Position affect. • Water changes temperature slower than land and this reduces the variance in the area by radiating heat. Or absorbing heat.

13. Future and past affects of continental drift. • Past • Rhodinia was positioned at the south pole and caused the earth to freeze over • A massive drought stuck Pangaea before the dinosaurs. • Future • Vast deserts will form in the center of the continent. • A massive storm may form around the edge of the super continent with winds surpassing anything to date.

14. Conclusions • Although plate tectonics can have profound affects on climate as seen in the video, there moment is so slow it will not have any noticeable affect on the climate within the next 100,000 years. However there may be an increase in volcanism which could cause widespread cooling and, as of today there is absolutely nothing man can do about it.

15. Connections In my research I came across many references to global warming including greenhouse gas increases caused by man but also I found web site everybody should visit before calling anyone a wasteful self-centered pig. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for going green, but before drawing a conclusion see both sides open mindedly and then with skepticism. http://www.skepticalscience.com/

16. Bibliography • http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=172207 • National geographic Chanel/ naked science-when continents collide. • www.scepticalscience.com/