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How do we know about the climate from thousands of years ago?

How do we know about the climate from thousands of years ago?. Lesson Plan 4 – Day 1. Ice Core Slides. Climate Readings Over Time. DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. Measuring Devices. Thermometers were not invented until 1724.

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How do we know about the climate from thousands of years ago?

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  1. How do we know about the climate from thousands of years ago? PPT 4.1.1

  2. Lesson Plan 4 – Day 1 Ice Core Slides PPT 4.1.1

  3. Climate Readings Over Time DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  4. Measuring Devices • Thermometers were not invented until 1724. • Other climate measuring devices were not invented until much later. • How can we make long-term climate graphs? PPT 4.1.1

  5. Ice Cores! PPT 4.1.1

  6. Ice Cores • Drilling into glacial ice allows us to see back in time. • Each winter new snow fall packs on top of previous snow. This creates a new band each year. PPT 4.1.1

  7. Dating Ice Cores • Ice cores are like tree rings • Summer ice appears light • Winter ice appears dark • How many years do you see? PPT 4.1.1

  8. Dating Ice Cores This ice core shows 12 years PPT 4.1.1

  9. Air Bubbles • Air bubbles in the ice trap pollen and the atmosphere which is made of gases. • These help scientists know what the climate was like thousands of years ago. PPT 4.1.1

  10. The Vostok Ice Core • The Vostok Ice Core is a Russian Station near the South Pole. • Their ice cores have produced climate data for the past 420,000 years! PPT 4.1.1

  11. Analyzing the Data:Isn’t Heating and Cooling Just a Natural Cycle of the Earth? PPT 4.1.1

  12. Vostok Ice Core DataBeginning & Ending Temp. Data Top of Core Bottom of Core DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  13. Vostok Ice Core Data DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  14. Ice Core DataSample Carbon Dioxide Data In what year does this data begin? DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  15. Vostok Ice Core Data DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  16. Climate Readings to the Present DATA: Petit, J.R., et al., 2001; NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. PPT 4.1.1

  17. Ice Core Conclusions • The Earth has been this hot before, but it was far different than the conditions we have today. For example, there were no ice caps at the poles. • The carbon dioxide level has not been this high in the last 420,000 years although it had been much higher millions of years ago. • If CO2 keeps increasing, temperatures are virtually certain to surpass highs of the past 420,000 years. PPT 4.1.1

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