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Climatology

Climatology. Climate vs. Weather. The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

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Climatology

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  1. Climatology

  2. Climate vs. Weather • The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. • Climate is usually over a 30 day period or longer.

  3. What Controls Our Climate? • The Sun • Atmospheric Gases (Greenhouse Gases) • Volcanic Eruptions • Surface Albedo (reflectivity) snow cover • Ocean Currents • Changes in earth’s orbit (Milankovitch Cycles) • Meteorite Impacts • Living organisms (plants, animals, microbes)

  4. The Solar Cycle

  5. Solar Max

  6. Space Weather

  7. Changes in the Solar Cycle • http://www.rockymountainstars.com/Pre_AP_Geo_Solar_Variation.htm • 1645 to 1750 called the Maunder Minimum A period of little to no sunspot activity.

  8. The Energy Budget

  9. Changes in the Energy Budget • Small changes in any of these energy budget parameters will cause the earth to heat up or cool off. • Example: More ice would increase reflectivity or albedo creating a positive feedback which would lower the global temperature.

  10. Volcanic Eruptions • In 1915 Mt. Tombora erupted in Indonesia. This was the largest eruption in 1,300 years. • The dust surrounded the globe which created a constant fog like haze which blocked out sunlight. • 1916 was known as the year without a summer. A deep frost occurred over much of the US in June killing off most of the crops.

  11. Mt. Pinatubo

  12. Effect of Mt. Pinatubo • The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 put enough aerosols into the stratosphere to lower the global temperature by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

  13. Ocean Currents

  14. El Nino

  15. El Nino Affect on the US

  16. The Gulf Stream Warms Europe

  17. The Milankovitch Cycles • Long term changes in the earth’s orbit (eccentricity) around the sun and axial tilt can change the overall heat balance of our planet. • A decrease in the axial tilt will cause less extreme seasons in the upper latitudes. These resulting cooler summers do not melt all the snow & ice from the previous winter which over time can lead to an ice age.

  18. Changes in Eccentricity 100,000 cycle beat frequency

  19. Axial Tilt Obliquity 41,000 year cycle

  20. Axial Precession 26,000 year cycle

  21. The 100,000 year cycle • There seems to be correlation with the 100,000 year cycle of the eccentricity in our orbit and ice ages.

  22. 100,000 year cycle & Ice Ages

  23. Meteorite Impacts

  24. The K-T Boundary 63 million Years

  25. Banded Iron Formations BIF • The great oxygen event occurred 2.4 billion years ago. • Oxygen released from photosynthetic blue-green algae combined with iron in the sediment to create red & black bands of oxidized iron. • The banding may be caused by seasonal variations in photosynthesis and oxygen production by algae.

  26. Banded Iron

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