Studied by 12 people
Earth System Science
A new approach to studying the natural world as a whole: geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
Atmosphere
The layers of gases encircling Earth
Pleistocene
A geological epoch that started ~2.58 million years ago, characterized by ice ages and interglacials
Holocene
A geological interglacial period that began ~11.7k years ago, at the end of the last ice age
Anthropocene
The current geological age (debated)
Climate Crisis
A term summarizing the impacts of climate change
Subsystems
Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Biosphere
Geosphere
The Earth and rock that comprises the Earth
Hydrosphere
All water in, on, and around Earth
Biosphere
All living organisms in and on Earth
Forcings
Factors that are external to a climate system that affect climate: volcanic activity, solar variations, greenhouse gasses
Positive Feedback
The cause is furthered by the effect
Negative Feedback
The cause can be reversed by the effect
Scales
The scope of an investigation
Geological Time Scale
A measure of time based on the record of rocks
Cryosphere
All ice in the Earth system
Greenhouse Gas Effect
A term describing how higher concentration of carbon dioxide and certain other gases in the atmosphere are warming temperatures in the lower levels of the atmosphere by trapping heat
Milankovich Cycles
Patterns of the Earth’s movement in relation to the sun that impacts climate
Tipping Point
A point of no return, where climate change becomes irreversible
Archive
A figurative way of naming something as containing info from the past
Proxy
Something observable in nature that indicates past climate conditions
Precipitation
Water released from clouds
Scholarly Field
A group of scholars who generally share an object of study
Historical Climatology / Paleoclimatology
A field that reconstructs past climates using nature
Climate history
A field that uses past human societies to reconstruct past climates
History of climate and society (HCS)
A field focused on the history of the relationship between climate and human societies
Fossil Fuels
Coal, oil, natural gases left from former organisms that release carbon when burned
Climate determinism
A method of telling historical narratives in which climate drives social and environmental changes over time
Casual Mechanisms
Something that causes something else to occur
Note
Flashcard