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Why are ice cores important?
They provide historical climate data, including past CO2 levels and temperatures, allowing scientists to understand long-term climate trends.
Explain natural heat distribution.
The process by which warm air and water move from the equator towards the poles, while cool air and water return to the equator, balancing Earth's temperature.
What is the significance of melting ice?
It reduces Earth's albedo, accelerates warming via positive feedback loops, destroys habitats, and contributes to sea-level rise.
How do computer models help with climate change?
Scientists use computer models to predict future warming based on different CO2 emission scenarios and understand potential impacts.
Why are the poles important in climate change?
The poles are highly sensitive to climate change, and changes there (like melting ice) have global implications due to feedback loops and sea-level rise.
Explain the correlation of CO2 and temperature.
High CO2 levels in ice cores correlate with warmer climates, indicating a strong relationship between atmospheric CO2 and global temperature.
How does melting ice create a positive feedback loop?
Melting ice reduces Earth's albedo, causing more solar radiation to be absorbed, leading to further warming and more melting.
What is the significance of ice core data?
Provides historical records of atmospheric gases (CO2, methane) and temperatures, helping us understand past climate conditions and predict future changes.
Explain natural heat distribution.
The process by which warm air and water move from the equator towards the poles, while cool air and water return to the equator, driven by atmospheric and oceanic circulation.
What is the role of the poles in climate change?
They act as sensitive indicators of climate change, with melting ice triggering positive feedback loops that accelerate warming globally.
Describe the greenhouse effect.
The trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.
Define ice cores.
Cylinders of ice drilled from glaciers or ice sheets, containing trapped air bubbles that reveal past atmospheric composition and climate data.
Define positive feedback loop.
A process where an initial change triggers a series of events that amplify the original change, leading to an accelerating effect.
Define albedo.
The measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed.