Climate-Change--Evidence Evidence for climate change

Evidence climate change

1. THEME 5- Climate Change LO: To be able to understand what climate change is and what evidence there is to support it. Lower down in the school you would have looked at Climate Change and the evidence for it, lets see what you can remember by answering the question below: “Climate change is a conspiracy created by scientists and the government” To what extent do you agree with this statement? Use supporting evidence to support any reasons that you have. I agree because… I disagree because… The following evidence supports my argument because… Starter: Gwaith Dosbarth Lets feedback our answers- DATE

2. Why has the climate changed? The Quaternary, sometimes called the Pleistocene, is the most recent period of geological time. It is a period of the Earth’s history that has been dominated by cold climates and ice shaping the land. At the beginning of the Quaternary, the polar ice sheets were far bigger than they are today. Throughout the 2.6 million years of the Quaternary the climate has changed constantly. There has been periods, known as glacials, when the polar ice has reached much further south, converging large parts of the Earth. At other times, known as inter-glacials, the polar ice retreated.

3. Figure 1: The extent of the ice during a colder period of the Quaternary Period. Study the map to the left: Describe the distribution of the ice coverage shown in the map. [3]

4. Evidence for Climate Change Evidence that climate has change in the past includes: Fossils of plants and animals found in places where they could not live today. Ice cores from the Antarctic show that the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and methane in the atmosphere has changed over the past 420,000 years. Glaciation in places now free of ice. Studies of tree rings , known as dendrochronology , show that growing seasons have varied in length in the past. Historical records such as of ice fairs on the River Thames during the little Ice Age.

5. Ice Cores and Tree Rings On the previous slide we learnt that the evidence to show the climate is changing is through a range of different sources but the easiest ones to know is Ice Cores and Tree Rings. Ice Cores are layers upon layers of compacted snow and ice which contain information about temperature and gases. Tree growth rings are added each year the tree is growing. These rings are recording the growing season and the thicker the ring, the better the growing season. These rings can give information on temperature and moisture. Watch the videos below on Ice cores and Tree Rings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=121&v=VjTsj-fi-p0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=105&v=xmZO7aRgcW4

6. Recent Evidence of Climate Change: The recent evidence of climate change include: Increasing levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere, Shifting seasons leading to changes in the migration patterns of birds and insects, Glaciers and ice sheets melting and retreating, Measurements by the Met Office show that average global temperatures have increased by 0.6˚C in the past 100 years.

7. In 1958 a team of scientists began taking regular measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations from the atmosphere. They realised that local levels of CO₂ could be higher if the sampling took place close to industry or traffic congestion . So they decided to conduct their tests on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. They thought that this would give them readings that would represent average CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. The sampling has been conducted regularly ever since and the graph is known as the Keeling Curve . Study the graph to the left and answer the following questions: How much CO₂ was in the atmosphere in 1960? 2. Describe and explain the trend of the Keeling Curve. 3. Is this graph showing change for climate in long/ medium/ short term

8. Plenary ; RAG your work Red- Didn’t understand anything that we did in todays lesson Amber- Understood somethings but need to improve further Green- Understood everything and maybe able to explain to others. Success; Something you did right Target; Something you need to improve on