Natural and human causes of climate change | Geography

Starter quiz

Match the correct definition to each key term.

Quaternary period

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Period of geological time from 2.6 million years ago to the present ✓

Glacial period

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Period when temperatures decrease significantly and ice advances ✓

Interglacial period

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Warmer period of time between ice ages and glaciers retreat ✓
Which of these statements correctly describe the Quaternary period?

It is part of the Cenozoic era ✓

Temperatures have shown a gradual increase

It has seen cyclical changes between cold and warmer periods ✓
Since 1880 there has been a more ______ increase in global temperatures, accelerated by human activities.

1

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R

2

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A

3

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P

4

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I

5

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D
Which of these are examples of historical evidence of climate change (going back more than 200 years)?

Global temperature records

Tree rings ✓

Fossil records ✓

Sea level rise
Which of these are examples of recent evidence of climate change (within the last 100 years)?

Melting glaciers ✓

Diaries and paintings

Fossil record

Sea level rise ✓
Scientists take ______ from the deep ice sheet in Antarctica and these have provided climate data for the last 400 000 years.

'Ice cores' ✓

Match the Milankovitch cycles to its correct description.

Eccentricity

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Shape of Earth’s orbit ✓

Axial tilt

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Tilt of Earth’s axis ✓

Precession

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Wobble of Earth’s axis ✓
The number of sunspots rises and falls over an ______ year cycle.

'11' ✓
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and ______ are all greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.

1

⇔

m

2

⇔

e

3

⇔

t

4

⇔

h

5

⇔

a

6

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n

7

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e
Human activity has caused the ______ greenhouse effect.

'enhanced' ✓

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There are natural and human causes of climate change.
Natural causes of climate change include orbital changes, asteroid collisions, volcanic activity and solar output.
Human causes of climate change include the use of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation.
Human causes of climate change produce greenhouse gases, enhancing the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.

Climate change is only caused by human activity.

Human activity has been significant in recent climate change, but natural factors have caused changes to the climate over millions of years.

Milankovitch cycles - natural changes in Earth's orbit and tilt over thousands of years that influence solar energy and Earth’s climate
Greenhouse gas - a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to Earth's warming, e.g. CO₂ and methane
Enhanced greenhouse effect - the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities, leading to global warming