Ch. 2 Climate and Climate Change

Climates are classified according to two major factors:

Oceans make the temperatures of nearby land

The gradual increase in the temperature of the atmosphere is known as ____________________.

Which of the following has caused repeating 100,000-year cycles of ice ages in the past?

Scientists assume past organisms required a climate ____ that of present-day organism.

Ancient _______ found in lake bottoms provides scientists with evidence about ancient climates.

Which is not a human activity that increases the amount of the greenhouse gas methane?

Streams of water called _________ move warm or cold water, warming or cooling the nearby land.

Because of its high ________________, Mount Chimborazo has a cool climate all year.

Climate changes may be linked to changes in the number of _________ on the surface of the sun.

Regions that receive less than 25 centimeters of rain annually are called

During cold periods called _____, large parts of Earth’s surface were covered w/ sheets of ice.

Trees don't grow in the _____, which has short, cool summers, bitter cold winters & permafrost.

People add the greenhouse gas ____ to the atmosphere by burning wood, oil, natural gas, & coal.

Sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons are called

A cold climate, ___________, is found at mountain tops, surrounded by other climate regions.

The sun’s rays are least direct

Scientists observe the thickness of a tree’s __________ to learn about past climate conditions.

An arid or semiarid climate occurs where precipitation is _________ than potential evaporation.

The land on the ____________ side of a mountain range is in a rain shadow.

Tropical grasslands called _____________ are found in the tropical wet-and-dry climate region.

Tundra and ice cap climates are examples of ____________________ climates.

_______________ are forests in which plenty of rain falls all year.

Clues to what ancient climates were like come from all of the following except

____________________ climates are found along the coasts of continents in the temperate zone.

_____ climates have cold winters

The main factors that affect an area’s _______ are prevailing winds and mountains

Which of the following is a result of global climate change?

Over the past 200 years, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has

The farther you live from an ocean, the more likely your climate will be a

_________________ temperature zones occur between tropical and polar zones.

One possible explanation for past climate changes is the movement of Earth’s ______________