{"id":7314,"date":"2023-10-24T21:04:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T21:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/course.fossdle.org\/baccc\/?page_id=7314"},"modified":"2023-10-24T21:04:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T21:04:29","slug":"climate-change-measuring-monitoring-and-observing-trends-part-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/course.fossdle.org\/baccc\/modules\/module-1-the-science-of-climate-change\/climate-change-measuring-monitoring-and-observing-trends-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change: Measuring, Monitoring and Observing Trends – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Measuring and monitoring<\/span><\/h2>\n

How do we know what the climate was like in the past?<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Did you know that even today scientists are still studying past climate? The study of past climate is known as \u201cpalaeoclimatology.\u201d The factors that make up climate (such as temperature and precipitation) have been measured directly since the 1860s. However, to understand what climate was like before that, scientists use \u201cproxies\u201d or indirect measurements that have a well-defined relationship to temperature or other climatic variables.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"activity\"\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Activity<\/h2>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

1. Search for three of the most common proxies, briefly explain each one in your learning journal, and then state your source of information.\n<\/p>\n

2. \u201cConcentrations of the key greenhouse gases have all increased since the Industrial Revolution due to human activities.\u201d Search for and give statistical data to prove this point.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Feedback<\/b>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Some common proxies include:\n<\/p>\n

Ice cores \u2013 The ratio of oxygen isotopes in the ice can indicate the temperature at the time the ice was formed. Air bubbles trapped in ice can show what the greenhouse gas concentration of the atmosphere was at the time of formation.\n<\/p>\n

Ocean sediment cores \u2013 The remains of small hard-shelled creatures (foraminifera) are preserved in ocean sediments. The composition of their shells can reveal ocean temperatures at the time of their formation.\n<\/p>\n

Pollen records \u2013 Fossilised pollen grains can indicate what types of plants were present at the time the fossils were formed.\n<\/p>\n

Tree rings \u2013 The width of annual tree rings in temperate climates depends in part on soil moisture and temperature and can, therefore, reveal information about these variables.\n<\/p>\n

Past climate is often \u201creconstructed\u201d by looking at many of these measurements together.\n<\/p>\n

More examples can be found at these sources:\n<\/p>\n