According to NASA, “hese natural causes are still in play today, but their influence is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the rapid warming seen in recent decades.” Learn more about the natural causes of climate change. But records indicate that today’s climatic warming-particularly that which has occurred since the mid-20th century-is happening at a much faster rate than ever before, and it can’t be explained by natural causes alone. Forces that can contribute to climate change include the sun’s intensity, volcanic eruptions, and changes in naturally occurring greenhouse gas concentrations. The earth has gone through warming and cooling phases in the past, long before humans were around. Learn more about the causes of climate change. A variety of factors, both natural and human, can influence the earth’s climate system. When the earth absorbs the sun’s energy, or when atmospheric gases prevent heat released by the earth from radiating into space (the greenhouse effect), the planet warms. When energy from the sun is reflected off the earth and back into space (mostly by clouds and ice), or when the earth’s atmosphere releases energy, the planet cools. The mechanics of the earth’s climate system are simple. It’s worth noting that while climate change and global warming are often used interchangeably, global warming-the recent rise in the global average temperature near the earth’s surface-is just one aspect of climate change. Scientists then feed this data into sophisticated climate models that are able to predict future climate trends with impressive accuracy. These records provide a comprehensive look at the long-term changes in the earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, and cryosphere (frozen water systems). In the United States, for example, Maine’s climate is cold and snowy in winter while South Florida’s is tropical year-round.Įarth-orbiting satellites, remote meteorological stations, and ocean buoys are used to monitor present-day weather and climate, but it’s paleoclimatology data from natural sources like ice cores, tree rings, corals, and ocean and lake sediments that have enabled scientists to extend the earth’s climatic records back millions of years. Climate refers to the general weather conditions of a place as measured over many years.
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