12.1.1

Evidence for Climate Change

Test yourself

What is the Evidence for Climate Change?

We can see patterns in the Earth's climate over time using 4 main methods:

Illustrative background for How do ice cores show climate change?Illustrative background for How do ice cores show climate change? ?? "content

How do ice cores show climate change?

  • Ice cores can be extracted by drilling into ice sheets.
  • Each year, a new layer of ice freezes onto the top of an ice sheet.
  • Examining the gases in each layer of ice can show us what the climate and temperature were like hundreds of thousands of years ago.
  • Sometimes there are fossils or sediments that can give scientists even more information.
Illustrative background for How do tree rings show climate change?Illustrative background for How do tree rings show climate change? ?? "content

How do tree rings show climate change?

  • Every year, a new ring forms in the trunks of trees.
  • Rings are thicker in good conditions for growth (temperate and wet climate).
  • Counting the number of tree rings can show that tree's age.
  • Tree rings give us data on the climate and temperature for up to the last 10,000 years.
Illustrative background for How does pollen analysis show climate change?Illustrative background for How does pollen analysis show climate change? ?? "content

How does pollen analysis show climate change?

  • Plant pollen can be preserved in sediment.
  • Comparing plant pollen from sediment and plant pollen from now can indicate what differences have occurred between the current climate and past climate.
Illustrative background for How do temperature records show climate change?Illustrative background for How do temperature records show climate change? ?? "content

How do temperature records show climate change?

  • Temperatures have been recorded globally since 1850, however, global records are a lot better from the last 50 years.
  • This data is very reliable but only stretches back 170 years.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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