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Section 21.3 Climate Changes: This Section Describes Natural Processes and Human Activities That Affect Climate

This section describes natural and human-caused processes that can cause climate change. Natural factors include plate tectonics, changes in Earth's orbital motions, and volcanic eruptions. Human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation are increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. A graph shows carbon dioxide levels have increased from around 315 parts per million in 1960 to over 385 parts per million in 2007 due to human activities.

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528 views

Section 21.3 Climate Changes: This Section Describes Natural Processes and Human Activities That Affect Climate

This section describes natural and human-caused processes that can cause climate change. Natural factors include plate tectonics, changes in Earth's orbital motions, and volcanic eruptions. Human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation are increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming. A graph shows carbon dioxide levels have increased from around 315 parts per million in 1960 to over 385 parts per million in 2007 due to human activities.

Uploaded by

genieklo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name Class Date

Chapter 21 Climate

Section 21.3 Climate Changes


(pages 600–603)
This section describes natural processes and human activities that affect climate.
Reading Strategy (page 600)
Identifying Cause and Effect As you read, complete the table below. For
more information on this Reading Strategy, see the Reading and Study
Skills in the Skills and Reference Handbook at the end of your textbook.

Climate Changes
Causes Effects
Plate Tectonics

Changes can result in short-term fluctuations.

Earth’s Orbital Motions

Eruption emissions can reflect more solar radiation,


lowering temperatures.

Natural Processes That Change Climate (pages 600–601)


1. Is the following sentence true or false? El Niño or a change in ocean
circulation can result in short-term climate fluctuations.

2. Use the words below to fill in the blank. The formation of sunspots
appears to correspond with periods in Europe and
North America.

cool warm rainy

3. Circle the letter of the motions of Earth that result in climatic


changes.
a. rotations
b. plate tectonics
c. changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit

Earth Science Guided Reading and Study Workbook ■ 213


Name Class Date

Chapter 21 Climate

Human Impact on Climate Changes (pages 602–603)


4. Circle the letter of the term for the natural warming of both Earth’s
lower atmosphere and Earth’s surface.
a. greenhouse effect
b. tropical warming
c. polar thawing
5. The major gases involved in the greenhouse effect are water vapor and
.
6. Is the following sentence true or false? The burning of fossil fuels and
the clearing of forests may have added to an increase of oxygen in the
atmosphere.
7. Use the graph below to answer the following questions.

a.-What was the approximate concentration of carbon dioxide in the


atmosphere in 1960?
b. What was the approximate concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere in 2007?
c. What is the approximate difference in carbon dioxide concentration
between 2007 and 1960?
8. What is global warming?
Earth Science Guided Reading and Study Workbook ■ 214
Name Class Date

Chapter 21 Climate

WordWise
Use the clues and the words below to help you write the vocabulary terms from the
chapter in the blanks. Then find and circle the terms in the puzzle. The terms may
occur vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.

Köppen
temperate
tropical
subtropical
polar
humid
subarctic
west coast

Clues
The zone experiences warm weather year-round.
The region located north of the humid continental climate and south of the
tundra has a climate.
The climate classification system uses mean monthly
and annual values of temperature and precipitation.
The zone is a region that experiences hot summers and
cold winters.
The dry-summer climate is sometimes referred to as a
Mediterranean climate.
Coastal areas between about 40° and 65° north and south latitude have
marine climates.
The southeastern United States has a subtropical
climate.
The zone is a region that experiences very cold
temperatures year-round.

Earth Science Guided Reading and Study Workbook ■ 215

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