Climate Change

• seismic and volcanic activity

  Sea-floor spreading has changed the distribution of continents.

  The scale of the changes impacts climate; large continents across high latitudes increase global albedo and lead to global cooling.

  Volcanic eruptions release ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, resulting in a short term cooling effect due to solar radiation being reflected back into space.
• Milankovitch cycles

  Astronomical events such as the changes in the Earth’s axis and orbit, which in turn affect the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface.

  The cycles operate from 10 to 100000 years.
• Solar Output

  Variation in the Sun’s solar output can possibly impact temperature, but it is hard to differentiate this from other influences.

  Sunspot activity shows a positive correlation with solar energy output.