added chap 12

• Climate is not similar to weather which is constantly changing. Climate refers to the long-term weather patterns changing.
• Climate


  The term comes from the greek word "klinein" meaning "to slope." It evolved into "klima" connoting a zone or region of the Earth as characterized by its atmospheric conditions.
• The interaction between the sun and the Earth is another consideration in explaining climate change.
• Earth's Movement around the Sun

  1. While the orbit remains an ellipse, its position or orientation in space changes over time

  2. The Earth spins around its own axis, an imaginary line from the North Pole to the South pole, which dips and wobbles gradually

  3. The Earth could then be imagined like a spinning top or trumpo and wobbling in its path about the sun
• Elements in the interaction between the sun and the earth

  • Aphelion
  • Perihelion
  • Earth's Axial Tilt
  • Precession
  • Equinox
  • Solstice
  • Precession of the Equinoxes
• Aphelion


  The point in the orbit of the earth farthest from the sun
• Perihelion


  The point in the orbit of the earth closest to the sun
• Earth's Axial Tilt


  The inclination angle of the Earth's rotational axis in relation to a line perpendicular to its orbital plane
• Precession


  The change of the orientation of the rotational axis of the Earth
• Equinox


  The time the sun at noon is directly over the equator. It happens twice a year and causes an almost equal length of day and night.
• Solstice


  When the sun at noon sits above the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn. The summer solstice has the longer period of daylight in the year and the winter solstice has the shortest period.
• Precession of the Equinoxes


  The motion of the equinoxes relative to the precession of the Earth's axis of rotation. It happens over thousands of years.
• Sunlight falling upon the Earth warms the planet. The amount of sunlight however is not constant since the orientation of the earth to the sun changes.
• Milankovitch Parameters


  The varying amounts of solar radiation due to Earth's changing orbital parameters, including eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession.
• The Milankovitch cycles describe how relatively slight changes in Earth's movement affect the planet's climate.
• The Milankovitch parameters seem to be part of the cause of climate change though, not the only cause. Some other factor seems to be needed.
• Two opposing arguments on whether global warming is "natural"

  • One side states it is nature, simply acting according to its laws with no reference to human beings and their actions
  • The other side maintains that global warming is caused or greatly abutted by the actions of human beings
• Greenhouse effect


  Certain gases in the atmosphere trap the heat of the sun, causing the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere to become hotter than it would be otherwise.
• The greenhouse effect is good for the biosphere because without it, the earth's atmosphere would be extremely cold and life could not be sustained.