GEOL 118 Lecture Notes - Lecture 30: Atmospheric Circulation, Green Leaves, Ocean Current
27 Apr 2016
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Geol 118 - lecture 30 - climate change iii. Large, explosive volcanic eruptions can send enormous amount of dust-sized volcanic ash into stratosphere for months to years. Dust reflect sunlight and can cause short-term cooling (months to years) Effect of sun"s intensity on climate - sunspots: Sun"s energy dominates as heat source to earth"s surface. Variable amount of solar energy received by earth can affect global climate. Solar energy can vary by changes in sunspot activity. Effect of sun"s intensity on climate - albedo: Solar energy can vary changes in overall reflectivity of earth"s surface (albedo) Dark surfaces (dark soil, deep blue equatorial seawater, green leaves) absorb more solar energy. Light surfaces (snow, ice, polar seawater) reflect more solar energy. As glaciers enlarge, more sunlight is reflected, making earth even colder. Effect of sun"s intensity on climate - variations in earth"s orbit, spin, rotation:
