ENVIRSC 3CC3 Midterm: Chapter 8 Midterm Notes
1 Nov 2017
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Another type of climate forcing - changes in earth"s orbit, and the sun"s behaviour. Three aspects of earth"s orbit have varied over cycles ranging in length from ~20,000 - The shape of its yearly path of revolution around the sun. The changing positions of the seasons along that path. Tilt: the angle between earth"s equatorial plane and the plane of its orbit around the sun. Also equivalent to the angle between earth"s axis of rotation and a line perpendicular to its axis or rotation around the sun - also referred to as obliquity. Solstice: the times during earth"s yearly revolution around the sun when the days are the longest (summer solstice) and the shortest (winter solstice) Perihelion: the point in earth"s slightly eccentric orbit when it is closest to the sun. Aphelion: the point in earth"s slightly eccentric orbit at which it is farthest from the sun. Precession of the ellipse: the slow turning of earth"s elliptical orbit in space.
