Causes of Climate Change
The general state of the Earth's climate is largely affected by how much heat is stored in the atmosphere. Processes which affect this storage of heat can cause the climate of the Earth to change. It is not just man-made pollution of the atmosphere which can cause climate change. Changes in the amount of greenhouse gases in the air have occurred naturally during the history of the Earth, leading to climate changes. Changes in the way ocean water circulates around the world can also influence climate, because the oceans store even more heat than the atmosphere. Changes in the amount of heat from the Sun will affect the Earth's climate too.
Large volcanic eruptions can cause the Earth to cool over a couple of years, because huge amounts of pollution injected in to the air block out a lot more sunlight. This type of climate change can also occur when a large comet or meteorite strikes the Earth. Luckily, this only happens every few million years.
Other processes can change the Earth's climate, but only very, very slowly, over millions of years. When continents move around the world, and when mountains ranges are built, the changing patterns of landmasses affects the way the heat in the atmosphere and in the oceans is stored. Continental drift however, takes millions of years, and so therefore does any climate change caused by it.
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• Introduction
• Atmosphere
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• Comets
• Continental Drift
• Earth's Orbit
• Global Warming
• Greenhouse Effect
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