Research ProjectGlobal Climate Issues

Cause and Effect

Weather

•Weather is what the weatherman on TV predicts each day.

•Weather is not the same everywhere – it changes day to day and place to place.

Climate

•Climate is the average weather in a region over a long period of time.

•While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change.

Climate and Energy

• The energy from the sun heats Earth• Our atmosphere acts like a blanket, both absorbing

(trapping) and reflecting this heat energy • It is a delicate balance to maintain the temperature of

Earth• Click on the icon on the right.• Complete the research questions in your booklet

On Your OwnResearch

•Click on the diagram of the greenhouse gasses

•Explain how the earth is similar to a greenhouse

•List the advantage and disadvantage

of these gasses

What Affects Our Climate?•Click on each icon

•When redirected to the website, hold your mouse over the icon

•Record how each factor affects our climate

What Scientists Know

•Describe the changes in the glacier

•Click on the picture, when redirected to the website, record “what we know.”

What Scientists Predict•Click on the

cartoon.•When redirected to

the website, record what climate models have predicted may happen in 100 years.

Paleoclimatology(The study of ancient climates)

• Click on the timeline• List where scientists have

found clues about ancient climates

• Record what happened– a long, long, long time ago– a long, long time ago– a long time ago– not so long ago

Ancient Climates

•Click on each icon.

•When redirected to the website, scroll down and record how the data is used to learn about ancient climates.

What Do You Think

•What do you think will happen to the global climate in the future?

•Defend your answer with the information you have gathered.