Complete the following sentences using the word bank below. You may use a word m
ID: 299841 • Letter: C
Question
Complete the following sentences using the word bank below. You may use a word more than once. (11pts)
precession oceans obliquity eccentricity
latitudes plate tectonics correlate 26,000
100,000 41,000
During ice ages, climates in the high and middle latitudes allow for the development of continental ices sheets and the deepening and lengthening of valley glaciers. Ice ages are triggered by a number of factors. The process of __________ can shift continents into higher ________ and alter the configuration of _____changing sea surface currents.
However, evidence in the rock record indicates that ice ages have also been triggered and sustained by large scale variations in Earth’s orbit. Milutan Milankovitch theorized that cyclical changes in Earth’s orbital path may correspond to the climate changes necessary to trigger ice age glaciation. He calculated that on cycles of about _____ years, the shape of Earth’s elliptical orbit, called ______, changes. When Earth’s orbit is most elliptical, the distance from the sun at both perihelion and aphelion increases. At the present time, Earth’s orbit is less elliptical and therefore the planets distance from the sun at both perihelion and aphelion is less than it has been in the geologic past. Currently, Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted by 23.5o from the perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic a measurement called _____. Earth’s _____ changes over geologic time and has ranged between 22o and 24.5o on cycle of roughly _____ years. This change influences the latitude to which the vertical ray of the noon sun can migrate each year. When the tilt is greater, higher angles of insolation can reach to higher latitudes than when the tilt is smaller. Additionally, because Earth is oblate (slightly flattened at the poles and wide at the equator), it wobbles when it rotates. Over geologic time, this wobbling called _______ alters the direction to which the poles are oriented relative to stars within the galaxy on cycles of roughly _____years. Currently, the North Pole is pointed toward a star called Polaris, known as the North Star. In approximately 12,000 years, it will change its position and Vega will become the new North Star. The change in orientation of a hemisphere will alter the arrival time of summer and winter for each hemisphere. As these orbital patterns change, the angle of insolation and therefore the amount of radiation received at Earth’s surface changes. For ice ages to occur, these three orbital characteristics must interact to create longer, warmer, milder winters with greater snowfall accumulations and cooler, shorter summers that allow snow to remain at middle and high latitudes year round. Studies have shown that indeed ice ages _____to the geometry of Earth’s orbital motions.
Explanation / Answer
The process of Plate Tectonics can shift continents into higher latitudes and alter the configuration of oceans changing sea surface currents.
He calculated that on cycles of about 100,000 years, the shape of earth's elliptical orbit, called eccentricity, changes.
Cutrently, erath's axis of rotation is tilted by 23.5o from the perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic a measurement called obliquity.Earth's obliquity changes over geologic time and has ranged between 22o and 24.5o on cycle of roughly 41,000 years.
Over geologic time, this wobbling called precession alters the direction to which the poles are oriented relative to stars within the galaxy on cycles of roughly 26,000 years.
Studies have shown thet indeed ice ages correlate to the geometry of Earth's orbital motions.