Multiple Choice QuestionWhich of the following types of data used to reconstruct ancient climates provides us with the longest look back into how atmospheric temperatures have changed over time?Multiple choice question.Air bubbles in ice coresTree ringsPollen in mud layers
Question
Multiple Choice QuestionWhich of the following types of data used to reconstruct ancient climates provides us with the longest look back into how atmospheric temperatures have changed over time?Multiple choice question.Air bubbles in ice coresTree ringsPollen in mud layers
Solution
The correct answer is A. Air bubbles in ice cores. These can provide data going back hundreds of thousands of years, much longer than tree rings or pollen in mud layers. The process is as follows:
- Scientists drill deep into ice sheets in places like Greenland and Antarctica to extract ice cores.
- These cores are essentially long cylinders of ice, and the deeper you go, the older the ice is.
- Tiny bubbles of air get trapped in the ice as it forms. These air bubbles can be analyzed to determine the composition of the atmosphere at the time the ice was formed.
- By looking at the ratio of different isotopes of oxygen in the ice, scientists can also estimate the temperature at the time the ice was formed.
- By combining this data, scientists can reconstruct a record of atmospheric temperatures and greenhouse gas levels going back hundreds of thousands of years.
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(Q013) Which of the following is an accurate description of a method used to study short-term climate change? The color of a tree ring indicates the rate of growth in a given year. Pollen is useful for studying modern-day climate but cannot be used to study ancient climate because pollen is not preserved in sediment. The oxygen-isotope ratios of glacial ice record changes in global temperature for the past 800,000 years. All of the possible answers are correct.
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