One of the great issues today is that of climate change. But, without dismissing the climatic crisis we are going through, the truth is that throughout the history of the earth there were severe and abrupt climatic changes, which differ from the current one due to the causes that originated them. To enter more in the matter of the global climate, from Ecology Verde we develop this article about the Types of climatic changes, what are, their causes and consequences. If you want to discover how the climate of the Earth has varied through the thousands and millions of years, you should not miss this post.
Types of climatic changes
Before starting with the development of the post, we must understand what climate change is. Precisely climate change is defined as significant variations in climate components that endure for a considerable time, from decades to centuries.
On the other hand, there were many changes that happened in the climate throughout the history of the earth and, they have been studied by paleoclimatology, the science that is responsible for studying the particularities of the climate of the earth over time. Meanwhile, at broad strokes climate changes can be divided into two groups:
- Climate changes of the past: A series of climate alterations marked by cold periods and warm periods.
- Current climate change: characterized by an increase in the average global temperature.
Weak Sun paradox
In the origins of planet Earth, 4.6 billion years ago, The sun emitted lower radiation that at present and the equilibrium temperature was -41 ° C.. We can imagine, then, the cold extreme of this stage and that, therefore, life as it was later emerged was impossible at the time.
To learn more about the sun, check out this other article where we explain why the earth revolves around the sun.
Greenhouse effect of the past
Thanks to investigations in glaciers and marine sediments, it was concluded that throughout the history of the weather, there were periods in which they registered High greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide and methane, which marked Ultra warm periods.
Among the consequences of these changes in the climate, the drastic increase in temperatures, the intensification of extreme climatic events, such as droughts and floods according to the planet area, the increase in sea level, the decrease in ice surfaces, the also increase in water temperature and alterations in biogeochemical cycles. All this It affects ecosystems and specieswhich see their populations very small or more prosperous, according to their characteristics, but many that are negatively affected, even become extinguished.
Discover more about the increase in sea level: causes and consequences and biogeochemical cycles: what are, types and importance to better understand these issues that are part of the consequences of climatic changes. You can also learn more about the greenhouse effect: causes, consequences and solutions reading this other article.
Oxygen in the atmosphere
With the appearance of Cyanobacteria Oxygenic photosynthesis emerged, process by which organisms set carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Before cyanobacteria did not exist free oxygen in the atmosphere. From this fact, carbon dioxide concentrations were reduced in the atmosphere and aerobic organisms emerged.
Read this post of Ecology Verde to know more about cyanobacteria: what are, characteristics and examples.
Maximum Jurassic
Period in which the entire planet presented a tropical climatewhich subsequently allowed the appearance of dinosaurs. It is believed that the increase in global temperature was the product of High concentrations of carbon dioxide which were issued to the atmosphere by an accelerated rock erosion.
Find out more about what the tropical climate and its characteristics are.
Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum
It is also called the thermal maximum of the initial eocene, or thermal maximum of the upper paleocene. It was a Abrupt temperature increasespecifically the average temperature of the planet increased by 6 ° C in a drastic way (in about 20,000 years, which for a worldwide change is little time). This caused alterations in the marine and atmosphere and resulted in the extinction of many species. As the name implies, he marked the Paleocene end and the beginning of the Eocene.
We recommend reading about species extinction: what is, causes and consequences.
Pleistocene glaciations
Another climate changes throughout history that have turned out to be the most relevant is glaciation, which is a period in which the global average temperatures descend And, as a consequence, an expansion of continental ice, polar and glacier caps occurs. It is estimated that there was 4 great glacial ages In the past being the last of them the glaciation of the Pleistocene. It is considered that they have been produced during the quaternary period, that is, they occurred for 2.58 million years to the present.
MAUNDER minimum
Corresponds to the period between 1645 and 1715 during which the sun spots disappeared almost completely. As a result, the Sun issued less radiation and, consequently, it was A cold period.
It is considered that there has been SIX SIMILAR SOLAR MINIMUM This, ranging from the Egyptian minimum, from 1300 a. C., until the last, which is the minimum of Maunder. In all these cases, the most relevant consequences were the Strong drop in temperatures globallywhich as a consequence causes species that fail to adapt to the cold and its population is drastically reduced, affecting their entire ecosystem, or there are even species that come to extinguish.
Current climate change
The current climate change is linked to a Increased global temperature which is often known as global warming. While the term of global warming Consider the increase in temperature and its future projections, the concept of climate change includes global warming and its effects on the other climate variables.
Unlike the climatic changes of the past, current climate change is merely caused by anthropogenic causesthat is, for human activities. From the industrial revolution, the human being began to exploit fossil fuels for its activities, which became an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases, precisely, act as a greenhouse and retain heat on Earth and, in fact, without their existence in the atmosphere, the temperature on the earth would be around -20 ° C.
For this reason explained, the more the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the more the temperature will be on the ground, so we talk about global warming. It is estimated that the global average temperature has increased 1.1 ° C compared to the global average temperature of the pre-industrial era.
Now that you have known some of the different climatic changes throughout history, you can inform yourself better about what we are suffering with the reading of this other ecology article about the possible solutions for climate change. In addition, you can see this video in which we deal with the effects or consequences of climate change.
If you want to read more articles similar to Climate changes throughout historywe recommend that you enter our category of climate change.
