Kids Corner
Kindergarten to 5th Grade
How can we tell what the weather was like in the past?
Climatologists are scientists who focus on studying long-term patterns in basic atmospheric details such as temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction, rainfall, etc.)
Climatologists use many different atmospheric tools and methods to look back at past weather events. Climate science and the many ways in which Earth's and other planetary climates are studied is always changing based on how current climate data research is improving.
One such tool which climatologists use to study past weather events and/or trends include looking at the rings of older trees. This type of research work is called dendrochronology and helps determine the atmospheric conditions which a tree may have experienced during its existence. Such conditions which climatologists will look for often includes atmospheric events such as droughts, floods, heat waves and lengthy periods of much colder temperatures.
Climatologists use many different atmospheric tools and methods to look back at past weather events. Climate science and the many ways in which Earth's and other planetary climates are studied is always changing based on how current climate data research is improving.
One such tool which climatologists use to study past weather events and/or trends include looking at the rings of older trees. This type of research work is called dendrochronology and helps determine the atmospheric conditions which a tree may have experienced during its existence. Such conditions which climatologists will look for often includes atmospheric events such as droughts, floods, heat waves and lengthy periods of much colder temperatures.
Credit: NASA Climate Kids
Another tool which is often used by climatologists to study the history of Earth's climate are ice cores. Ice cores are utilized by climatologists in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the world.
For this type of research, climatologists carve out small cores out of glaciers that have stored air bubbles. When the air bubbles settle and become trapped within deep snow cover and preserves the air bubbles. Air bubbles can tell us how many atmospheric gases and how much of each given atmospheric gas is contained within a given ice core.
Gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen are most commonly found within ice cores. These three gases are absolutely crucial to sustaining life on planet Earth. The concentration of each atmospheric gas found within a given ice core tells us a tremendous amount of important information about past weather and/or climate situations!
For this type of research, climatologists carve out small cores out of glaciers that have stored air bubbles. When the air bubbles settle and become trapped within deep snow cover and preserves the air bubbles. Air bubbles can tell us how many atmospheric gases and how much of each given atmospheric gas is contained within a given ice core.
Gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen are most commonly found within ice cores. These three gases are absolutely crucial to sustaining life on planet Earth. The concentration of each atmospheric gas found within a given ice core tells us a tremendous amount of important information about past weather and/or climate situations!
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Credit: Meteorologist Shannon Scully
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Coral reefs are often used as another tool to study past climate. By looking at the rings on coral reef beds as well as the color of coral reef beds, climatologists can determine how long the coral has lived and what atmospheric and oceanic conditions it may have experienced during its existence.
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Credit: Meteorologist Shannon Scully
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Credit: National Geographic Australia
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Another simple tool which is used to study Earth's current and past climate is the air itself. The air we breathe is used to study different details of current and past climate situations. Scientists often study the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
A certain amount of the carbon dioxide within Earth's atmosphere and Earth's oceans can be attributed to natural causes. However, a much larger amount of the carbon dioxide within Earth's atmosphere and Earth's oceans today is due to man-made (or anthropogenic) causes. In the United States, at an observatory called Mauna Loa in Hawaii, records of global carbon dioxide concentrations and research is kept.
A certain amount of the carbon dioxide within Earth's atmosphere and Earth's oceans can be attributed to natural causes. However, a much larger amount of the carbon dioxide within Earth's atmosphere and Earth's oceans today is due to man-made (or anthropogenic) causes. In the United States, at an observatory called Mauna Loa in Hawaii, records of global carbon dioxide concentrations and research is kept.
The water cycle or budget
The water cycle is a process that tells us how precipitation forms and how moisture evaporates from various parts of planet Earth. The process starts when water molecules evaporate from the surface of the Earth.
In some situations, the water molecules condense within various levels of the atmosphere and form clouds. Once the clouds get saturated enough or completely full of water molecules, the clouds release these water molecules in the form of rain, snow, or other precipitation types which fall to the ground.
At this point, the land either soaks in the rain water or the rain water (and/or melt water from snow) files out as run off from nearby rocks and/or mountains. From the rocks and mountains, it flows into the oceans where it starts the process all over again. (Credit: NASA)
In some situations, the water molecules condense within various levels of the atmosphere and form clouds. Once the clouds get saturated enough or completely full of water molecules, the clouds release these water molecules in the form of rain, snow, or other precipitation types which fall to the ground.
At this point, the land either soaks in the rain water or the rain water (and/or melt water from snow) files out as run off from nearby rocks and/or mountains. From the rocks and mountains, it flows into the oceans where it starts the process all over again. (Credit: NASA)
"The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean. As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds. Moisture is transported around the globe until it returns to the surface as precipitation. Once the water reaches the ground, one of two processes may occur; 1) some of the water may evaporate back into the atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate the surface and become groundwater. Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is released back into the atmosphere through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on the earth's surface is runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again." Credit: University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
Credit: NOAA