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Chapter 5 - Global Climate Change

  • Page ID
    35298
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    • 5.1: Land Use Change and Climate Regulation
      The energy source that ultimately drives the earth's climate is the sun. The amount of solar radiation absorbed by the earth depends primarily on the characteristics of the surface. Although the link between solar absorption, thermodynamics, and ultimately climate is very complex, newer studies indicate that vegetation cover and seasonal variation in vegetation cover affects climate on both global and local scales.
    • 5.2: Climate Change
      Earth’s temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet. When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed, Earth warms. When the sun’s energy is reflected back into space, Earth avoids warming. When energy is released from Earth into space, the planet cools. Many factors, both natural and human, can cause changes in Earth’s energy balance.


    Chapter 5 - Global Climate Change is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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