Activity 2 - Paleoclimates

Use the resources listed below to help you complete this activity.

To learn more about this topic, visit the following web sites:

Direct Records and Proxies

Proxy Climatic Data, NOAA Paleoclimatology Program
This site lists and describes the widely-used proxy climate data types.

Paleoclimates and Pollen
On this web site, information is offered on the background, trends, and evidence of paleoclimates.

Fossil Pollen

Fossil Pollen of the Colorado Plateau, Northern Arizona University
Learn why fossil pollen is a useful tool for determining paleoclimates.

Fossil Groups: Spores and Pollen, USGS
Learn how pollen can yield records of vegetation and community changes over time by exploring this site.

Investigating Climate Change of Western North America, USGS
Learn more about climate change and the study of the geological record for Western North America.

Ice Cores

Why Study Ice Cores, National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL)
This site includes a brief description about why ice cores are an important source of information.

How is it done? NICL
This section of the National Ice Core Laboratory web site takes you step by step through the process of taking, obtaining, studying an ice core.

Sea Sediments

Sea Sediments, Enviropedia
Learn more about sediments found on the sea floor and information that can be revealed by investigating these sediments, visit this site.

Glacial Landforms and Sediments

What is a Glacier, National Snow and Ice Data Center
This web site provides information on glacial formation, movement, and associated landforms.

Tree Rings

Photo Gallery of Tress and Tree Rings, University of Tennessee
This web site provides photographs about tree-ring research. Each photograph is annotated with captions poses
a thought-provoking question.

Classic References in Dendrochronology, University of Tennessee
If you are in need of additional resources for tree ring research, visit this site.

 

Inquiring Further:

To learn more about the Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP2), visit the following web sites:

Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2, National Snow and Ice Data Center
This web site explores the retrieval of the longest deep-ice core available in history of its kind from the Northern Hemisphere.

To learn more about techniques for dating deep-sea sediments, visit the following web sites:

Magnetic Stripes and Isotopic Clocks, USGS
This web site provides information on astounding observations of ocean rocks that led to the unlocking of one of ocean's secrets.

The Use of Biostratigraphy in Different Sediment Types
This site provides basic information on biostratigraphy in two main environments: terrestrial and marine.

To learn more about paleoclimates in the United States, visit the following web sites:

North American Drought: A Paleo Perspective, NOAA
This web site explores paleoclimatic data and how it can provide information about past droughts.

Climatologist's Toolbox, University of Wisconsin
Learn how mud sediment in Walden Pond reveals evidence of its past environments by exploring this site.

Send all comments about this website to education@agiweb.org

Last updated: May 11, 2010

This project is supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the AGI Foundation. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.