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Climate
A description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region.
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Climate Change
A study dealing with variations in climate on many different time scales from decades to millions of years, and the possible causes of such variations.
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Climate System
The exchanges of energy and moisture occurring among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere.
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Cryosphere
Collective term for the ice and snow that exist on Earth. One of the spheres of the climate system.
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Interface
A common boundary where different parts of a system interact.
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Paleoclimatology
The study of ancient climates; the study of climate and climate change prior to the period of instrumental records using proxy data.
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Proxy Data
Data gathered from natural recorders of climate variability; such as tree rings, ice cores, and ocean floor sediments.
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Dendrochronology
The dating and study of annual rings in trees
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Eccentricity
The variation of an ellipse from a circle
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Hypothesis
A tentative explanation that is tested to determine whether it is valid.
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Obliquity
The angle between the planes of Earth's equator and orbit
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Precession
The slow migration of Earth's axis that traces a cone over a period of 26,000 years
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Climate-Feedback mechanisms
Several different possible outcomes that may result when one of the atmospheric system's elements is altered.
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Negative-Feedback Mechanisms
As used in climatic change, any effect that is opposite of the initial change and tends to offset it.
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Positive-Feedback Mechanisms
As use in climatic change, any effect that acts to reinforce an initial change.
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