How can climate scientists be sure that temperature proxies are valid for reconstructing ancient climate?

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Scientists apply the principle of uniformitarianism. Assumptions about a temperature reconstruction using proxy data are only acceptable if the same proxy method works to estimate temperature in modern time where we have temperature measurements for comparison. The close matches of proxy temperature estimates and actual temperature measurements in Figure 21.9a and the right side of Figure 21.16 support the validity of proxy climate records to estimate ancient climate conditions.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

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Sandbars deposited on the inside of meander curves are called

A. point bars B. cutbanks C. dunes D. none of the preceding

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Condensation nuclei:

A) do not include hygroscopic aerosols. B) by definition do not dissolve in water. C) are relatively abundant in the atmosphere. D) typically originate as micrometeors from space.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Describe how Fred Vine and D. H. Matthews related the seafloor-spreading hypothesis to magnetic reversals

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Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Ayers Rock is an excellent example of a(n) ____

a. alluvial fan b. bajada c. inselberg d. arroyo

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences