How does the use of fossil fuels contribute to global warming?
When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming.
How do fossils provide evidence for climate change?
This is because these fossils are preserved in sediment that is deposited in new layers every year. Many small organisms can be preserved within these layers of sediment through time. The changing abundances of these fossils through time can tell us whether a change in the environment or climate was gradual or abrupt.
How do fossils give evidence of Earth’s past?
Fossils give us information about how animals and plants lived in the past. Some animals and plant are only known to us as fossils. By studying the fossil record we can tell how long life has existed on Earth, and how different plants and animals are related to each other.
How is fossil evidence used to explain the environmental conditions that existed in the Earth’s past?
Fossils are physical evidence of preexisting organisms, either plant or animal. Fossils of any kind are useful in “reading the rock record,” meaning they help us decipher the history of the earth. They can help us determine the geologic age and environment (the paleoenvironment) in which they were deposited.
What are some other pieces of evidence for global warming?
Ten Signs of Global Warming
- Arctic sea ice extent is diminishing.
- Ocean heat content is increasing.
- Air temperature over ocean is increasing.
- Sea surface temperature is increasing.
- Global sea level is rising.
- Humidity is increasing.
- Temperature of the lower atmosphere is increasing.
- Air temperature over land is increasing.
Who is responsible for global warming?
Humans are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth’s temperature by burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and farming livestock. This adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.
What evidence do scientists use to prove the extinction of past species?
Fossils provide evidence of long-term evolutionary changes, documenting the past existence of species that are now extinct.
What evidence do fossils provide scientists with when studying the Earth’s history?
By studying the fossil record we can tell how long life has existed on Earth, and how different plants and animals are related to each other. Often we can work out how and where they lived, and use this information to find out about ancient environments. Fossils can tell us a lot about the past.