Overview

In this section you will find materials that support the implementation of EarthComm, Section 2: How Do Earth's Orbital Variations Affect Climate?.

Learning Outcomes

• Use models to demonstrate the relationship between seasons and the axial tilt of Earth.
• Use mathematics to illustrate Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun and how this shape influences climate.
• Carry out an investigation to explain how insolation to Earth varies as the inverse square of the distance to the Sun.

Inquiring Further

1. To learn more about sunspots and global climate, visit the following web sites:
   
   The Sun-Climate Connection (Did Sunspots Sink the Titanic?), NOAA
   Explores the relationship between solar variability and climate change.
   
   The Sun and Sunspots, NOAA
   Learn about the effects on Earth's climate by increases or decreases in sunspot activity.
    
2. To learn more about Milutin Milankovitch, visit the following web site:
   
   Milutin Milankovitch, NASA
   Explores the history of Serbian astrophysicist, Milutin Milankovitch, and his theories of Earth
   motions and long-term climate change.

Milutin Milankovitch: Seeking the Cause of the Ice Ages, AMNH
Information about the analysis of Milutin Milankovitch that lead to conclusions that Earth's orbit changes in three cycles of different lengths.

Resources

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

The Earth's Axial Tilt and the Seasons

Imagine the Universe - Ask an Astrophysicist, NASA
Learn how the Earth's tilt affects the seasons and the relationship between different angles of the Earth and seasons.

Earth's Orbital Variations and Climate

Astronomical Theory of Climate Change, NOAA
Learn how the Earth's not-so-circular orbit around the sun affects our climate.

Climate Change: Causes, British Geological Survey
Examines how the solar energy received by the earth is both cyclical and variable due to the changes in the earth's orbit and inclination. Explores how these variations affect global climates.

Obliquity

Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence, NASA
Examines the connection between eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession in relation to past glaciations.

Precession

Precession, NASA
Describes the development and background behind the idea of precession.

Precession, Univ. Michigan
Describes and explains Earth's precessional motion.

Milankovitch Cycles

Milankovitch Cycles, U.S. Naval Observatory
Explains the role that the three different aspects of Milankovitch Cycles play in the seasons.