Past and Present Climates

I really enjoyed having Troy Knight in class to discuss the climate systems. I think it was a really good idea to have an expert in this field of study explain his methods and present the information that was really easy to understand. I found that the timeline he drew on the board illustrating essentially the major events throughout the history of earth was very helpful in understanding just how old it really is and how recent trends in climate change do not seem as drastic when approaching from the perspective of millions of years. It was really interesting to see how things have developed on earth over time and the different factors that have progressed and changed over time to lead us to where we are today. One aspect of Troy's presentation that I found especially helpful in understanding the current global warming trends was through his explanation of the different causes of the most recent warming trend on earth. The aspect that stood out the most to me was his explanation of the earth's albedo and that volcanism sulfate aerosols diminish the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earths surface and this is important because in a way it regulates the amount of harmful radiation stays on the surface and how much is reflected back out. Another aspect to Troy's presentation that I really liked was the illustration he provided about the sun relative to the earth and the strength that could potentially change over time as well as the different levels of heat that reach the surface depending upon the angle in which it hits the earth.