Climatologists are people who study the climate, the
weather that a region ___1___ over a long period of time.
The basis of climatology is an understanding of the
differences in seasonal weather from one region to the
world to the next. These days, the focus of
climatology ___2___ on climate change. One way scientists
predict climate change is by discerning a shift in
weather patterns. Regions undergoing desertification,
for example, sometimes experience a rise in average
temperatures and a decrease in precipitation.
Climatologists also look for changes in the global ___3___
.
To find answers, climatologists look at phenomena
such as volcanic clouds, fluctuations in the Sun's
intensity, and human activities that might ___4___ the
weather. Many climatologists work closely with
biologists and oceanographers to understand how the
atmosphere is influenced by things such as plant cover,
livestock grazing, and ocean currents.
Climatologists also look into the past to compare the
present day atmosphere to that of the past. In the
Antarctic for example, climatologists study the air
trapped in samples of ancient glacial ice. They have
discovered that the amount of methane in the lower
atmosphere is nearly 2.5 times higher today that at any
time in the past 160,000 years. Methane is a gas that
may contribute to global warming. Climatologists have
___5___ that a surprising source has been contributing to
the volumes of methane -- cattle which produce and expel
methane as part of their digestive process.
|