Final answer:
Several factors impact the global climate system, including Earth's orbital patterns, solar output, volcanic activity, atmospheric greenhouse gases, and ocean patterns. The main cause of recent climate change is the rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases, influencing temperature and weather patterns.
Step-by-step explanation:
Factors Affecting Climate
There are several factors that affect Earth's climate system, essential to understand for those looking into the causes of natural climate change. Here are nine factors that can influence climate:
- Earth's orbital patterns and axial tilt
- Plate tectonics and continental positions
- Variations in solar output
- Atmospheric greenhouse gases concentrations
- Volcanic activity
- Ocean circulation patterns
- The greenhouse effect
- Albedo effect, which is the reflectivity of Earth's surface and atmosphere
- Natural climate cycles, such as El Niño and La Niña
Each of these factors operate on different time scales, and they collectively influence the global climate by affecting weather patterns, ecosystems, and sea levels, among other aspects. Of these factors, changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases are considered to be the main cause of recent and ongoing climate change on Earth. This increase in greenhouse gases leads to a rise in Earth's average temperature and can cause significant alterations in weather patterns, impacting agriculture, ecosystems, and human health.