How and why has the climate changed through the Quaternary period and today?
Climate change through the Quaternary period: the evidence for past climate change, the natural causes of climate change, the enhanced greenhouse effect and the human causes of recent warming, and the consequences of contemporary climate change.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to climate change through the Quaternary period in Theme 5, covering the evidence for past climate change, the natural causes, the enhanced greenhouse effect and human causes of recent warming, and the consequences of contemporary climate change.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the opening idea of Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) Theme 5, Weather, Climate and Ecosystems, a core theme in Component 2, Environmental and Development Issues. Eduqas expects you to know the evidence for climate change through the Quaternary period (the last 2.6 million years), the natural causes of climate change, the enhanced greenhouse effect and human causes of recent warming, and the consequences of contemporary climate change.
Evidence for Quaternary climate change
The Quaternary is the most recent geological period, the last 2.6 million years, marked by repeated ice ages (cold glacials) and warmer interglacials. We know the climate changed from several lines of evidence.
Natural causes of climate change
Climate changed long before humans, through natural processes.
- Orbital (Milankovitch) cycles: slow changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit, the tilt of its axis and its wobble alter how much solar energy reaches the Earth, over tens of thousands of years, driving the glacial-interglacial cycle.
- Solar output: the Sun's energy varies with sunspot activity; fewer sunspots mean a slightly cooler Earth.
- Volcanic eruptions: large eruptions throw ash and sulphur high into the atmosphere, reflecting sunlight and cooling the planet for a year or two.
The greenhouse effect and human causes
The greenhouse effect is natural and necessary: greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour) trap some of the Sun's heat, keeping the Earth warm enough for life. The problem is the enhanced greenhouse effect.
- Humans release extra greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels (power, transport, industry), deforestation (fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide), farming (methane from livestock and rice paddies) and industry.
- These gases trap more heat, so the planet warms rapidly, far faster than the natural cycles, which is why recent warming is described as human-caused (anthropogenic).
The consequences of contemporary climate change
Warming has wide consequences.
- Melting ice and rising sea levels: glaciers and ice sheets melt, and warmer water expands, raising sea levels and threatening low-lying coasts and islands.
- More extreme weather: more frequent and intense heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods.
- Shifting ecosystems: species move towards the poles or higher ground, growing seasons change, and some habitats and species are lost.
- Human impacts: threats to water supplies, farming, health and homes, with the poorest and lowest-lying countries most at risk.
Try this
Q1. Explain how ice cores provide evidence of past climate. [4 marks]
- Cue. Layers of ancient ice trap air bubbles whose carbon dioxide and oxygen isotopes reveal past temperatures and gas levels over hundreds of thousands of years.
Q2. Explain one human activity that contributes to the enhanced greenhouse effect. [4 marks]
- Cue. Burning fossil fuels for power and transport releases carbon dioxide, which traps extra heat and warms the planet.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 2019 (style)4 marksDescribe two pieces of evidence for climate change during the Quaternary period. (Component 2)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "Describe" question assessing AO1, requiring two pieces of evidence. Markers reward two distinct sources described.
Award credit for any two of: ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland trap air bubbles whose carbon dioxide and oxygen isotopes show past temperatures and gas levels over hundreds of thousands of years; tree rings (dendrochronology) are wider in warm, wet years and narrower in cold, dry ones; pollen analysis from peat bogs shows which plants grew, and so the climate, at different times; and historical records (paintings, diaries, harvest dates) document recent centuries. A strong answer describes two sources and what each reveals, not just names them.
Eduqas 2021 (style)6 marksExplain the difference between the natural and human causes of climate change. (Component 2)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark levels-of-response question assessing AO1 and AO2. Markers reward both natural and human causes explained, not listed.
Strong answers explain the natural causes: changes in the Earth's orbit and tilt (Milankovitch cycles) alter how much solar energy reaches the Earth over tens of thousands of years; variations in the Sun's output (sunspots); and major volcanic eruptions throw ash and gas into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and cooling the planet for a year or two. Then the human causes: burning fossil fuels, deforestation, farming (methane from livestock and rice) and industry release greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide and methane, which trap more heat in the enhanced greenhouse effect, warming the planet rapidly. A good answer contrasts the slow natural cycles with the fast recent human-driven warming. Markers reward both causes and the contrast.
Related dot points
- Weather and climate in the UK: the factors that influence the UK climate, the air masses and the difference between depressions and anticyclones, and the causes, impacts and management of a recent extreme UK weather event.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to weather and climate in the UK in Theme 5, covering the factors that shape the UK climate, the air masses, the difference between depressions and anticyclones, and the causes, impacts and management of a recent extreme UK weather event.
- Global weather hazards: the formation, structure and distribution of tropical storms, the causes of drought, the impacts of these hazards, and how they are managed, with a case study of each.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to global weather hazards in Theme 5, covering the formation, structure and distribution of tropical storms, the causes of drought, the impacts of these hazards, and how they are managed, with a case study of each.
- Ecosystems and biomes: how ecosystems work (food chains and webs, nutrient cycling, energy flows), the distribution and characteristics of the global biomes, and the structure and adaptations of one biome such as the tropical rainforest.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to ecosystems and biomes in Theme 5, covering how ecosystems work (food chains and webs, nutrient cycling, energy flows), the distribution and characteristics of the global biomes, and the structure and adaptations of a biome such as the tropical rainforest.
- The human impact on ecosystems: the causes and effects of deforestation in the tropical rainforest, the wider human pressures on ecosystems, and the strategies for the sustainable management of a biome.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to the human impact on ecosystems in Theme 5, covering the causes and effects of deforestation in the tropical rainforest, the wider human pressures on ecosystems, and the strategies for the sustainable management of a biome.
- Environmental challenges and sustainability: rising consumerism and its environmental impact, climate change as an environmental challenge (mitigation and adaptation), ecosystem degradation and restoration, and sustainable tourism and resource use.
An Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) answer to environmental challenges and sustainability, linked to Theme 8, covering rising consumerism and its impact, climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystem degradation and restoration, and sustainable tourism and resource use.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Geography A specification (C111) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)