Answers
Interpreting Ice Core Data

Does there seem to be a correlation between each of the variables and temperature? Are they proportional or inversely proportional?

Yes, there is a correlation between each component and the graph of temperature. Each graph has peaks and valleys that correspond at approximately the same time as the others, although it may be in the opposite direction. Insolation and methane are proportional and the calcium dust is inversely proportional to changes in temperature.

 

Is the timing between a change in any variable and a corresponding change in temperature immediate or is there a delay? Why do you think a delay might exist?

If you were to touch a hot stove you would probably feel pain, but it often takes a second or two for your brain to register pain. This delay is called a lag time. If an increase in the concentration of dust in the atmosphere corresponds to a lowering of temperature, there would be a lag time between the time of the highest concentrations of dust and the time that the atmosphere actually registers cooler temperatures. When there is a cause and effect relationship between the variables and temperature there would be some lag time no matter how small. The data plotted on these graphs are 50 year averages; if no lag time is apparent, that may mean that the lag time is less than 50 years.

 

Describe how any part of the graph, for any of the variables, could be used to determine past or future climatic conditions.

A common method for interpreting graphs is called extrapolating, which refers to going beyond the information given. For example, extrapolating the graph of insolation into the past you might suspect that the cyclic changes would continue at the same frequency and magnitude; using this information you can estimate the amount of insolation at any time in the past. The same can be done for the graphs of dust and gas. During the glacial period dust concentrations seemed to peak every 1,000 years. Extrapolating into the past, this trend may have continued into the last interglacial warm period. Extrapolating into the future you might conclude that the concentration of dust will continue to rise.

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