Passage I
Earth's climate is affected by the total solar irradiance (TSI), the rate at which energy from solar radiation is received by Earth per unit area of the surface. In 2000, sunspot records were used to estimate the TSI at a particular Indian Ocean location over the past 1,100 years. Ocean floor sediment that had been deposited at the location over that same period was analyzed for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and aluminum (Al). The percents by mass of C, N, and Al, respectively, indicated the intensity of monsoons, ocean productivity, and rate of continental erosion (3 measures of climate) over the period. The results are shown in the figure.
4. During the Little Ice Age, the greatest TSI value at the Indian Ocean location was closest to which of the following?
Your Answer is
Correct Answer is H
Explanation
Look directly at the little ice age range marked on the far left of the picture, and then look at the first small picture. In this range, the maximum TSI is about 1367