Deck 21: Climate Change

Question 1

____________________ impacts can cause rapid and catastrophic climate changes.

Answer 1

Bolide

Question 2

The Sun was ____ percent fainter early in Earth's history than it is today.

A) 10 to 20
B) 20 to 30
C) 30 to 40
D) 40 to 50

Answer 2

B

Question 3

____________________ ratios in glacial ice reflect water temperature at the time the water evaporated.

Answer 3

Oxygen isotope

Question 4

Many organisms absorb a high ratio of ¹⁸ O/ ¹⁶ O at low temperatures, but the ratio decreases with ____________________ temperature.

Question 5

There is evidence that extreme cold periods 600 to 700 million years ago froze the oceans from pole to pole and covered the continents with glaciers, known as ____________________.

Question 6

The correlation between carbon dioxide emission and global temperature ____ that human activities have caused the current global warming.

A) disproves the idea
B) casts doubt on the idea
C) implies
D) proves

Question 7

Snowfields and glaciers have high albedo and cool Earth by ____________________ sunlight.

Question 8

Why is it that oxygen isotopes in glacial ice can be used to estimate mean ocean surface temperatures in the past?

A) Large glaciers and ice sheets tend to be near the oceans.
B) The ratio of ¹⁸ O to ¹⁶ O in vapor from warm water tends to be higher.
C) Most of the atmospheric water vapor that falls as snow had evaporated from seawater.
D) Water that contains ¹⁶ O is lighter.

Question 9

When carbon dioxide gas dissolves in seawater, it reacts to form bicarbonate and ____________________.

Question 10

The concentration of ____________________ in the atmosphere has risen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Question 11

Climate change does not follow linear relationships; instead, many threshold and ____________________ mechanisms are important.

Question 12

Carbon exists in the atmosphere mostly as carbon dioxide and smaller amounts of ____________________.

Question 13

When fossil fuels burn, carbon is released into the atmosphere as ____________________.

Question 14

____________________ in younger layers of sediment shows that about 10,500 years ago, pines displaced the spruce, indicating that the temperature became warmer.

Question 15

____________________ is the most abundant greenhouse gas.

Question 16

The past 10,000 years, during which civilization developed, is best characterized as having ____.

A) an anomalously stable climate
B) wild climatic swings
C) consistent global warming
D) one ice age

Question 17

Marine organisms absorb calcium and carbonate ions from seawater and convert them into ____________________ in shells and other hard body parts.

Question 18

The thawing of permafrost can release the greenhouse gas ____________________ into the atmosphere.

Question 19

Tree rings ____ during unfavorable years.

A) record low temperatures
B) do not grow
C) grow wider
D) grow less

Question 20

Methane gas is stored in sea-floor sediments under low temperature and higher pressure conditions as frozen ____________________.

Question 21

The 20 hottest years on record have occurred after ____.

A) 1960
B) 1980
C) 1970
D) 1990

Question 22

The four industrial greenhouse gases are ____.

A) carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and oxygen
B) carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, and oxygen
C) methane, chlorofluorocarbons, oxygen, and nitrogen oxides
D) carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrogen oxide

Question 23

When water evaporates from the ocean surface, solar energy is stored as ____.

A) latent heat
B) specific heat
C) short wave radiation
D) water vapor

Question 24

During the process of photosynthesis, the compound ____.

A) carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, is removed from the atmosphere
B) carbon dioxide, which is not a greenhouse gas, is removed from the atmosphere
C) oxygen, which is not a greenhouse gas, is removed from the atmosphere
D) oxygen, which is a greenhouse gas, is removed from the atmosphere

Question 25

Water molecules containing ¹⁶ O evaporate ____ than those containing ¹⁸ O.

A) more easily
B) at a lower rate
C) less so
D) more slowly

Question 26

Most thick limestones formed in ____ seas.

A) warm, deep
B) warm, shallow
C) cold, deep
D) cold, shallow

Question 27

The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans depends in part on the ____.

A) photosynthesis that produces the carbon dioxide
B) methane concentrations in the oceans
C) amount of carbonate ions in the oceans
D) temperature of the atmosphere and of the oceans

Question 28

The most useful method for determining temperatures one billion years ago is through ____.

A) oxygen isotope ratios in Greenland ice
B) rocks and fossils
C) historical records
D) tree rings

Question 29

Marine corals and shelled organisms ____.

A) release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as they convert carbonate ions to hard shells
B) convert carbon from the remains of dead plants and animals to hard shells
C) extract carbon from the lower crust and upper mantle
D) absorb calcium and carbonate ions from seawater and convert them to hard shells

Question 30

According to many climatologists, the current period is an interglacial warming episode and ____.

A) sea surface temperatures are too high to support continental glaciation
B) continental glaciers could return within the next 100 years
C) the ice sheets are likely to return in the geologically near future
D) human induced global warming will prevent ice-ages from ever happening again

Question 31

Carbonate rocks precipitate from ____.

A) planktonic organisms
B) carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater
C) dissolved seashells and other fossil material
D) weathered limestone transported to the oceans

Question 32

Plankton species ratios change with ____.

A) oxygen isotopes
B) sea-surface temperatures
C) greenhouse gases
D) nutrient availability

Question 33

The three factors that determine the amount of heat available to drive the planet's climate and weather engines are the heat of the Sun, albedo, and the ____.

A) heat retention of the atmosphere
B) carbon dioxide
C) water vapor
D) methane

Question 34

Of 928 peer-reviewed papers appearing in scientific journals between 1993 and 2003, ____.

A) few authors and few studies concluded that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are causing the observed warmer temperatures
B) most authors and most studies concluded that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are causing the observed warmer temperatures
C) every author and every study concluded that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are causing the observed warmer temperatures
D) the link between humans and climate change was shown to be inconclusive

Question 35

Which statement about climate change is true?

A) Earth's mean global temperature has fluctuated throughout geologic time.
B) Earth's mean global temperature has increased steadily throughout geologic time.
C) Earth's mean global temperature has decreased steadily throughout geologic time.
D) Earth's mean global temperature has been relatively constant throughout geologic time.

Question 36

Dropping sea level causes Earth's albedo to ____.

A) shift to other areas
B) stay the same
C) decrease
D) increase

Question 37

Flowing water weathers rocks and initiates chemical reactions that alter the ____.

A) composition of the crust
B) carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere
C) temperature of the oceans
D) saltiness of the oceans

Question 38

Warming in today's Earth climate system is ____.

A) not well understood by scientists
B) possible
C) inconclusive
D) unequivocal

Question 39

Which of the following is a greenhouse gas?

A) neon
B) argon
C) methane
D) helium

Question 40

The atmosphere has warmed by about ____ during the last 50 years.

A) 0.15° C
B) 5° C
C) 0.8° C
D) 1.5° C

Question 41

The atmosphere is the biggest carbon reservoir of all of Earth's spheres.

Question 42

Oxygen consists mainly of two isotopes, abundant ¹⁸ O and rare ¹⁶ O.

Question 43

When carbon dioxide gas dissolves in seawater, it forms methane gas.

Question 44

The presence of tillite indicates that the sediment was deposited during a period of cold climate.

Question 45

Extreme weather events will likely become more common in a warmer world.

Question 46

Plant pollen can only be used for the past several hundred years to infer climate conditions.

Question 47

The ¹⁸ O/ ¹⁶ O ratio in glacial ice reflects water temperature at the time the water evaporated.

Question 48

Precipitation and evaporation will increase in a warmer world; however, the effects will differ from region to region.

Question 49

Scientists study old landscape paintings to chronicle historical climates.

Question 50

Nearly 80 percent of human-induced carbon emissions occur through industry and agriculture.

Question 51

Weathering of carbonate rocks removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cools Earth.

Question 52

Despite a prediction that rainfall will increase with global warming, computer models forecast that ____.

A) more water for irrigation systems will counter the effects of soil moisture loss
B) moisture will be added to and help fertilize soils
C) evaporative cooling will moderate the temperature
D) a net loss of soil moisture and depletion of groundwater will result

Question 53

What did scientists studying rice crops conclude about the effects of warmer temperatures?

A) The growing season was increased.
B) The resulting increased respiration caused decreased available energy to the plants.
C) Warming-induced precipitation yielded larger crops.
D) There was a virulence of parasites and disease organisms.

Question 54

How can the oceans become more acidic?

A) Carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater forms carbonic acid.
B) Pollutants from industrial practices can enter waterways.
C) Incompletely burned petroleum contributes acidic compounds to the oceans.
D) Increased weathering of rocks from increased precipitation releases a larger load of ions into the oceans.

Question 55

Water in the atmosphere can cause both warming and cooling.

Question 56

The ocean has become more acidic in the past decades, but marine organisms have adapted.

Question 57

The short-term fluctuation in yearly carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are caused by ____.

A) variable cloud cover that affects insulation
B) temperature variations in the surface of oceans
C) the amount of heating fuel burned in a given year
D) seasonal changes in carbon dioxide absorption by plants

Question 58

Climate change does not follow linear relationships, which means that small changes to the climate system can have substantially larger consequences.

Question 59

What is the biggest problem for people as a result of global warming?

A) As soil moisture decreases, trees will die and wildfires are becoming more common, changing forests into savannas.
B) In a warmer world, tropical diseases such as malaria have been spreading to higher latitudes.
C) Because of high population density, land ownership, and political boundaries, people cannot migrate as freely as they once could.
D) Unless people build expensive dams, there is less water available for irrigation.

Question 60

Temperature records for the past 125 years show a steady temperature increase at a constant rate.

Question 61

How are tree rings important in understanding climate?

Question 62

How are fossil plankton assemblages important to understanding climate change?

Question 63

What is the relationship between water and climate when considering clouds?

Question 64

Where does carbon circulate and how is it stored?

Question 65

List the three basic processes that determines the Earth's atmospheric temperature.

Question 66

How is plant pollen distributed and where is it found?

Question 67

How does change in temperature and rainfall patterns affect the Earth?

Question 68

When was the Little Ice Age?

Question 69

List the methods that are used to measure climate change.

Question 70

What is the relationship between water and climate when considering glaciers and snowfields?

Question 71

Describe how heat retention by the atmosphere determines the Earth's atmospheric temperature.

Question 72

What was the Earth's primordial atmosphere composed of and how much fainter was the Sun?

Question 73

What is the glacial evidence for measuring climate change?

Question 74

How are oxygen isotopes important in climate change?

Question 75

How much energy does the Sun produce; what happens to its energy output over time?

Question 76

Based on global temperature throughout Earth's history, how many times has the planet plunged into a deep freeze?

Question 77

Carbon-14 can be used to age date what material, and what is the age span for this technique?

Question 78

Since 18,000 years ago, describe the change the Ross Ice Shelf has experienced.

Question 79

What are the two isotopes of oxygen?

Question 80

When was the Mississippian time and what grew and formed during this period?