Deck 18: Global Climate Change

Question 1

A continental ice sheet once covered most of Canada.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Most deserts lying around 30 degrees latitude are caused by

A)rain shadows
B)great distances from precipitation sources
C)descending air
D)upwelling of cold waters along coastlines

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Carbon dioxide is the dominant gas, by volume, in the atmosphere.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The ocean conveyor belt is responsible for

A)keeping the North Atlantic region cool enough to form sea ice
B)keeping northern Europe relatively warm
C)changing world climate on 100,000-year time scales
D)the major adverse aspects of the Greenhouse Effect

Question 5

Why was Erik the Red able to explore Greenland in the 10th century AD?

A)He managed to sail the North Atlantic during a two-year period of minimal storms.
B)His explorations took place during a particularly warm climatic period.
C)There was no glacial ice in Greenland at the time.
D)Sea temperatures were cooler, so there was less propensity for storms.

Question 6

Air bubbles in the Antarctic ice sheet show that

A)carbon dioxide is relatively high during cold periods
B)carbon dioxide is relatively low during cold periods
C)carbon dioxide and temperature show no relationship
D)the Industrial Revolution substantially increased air temperatures

Question 7

What effect does a large volcanic eruptions typically have on the atmosphere?

A)warming for several years
B)cooling for one or two years
C)cooling for several decades
D)increases in CFCs

Question 8

In what way can human practices contribute to desertification?

A)overgrazing by livestock
B)growth of too much crop cover
C)growth of trees
D)irrigation with rainwater

Question 9

Earth system science focuses largely on solid Earth processes.

Question 10

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement concerning

A)control of global sea level rise
B)reduction of CFC emissions
C)reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
D)control of pollution that causes acid rain

Question 11

How has glacial ice aided the study of climate change?

A)Glacial ice contains trapped air bubbles that archive former atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
B)Glacial ice only exists where temperatures are exceedingly cold.
C)Glacial ice flows only under its own weight, so studies of glacial ice reflect climatic conditions.
D)Glacial ice stores water that would otherwise enter the oceans and cause sea level rise.

Question 12

The greenhouse effect represents

A)anthropogenic global warming
B)trapping of heat by atmospheric gases
C)alteration of climatic patterns by global warming
D)particularly intense solar radiation

Question 13

What is the main engineering problem associated with permafrost?

A)difficulty in setting building foundations in frozen ground
B)difficulty in growing vegetation to control soil erosion
C)melting of permafrost produces subsidence
D)cold temperatures make construction materials more brittle

Question 14

Why are mathematical models important to the study of climate change?

A)They have predictive capacity.
B)Their mathematical character makes their conclusions and predictions completely accurate.
C)They are easier to use and more reliable than geologic data.
D)They make monitoring of climatic conditions obsolete.

Question 15

Climate is the long-term average of weather conditions over some area.

Question 16

How does glacial ice form?

A)Frigid conditions cause direct freezing of atmospheric water vapor onto land surfaces.
B)Melting snow accumulates in a basin and is refrozen as the climate cools.
C)Sea ice becomes attached to land surfaces and develops into glacial ice.
D)Snow is retained for many years and compacted into ice by overlying snow.

Question 17

Loess is deposited by

A)glacial outwash
B)dust storms
C)sand dunes
D)wind erosion

Question 18

Glacial ice covers what percent of the global land area?

A)10%
B)30%
C)40%
D)5%

Question 19

Glaciers form through the compaction of leftover snow.

Question 20

What is an interglacial?

A)an area between glaciers
B)a warm period when glacial ice volume is relatively low
C)a cold period when glacial ice volume is relatively high
D)the zone of a glacier in which flow occurs

Question 21

The glacial history of an area can strongly impact its environmental geology today.

Question 22

The greenhouse effect has affected global climate for millions of years.

Question 23

Desertification is caused solely by human activities such as overgrazing and overcultivation.

Question 24

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have the capacity to influence both the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion.

Question 25

El Niño effects are typically restricted to the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Question 26

________ gases are responsible for both ozone depletion and greenhouse warming.

Question 27

________ is the process by which particulate air pollution reflects solar energy and cools the Earth's surface.

Question 28

Ice core data from Antarctica show that greenhouse gas concentrations have been higher during glaciations and lower during interglaciations.

Question 29

________ cycles control the amount of solar radiation received at important latitudes, and, therefore, control the temporal pattern of the ice ages.

Question 30

Large, explosive volcanic eruptions eject large quantities of ________ into the stratosphere, causing temporary global cooling.

Question 31

________ events reflect changes in atmospheric flow and water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

Question 32

Deserts typically are completely devoid of vegetation and are covered with sand dunes.

Question 33

The ________ Warm Period coincided with a time of increased solar radiation.

Question 34

Anomalously rapid movement of glacial ice is termed ________.

Question 35

The ocean ________ is largely responsible for keeping northern Europe relatively warm.

Question 36

Milankovitch cycles are largely responsible for the warming that has occurred over the last 150 years.

Question 37

Because the amount of solar radiation received by the Earth is constant, factors such as greenhouse gas concentrations, atmospheric particulate concentrations, and oceanic circulation must be the principal driving factors of climate change.

Question 38

The ________ of construction on permafrost focuses on a maintenance of frozen conditions in the ground.

Question 39

________ are mathematical representations of atmospheric processes.

Question 40

________ is windblown silt that covers much of the upper Midwest, as well as other areas.

Question 41

The dominant form of anthropogenic climate forcing is the emission of ________.

Question 42

The ________ was a cool period that followed the Medieval Warm Period.