Deck 14: Earths Climates: Past, present, future

Question 1

The radiative balance between incoming and outgoing energy is moderated by the _____.

A)climate
B)global warming
C)greenhouse effect
D)atmosphere
E)anthroposphere

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Obliquity (Earth's tilt)has a period of approximately _____.

A)100,000 years
B)26,000 years
C)41,000 years
D)All are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.
E)None are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The most probable cause of anthropogenic warming in the foreseeable future is the increase in _____.

A)chlorine oxides
B)ozone
C)sunlight
D)carbon dioxide
E)chlorofluorocarbons

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The peak of the last Ice Age,when glaciers blanketed much of North America,was _____ years ago.

A)500
B)21,000
C)120,000
D)18,000
E)55,000

Question 5

If greenhouse gas levels remain the same as today,we can expect 50-year temperature increases in the range of _____ °C:

A)10-25
B)0)5-1.5
C)2-6
D)0)1-0.3
E)30-40

Question 6

_____ is the astronomical motion considered by Milankovitch as most related to the seasons.

A)Precession (Wobble)
B)Tilt of the axis
C)Ellipticity of orbit
D)Nutation
E)None of the above

Question 7

Precession (Earth's wobble)has a period of approximately _____.

A)100,000 years
B)26,000 years
C)41,000 years
D)All are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.
E)None are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.

Question 8

The process by which increased levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere lead to enhanced growth of vegetation,which then removes CO₂ from the atmosphere through photosynthesis is termed a _____.

A)positive feedback
B)negative feedback
C)Milankovitch Cycle
D)reservoir
E)sink

Question 9

_____ represent humid periods characterized by much higher rainfall (on the order of 300 to 400 mm/yr).

A)Trends
B)Sequestrations
C)Pluvials
D)Paleosols
E)Ice ages

Question 10

The sequestration of _____ helps to move the global climate system toward an equilibrium condition.

A)carbon
B)oxygen
C)nitrogen
D)ozone
E)hydrogen

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a likely consequence of enhanced global warming?

A)flooding of islands
B)increased droughts
C)stronger storms
D)enlarged ozone hole
E)loss of coral reefs

Question 12

Data from the past 100 years indicates that global temperatures have increased approximately _____ °C:

A)0)1
B)0)2
C)0)8
D)1)2
E)5)0

Question 13

Evidences of recent climate change are found in _____.

A)changes in animal migrations,including penguins
B)shrinking of mountain glaciers
C)reduction of sea ice
D)increased temperature in the arctic
E)all of the above

Question 14

Ancient temperatures are best extrapolated by comparing isotopes of _____ gas.

A)nitrogen
B)carbon
C)oxygen
D)argon
E)chlorine

Question 15

Eccentricity has a period of approximately _____.

A)100,000 years
B)26,000 years
C)41,000 years
D)All are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.
E)None are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a variation in Earth's orbit that has an effect on Climate?

A)eccentricity
B)obliquity
C)precession
D)All are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.
E)None are considered variations in Earth's orbit that affect climate.

Question 17

Which of the following does NOT have a known effect on Earth's climate?

A)Earth-Moon tidal gravity
B)greenhouse effect
C)eccentricity of Earth's orbit
D)tilt of the Earth
E)precession (wobbling)of Earth's axis

Question 18

The _____ is the realm of human activity.

A)anthrosphere
B)hydrosphere
C)atmosphere
D)geosphere
E)anthroposphere

Question 19

Which is the most important of the naturally occurring greenhouse gases?

A)carbon dioxide
B)ozone
C)methane
D)water vapor
E)nitrous oxide

Question 20

_____ scatter incoming solar radiation,resulting in the cooling of Earth's surface.

A)Albedos
B)Radiatively active gasses
C)Aerosols
D)Ozones
E)All of the aforementioned.

Question 21

Paleoclimatology is the scientific study of ancient climates.

Question 22

Aerosols selectively absorb infrared radiation,causing a layer of warmed air to accumulate close to the surface.

Question 23

Climate proxies are records of natural events that are influenced by,and closely mimic,climate.

Question 24

A reservoir is a type of sink.

Question 25

The term albedo refers to the reflectivity of a surface as a percentage of the total reflected radiation.

Question 26

Earth emerged from the last ice age about 10,000 years ago.

Question 27

Milankovitch cycles are the combined influences of astronomical-orbital factors that produce changes in Earth's climate.

Question 28

Climate is the average weather conditions of a location or region over time.

Question 29

Death Valley,California was almost entirely under water during the last ice age.

Question 30

Tree rings are used as a climate proxy.

Question 31

The precise linkage between global climate change and human activity is NOT accurately measurable.

Question 32

Global warming refers to present-day warming of the world's climate that most scientists believe is likely to continue and is,at least,partly caused by human activities.

Question 33

The study of paleoclimatology includes analysis of past surface temperatures.

Question 34

Claims that past Earth climates were different from today are just speculations.

Question 35

Greenhouse gases entirely control global climate.

Question 36

Fossils of tiny sea creatures called foraminifera,which once lived in surface waters,equilibrate with the water around them,preserving a chemical record of past climatic changes.

Question 37

Scientists commonly use variations of the Köppen system to describe the present-day distribution of climate zones.

Question 38

Global climate change is a new phenomenon.

Question 39

Measurements of the isotopes of nitrogen in glacier ice enables scientists to calculate the air temperature when the snow that later was transformed into ice accumulated at the glacier surface.

Question 40

Asynchronicity refers to slight mismatches in timing between major climatic events,as recorded in ice core records from Antarctic and Greenland ice cores.

Question 41

The 4ᵗʰ Report (2007)released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)concluded that human actions are unlikely the cause of global warming.

Question 42

The anthropogenic greenhouse effect is the portion of greenhouse warming that results from human activities,rather than natural processes.

Question 43

The Medieval Warm Period was an episode of mild climate during the Middle Ages.

Question 44

The indirect effects of global warming are relatively simple to quantify.

Question 45

The concentration of atmospheric methane has increased by about 350 percent since the Industrial Revolution.

Question 46

Paleoclimate evidence indicates that around 50 glaciations occurred during the Pleistocene Epoch.

Question 47

A _____ occurs when a system is stabilizing or self-limiting.

Question 48

Windblown deposits of fine sediment called loess are found south of the ice limit in the midwestern United States.

Question 49

The _____ is the component of the climate system that is the realm of human activity.

Question 50

The Isthmus of Panama closed approximately _____ years ago as a result of the collision of the Pacific and Caribbean plates.

Question 51

_____ kinds of orbital change combine to affect Earth's climate.

Question 52

A rapid cooling interval that occurred between 11,000 and 10,000 years ago is known as the
_____.

Question 53

During the last glaciations,in midlatitude coastal regions,temperatures on land were generally reduced by about 10 to 12°C.

Question 54

Scientists commonly use variations of the _____ to describe the present-day distribution of climate zones.

Question 55

Periods between glacial advances are called _____ periods.

Question 56

Extremely fine,suspended particles of dust,volcanic ash,ice,pollutants,and other substances are termed _____.

Question 57

Ancient desert river channels now deeply buried by windblown sand are called _____.

Question 58

The Little Ice Age was characterized by unusually snowy winters,cool,wet summers,and expansion of sea ice in the North Atlantic.

Question 59

Radiatively active gases are located mainly in the _____.

Question 60

A general circulation model is a computer model of the climate system,linking processes in the atmosphere,hydrosphere,biosphere,and geosphere.

Question 61

What are the important greenhouse gases,both naturally occurring and anthropogenic?

Question 62

Discuss the differences between negative and positive feedbacks.

Question 63

In the case of global climate change reporting,the term very likely indicates a probability of _____ or greater.

Question 64

A _____ is defined as a long-term or underlying pattern in a time series of data.

Question 65

A _____ is a computer model of the climate system,linking processes in the atmosphere,hydrosphere,biosphere,and geosphere.

Question 66

A(n)_____ is a departure from a long-term baseline,such as the average temperature for a given period.

Question 67

Deep-sea and lake-bottom _____ provide some of the best indirect evidence of past climatic changes.

Question 68

What is the Younger Dryas Event?

Question 69

What are some of the lines of evidence and methods that climate scientists use to reconstruct past climates and glacial history?

Question 70

Explain the concept of Milankovitch cycles and how they may affect glacial events.

Question 71

How is ice core data used as a climate proxy?

Question 72

Small bubbles of air are trapped in glacial ice during its transformation from snow to ice provide samples of the ambient _____ at the time the snow fell,which can be extracted and chemically analyzed.

Question 73

What is the difference between a reservoir and a sink?

Question 74

How do clouds affect climate?

Question 75

What are two important components of climate change that have yet to be adequately included in future prediction models?

Question 76

Glacial-aged aeolian deposits of fine sediment calledare _____ found south of the ice limit in the midwestern United States.

Question 77

The long-term storage of a material in isolation from the atmosphere is termed _____.

Question 78

Methane (CH₄)that is stored as molecules of ice in seafloor sediment is termed _____.

Question 79

The _____ is the portion of greenhouse warming that results from human activities,rather than natural processes.

Question 80

How would reduced use of fossil fuels reduce global warming?