Deck 16: The Oceans and Climate Disruption

Question 1

Rapid changes in Earth's climate are referred to as climate disruptions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Large-scale iron fertilization could lead to enhanced hypoxia or anoxia.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Paleoproxies are direct measurements of historical environmental variables such as temperature.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The anthrosphere includes human modifications to the environment.

Question 5

The Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Accord are binding agreements requiring countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 6

Climate change can be related to plate tectonic activity.

Question 7

The tilt of the Earth (or obliquity) can change rapidly, resulting in abrupt climate change.

Question 8

A negative feedback mechanism works to enhance a change in the environment.

Question 9

Proxies are indirect estimates of temperature, ocean salinity, precipitation, and other environmental parameters.

Question 10

Despite increasing model complexity and result accuracy, climate prediction models always include some degree of uncertainty.

Question 11

We can mitigate abrupt climate change in the short term by not using fossil fuels.

Question 12

If humans were not present on Earth, climate would remain constant.

Question 13

Polar bears are expected to lose less than 50% of their summer habitat by the year 2100.

Question 14

The Greenhouse Effect refers to the warming of Earth's climate caused by increased plant respiration.

Question 15

Warmer global seawater temperatures are expected to slow down the "microbial loop"

Question 16

Scientists overwhelmingly agree that Earth's climate is undergoing an abrupt increase in temperature.

Question 17

Ocean acidification is sometimes called "the other CO₂ problem"

Question 18

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that Earth's temperature will remain constant for the next few decades.

Question 19

North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation may become more sluggish, but is unlikely to shut down in the next 100 years.

Question 20

Proposals to directly manipulate Earth's climate are called geo-engineering.

Question 21

The most abundant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere is

A) oxygen.
B) carbon dioxide.
C) methane.
D) tropospheric ozone.

Question 22

Changes to North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) could result in

A) rapid warming of the U.S. east coast.
B) rapid cooling similar to the Little Ice Age.
C) no change in Earth's climate.
D) increased precipitation at high latitudes.

Question 23

North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation may be impacted by climate change because of

A) increased precipitation at higher latitudes.
B) decreased surface water density.
C) increased water column stability.
D) All of these choices are correct.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 24

Rapid cooling of Earth's climate can be caused by

A) volcanic activity.
B) plate tectonics.
C) solar flares.
D) changes in Earth's orbit.

Question 25

A period of abrupt cooling that occurred (geologically) recently from about 1350-1850 is called the

A) Great Freeze.
B) Little Ice Age.
C) Stormageddon.
D) Perfect Storm.

Question 26

Sea level can rise in response to

A) thermal expansion.
B) atmospheric pressure changes.
C) changes in sea ice extent.
D) All of these choices are correct.

Question 27

On average, Earth's surface albedo is about

A) 2%.
B) 7%.
C) 31%.
D) 52%.

Question 28

Manmade chemicals such as CFCs can exhibit __________ times more greenhouse potential than carbon dioxide.

A) 0.24 - 0.53
B) 10 - 50
C) 200 - 2,000
D) 12,000 - 15,000

Question 29

Scientists have reported increased temperatures at depths greater than __________ in the North Atlantic where thermohaline circulation rapidly transports surface water to depth.

A) 200 m
B) 800 m
C) 1600 m
D) 2000 m

Question 30

The Vostok ice core provides direct measurements of all the following except

A) dust.
B) methane.
C) carbon dioxide.
D) temperature.

Question 31

Carbon dioxide molecules last, on average, _______ years in the atmosphere

A) 2
B) 12
C) 100
D) 200

Question 32

Climate models used in the IPCC Assessment Reports have been improved by including

A) more complex feedbacks.
B) higher spatial resolution.
C) higher temporal resolution.
D) All of these choices are correct.

Question 33

The Berkeley Earth Team estimates that Earth's average temperature increased about _________ since the 1950s.

A) 0.1 C
B) 0.5 C
C) 1.0 C
D) 2.0 C
E) 5.0 C

Question 34

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in

A) 1988.
B) 1970.
C) 1995.
D) 2002.

Question 35

Increased CO₂ in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution has resulted in lower surface ocean pH of about ________ pH units.

A) 0.01
B) 0.1
C) 1.0
D) 5.0

Question 36

Decreasing ocean pH can directly result in all of the following except

A) increased metal solubility.
B) changes in phytoplankton growth.
C) expansion of hypoxic dead zones.
D) declines in calcifying organisms.

Question 37

Milankovich cycles are oscillations in Earth's solar energy and variations in Earth's orbit occurring at

A) 23,000 to 400,000 years.
B) hundreds of years.
C) 10,000 to 50,000 years.
D) millions of years.

Question 38

Scientists have been able to evaluate changes in ocean temperature profiles over more than 100 years by comparing modern instrument float records to data obtained during the

A) HMS Challenger expedition.
B) Glomar Explorer expedition.
C) Beagle expedition.
D) Meteor expedition.

Question 39

Earth's climate is comprised of all of the following except

A) precipitation.
B) temperature.
C) the atmosphere.
D) wind.
E) weather.

Question 40

The CLAW hypothesis links increasing ocean temperature to the production of more

A) oxygen.
B) dimethyl sulfide.
C) hydrogen peroxide.
D) carbon dioxide.

Question 41

Fertilization of the ocean with iron to enhance carbon sequestration is an example of geo-engineering.

Question 42

Records indicating rapidly rising temperature of about 1 C since the the 1950s provides evidence for

A) uncertainties and errors in the data.
B) volcanic activity.
C) natural variability of Earth's climate.
D) human-induced climate change.

Question 43

Algal biofuels are considered viable alternatives to land-based crops such as corn and soybeans because

A) algae do not compete with food production.
B) growing algae does not require farmland.
C) algae can be grown on wastewater.
D) All of these choices are correct.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 44

Potential sources of energy that can be obtained from the sea include all of the following except

A) tides.
B) waves.
C) currents.
D) differences in temperature between deep and shallow water.
E) polymetallic nodules.

Question 45

Cloud formation is an example of a positive feedback mechanism that modulates climate.

Question 46

Gradual climate change is not caused by changes in Earth's

A) eccentricity.
B) obliquity.
C) precession.
D) volcanic activity.

Question 47

Large-scale fertilzation of the ocean to stimulate blooms and draw down carbon have proposed using

A) iron.
B) phosphorus.
C) urea.
D) All of these choices are correct.
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 48

Less than half of the US population agreed that global warming is occurring, according to a 2014 survey.

Question 49

Periods of Earth's history with extensive sea ice result in enhanced albedo, leading to more cooling. This is referred to as

A) the CLAW hypothesis.
B) positive feedback.
C) negative feedback.
D) abrupt climate change.

Question 50

A warmer ocean has been linked to

A) decreases in disease outbreaks.
B) migration of species poleward and deeper.
C) declines in the microbial loop.
D) increases in nutrients from deep-water sources.

Question 51

If there were no gases in Earth's atmosphere, the average surface temperature would be similar to the 1840's before the Industrial Revolution.

Question 52

A decrease in pH of about 0.1 pH units is very small, and is unlikely to have negative consequences on marine organisms.

Question 53

According to a 2014 report conducted by Yale University and George Mason University, the majority of the public surveyed in the United States agreed that global warming is occurring, and _______ believed it was caused primarily by human activities.

A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 90%

Question 54

To detect trends in primary productivity related to climate change, scientists need __________ years of global data, such as can be obtained from ocean color satellites.

A) 10-15
B) 20-40
C) 30-50
D) more than 100

Question 55

The Copenhagen Accord

A) was led by Denmark.
B) recommended a target of no more than 2°C rise in global temperature.
C) is a binding agreement.
D) established specific targets for greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 56

The albedo, or reflectivity, increases (from lowest to highest) in the following order:

A) ocean; grassland; snow; asphalt
B) asphalt; ocean; grassland; snow
C) asphalt; grassland; ocean; snow
D) snow; grassland; ocean; asphalt
E) ocean; asphalt; grassland; snow

Question 57

A climate proxy provides indirect evidence for historical changes in climate.

Question 58

Sources of renewable ocean energy include all of the following except

A) wind, wave, current, and tidal power.
B) salinity and thermal gradients.
C) algal biofuels.
D) methane hydrates extracted from the deep ocean.

Question 59

Changes to any one component of Earth's climate system result in predictable changes to climate.

Question 60

Geo-engineering proposals to mitigate climate change include

A) large-scale iron fertilization.
B) enhancement of deep-water formation.
C) increasing rates of denitrification.
D) development of wind turbine farms in the open ocean.

Question 61

As the oceans change temperature, many marine animals

A) migrate poleward and deeper.
B) migrate poleward and shallower.
C) migrate towards the coast.
D) migrate towards the Equator.
E) migrate towards the gyres.

Question 62

If the Earth and oceans are warming at about 0.2° C per decade, we would expect the temperature 100 years from now to be ______________ warmer than today.

A) 0° C
B) 1° C
C) 2° C
D) 5° C
E) 10° C

Question 63

The Greenhouse gas with the greatest Greenhouse potential is

A) Carbon dioxide.
B) Methane.
C) Ozone.
D) CFC-11.
E) CFC-12.

Question 64

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts continued warming of about ___________ per decade over the next two decades.

A) 0° C
B) 0.1° C
C) 0.2° C
D) 0.3° C
E) 0.5° C

Question 65

Commercial companies have considered large-scale ocean fertilization with all of the following to create phytoplankton blooms except

A) iron.
B) phosphorus.
C) silica.
D) urea.

Question 66

The Copenhagen Accord, an international response to climate change,

A) established specific targets for greenhouse gases.
B) provided a mechanism for enforcement.
C) recommended a target of no more than 2° C rise in global temperature.
D) endorsed geo-engineering solutions to climate change.
E) was renounced by the United States and Canada.

Question 67

Based on a survey of U.S. residents completed in 2014, ___________ percent of respondents agreed that global warming is occurring.

A) 0
B) 10
C) 66
D) 93
E) 100

Question 68

The relative contribution of common gases in the atmosphere increase as a percentage of the Greenhouse effect in the following order (from lowest to highest percentage):

A) carbon dioxide; methane; CFC-11; CFC-12
B) CFC-12; CFC-11; methane; carbon dioxide
C) CFC-11; CFC-12; carbon dioxide; methane
D) methane; carbon dioxide; CFC-11; CFC-12
E) methane; CFC-11; CFC-12; carbon dioxide

Question 69

Earth's climate changes on timescales of about 23,000-400,000 years caused by

A) plate tectonics.
B) human activity.
C) volcanic eruptions.
D) Milankovich cycles.
E) sun spots.