Deck 18: Global Climate

Question 1

​The ____ represents a time about 12,000 years ago when northeastern North America and northern Europe reverted to glacial conditions.

A) ​Younger Dryas
B) ​Pleistocene epoch
C) ​mid-Holocene maximum
D) ​Bölling-Alleröd period
E) ​Medieval Climatic Optimum

Answer 1

A

Question 2

​Dendrochronology is the study of ____.

A) ​oxygen-isotope ratios of corals
B) ​annual growth rings of trees
C) ​deuterium ratios in ice cores
D) ​lake-bottom sediment and soil deposits
E) ​pollen in deep ice caves

Answer 2

B

Question 3

​Throughout much of Earth's history, the global climate was probably ____ it is today.

A) ​much colder than
B) ​slightly cooler than
C) ​much warmer than
D) ​much wetter than
E) ​about the same as

Answer 3

C

Question 4

​18,000 years ago, huge ice sheets called ____ covered vast areas of North America and Europe.

A) ​alpine glaciers
B) ​continental glaciers
C) ​polar glaciers
D) ​landmass glaciers
E) ​mountain glaciers

Question 5

​The Viking colony in Greenland perished during the ____.

A) ​Pleistocene epoch
B) ​climatic optimum
C) ​Little Ice Age
D) ​Younger Dryas
E) ​Bölling-Alleröd period

Question 6

​Even a rise in global temperature of several degrees Celsius might be enough to raise sea level by ____ or more.

A) ​a centimeter
B) ​ten centimeters
C) ​a meter
D) ​ten meters
E) ​twenty meters

Question 7

​Presently glaciers cover ____ of Earth's surface.

A) ​less than 10 percent
B) ​less than 1 percent
C) ​more than 25 percent
D) ​approximately 15 percent
E) ​approximately 35 percent

Question 8

​Thick sheets of ice advanced over North America as far south as New York as recently as ____.

A) ​1816 ("the year without a summer")
B) ​1550
C) ​18,000 to 22,000 years ago
D) ​1,000 to 2,000 years ago
E) ​2 million years ago

Question 9

​Over the Northern Hemisphere, the period from 1983 to 2012 was likely the warmest 30-year period of the last ____ years, according to the IPCC.

A) ​100
B) ​300
C) ​1,400
D) 2,000​
E) ​10,000

Question 10

​During the Little Ice Age, ____.

A) ​the climatic optimum occurred
B) ​the Bering land bridge formed
C) ​alpine glaciers grew in size and advanced
D) ​continental glaciers covered large portions of North America
E) ​sea level lowered by about 280 feet

Question 11

​Glaciers form over land where temperatures are sufficiently low so that, during the course of a year, ____.

A) ​ice crystallization does not occur
B) ​snow will not accumulate
C) ​snow compaction does not occur
D) ​less snow falls than will melt
E) ​more snow falls than will melt

Question 12

​The Ice Age, which began about 2.5 million years ago, is also known as the ____.

A) ​Pleistocene epoch
B) ​Holocene epoch
C) ​Bölling-Alleröd period
D) ​Younger Dryas
E) ​Little Ice Age

Question 13

​The most recent North American glaciers reached their maximum thickness and extent between about ____.

A) ​700 and 600 million years ago
B) ​65 and 55 million years ago
C) ​2.5 and 2 million years ago
D) ​50,000 and 45,000 years ago
E) ​26,000 and 20,000 years ago

Question 14

​Generally, the ____ the air when the snow fell, the richer the concentration of oxygen-16 in an ice core.

A) ​wetter
B) ​warmer
C) ​colder
D) ​drier
E) ​denser

Question 15

​The higher the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 in the shells of organisms that lived in the sea during the geologic past, the ____ the climate at that time.

A) ​colder
B) ​warmer
C) ​wetter
D) ​drier
E) ​more humid

Question 16

​The continental ice sheets over North America disappeared ____.

A) ​between about 9,000 and 6,000 years ago
B) ​approximately 14,700 years ago
C) ​about 2.5 million years ago
D) ​between about 5,000 and 4,000 years ago
E) ​about 1300 years ago

Question 17

​What allowed human and animal migration to occur from Asia to North America?

A) ​a warm spell called the Bölling-Alleröd period
B) ​the Eemian interglacial period
C) ​retreat of continental glaciers
D) ​the Bering land bridge
E) ​melting of the polar ice caps

Question 18

​Most of the ice on Earth is in the ____ ice sheets.

A) ​Greenland and Antarctic
B) ​Greenland and Arctic
C) ​alpine and Arctic
D) ​Siberian
E) ​North American

Question 19

​Ice core data from Greenland reveal that rapid shifts in climate (from ice age conditions to a much warmer state) took place in as little as ____ over central Greenland around the end of the Younger Dryas.

A) ​a century
B) ​a decade
C) ​a year
D) ​a thousand years
E) ​four thousand years

Question 20

​The greatest warming experienced over the globe in the last 100 years has occurred in ____.

A) ​Greenland and the mid-latitude continents in summer and fall
B) ​the United States in winter and spring
C) ​parts of Antarctica during the entire year
D) ​the arctic and over the mid-latitude continents in winter and spring
E) ​the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and parts of Antarctica in spring and summer

Question 21

​If Earth were in a warming trend, which of the processes below would most likely act as a negative feedback mechanism?

A) ​increasing the water vapor content of the air
B) ​increasing the snow cover around the Earth
C) ​decreasing the amount of low stratified cloud cover around the globe
D) ​increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
E) ​decreasing the snow cover in middle and high latitudes

Question 22

​The Maunder Minimum refers to a time when ____.

A) ​Earth was in the middle of an ice age
B) ​the tilt of Earth's axis was less than it is now
C) ​Earth was closer to the Sun than it is now
D) ​few snowstorms occurred over the United States
E) ​there were fewer sunspots on the Sun

Question 23

​Volcanoes that have the most impact on global climate seem to be those rich in ____.

A) ​nitrogen
B) ​water vapor
C) ​carbon dioxide
D) ​sulfur
E) ​oxygen

Question 24

​The Sun's energy output, called brightness, varies by ____ with sunspot activity.

A) ​less than 1 percent
B) ​about 2 percent
C) ​about 5 percent
D) ​about 10 percent
E) ​more than 15 percent

Question 25

​____ may be the most important weather element in terms of the impact on humans.

A) ​Volcanoes
B) ​Temperature
C) ​Precipitation
D) ​Tornadoes
E) ​Clouds

Question 26

​The slow shifting of the continents and the ocean floors is explained by ____.

A) ​Milankovitch theory
B) ​chemical weathering-CO₂ feedback
C) ​the Theory of Plate Tectonics
D) ​the Maunder minimum
E) ​the greenhouse effect

Question 27

​If the Earth were in a cooling trend, which process below would most likely act as a positive feedback mechanism?

A) ​increasing the snow cover around the Earth
B) ​increasing the water vapor content of the air
C) ​decreasing the amount of low stratified cloud cover around the globe
D) increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
E) ​decreasing snow cover in middle and high latitudes

Question 28

​When all of the Milankovitch cycles are taken into account, the present trend should be toward ____ over high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

A) ​warmer winters
B) ​warmer springs
C) ​warmer summers
D) ​cooler summers
E) ​cooler winters

Question 29

​The greater the ____ of Earth's orbit, the greater the variation in solar energy it receives between its closest and farthest approach to the Sun.

A) ​wobble
B) ​eccentricity
C) ​obliquity
D) ​tilt
E) ​precession

Question 30

​The water vapor-greenhouse feedback represents a ____ feedback mechanism.

A) ​neutral
B) ​positive
C) ​directional
D) ​negative
E) ​balanced

Question 31

​Particles that reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth's surface tend to cause ____ of the surface air during the ____.

A) ​a net cooling; day
B) ​a net warming; night
C) ​less precipitation; day
D) ​less precipitation; night
E) ​greater humidity; day

Question 32

​In the chemical weathering-CO₂ feedback, as chemical weathering increases, ____.

A) ​the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere stabilizes
B) ​the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere decreases
C) ​the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere increases
D) ​Earth's climate begins to warm
E) ​more water vapor evaporates from the oceans

Question 33

​Changes in incoming solar radiation and in the composition of the atmosphere are two examples of ____ causes of climate change.

A) ​artificial
B) ​intrinsic
C) ​extrinsic
D) ​internal
E) ​external

Question 34

​The ____ ascribes climate changes to variations in Earth's orbit.

A) ​water vapor-greenhouse feedback
B) ​Maunder minimum
C) ​process of subduction
D) ​Theory of Plate Tectonics
E) ​Milankovitch theory

Question 35

​An infamous cold spell often linked to volcanic activity occurred during the year ____, which has come to be known as "the year without a summer."

A) ​1492
B) ​1550
C) ​1685
D) ​1816
E) ​1964

Question 36

​Global temperatures probably have not varied by more than ____ during the past 10,000 years.

A) ​0.5°C
B) ​1°C
C) ​2°C
D) ​4°C
E) ​5°C

Question 37

​Sunspots occur in cycles, with the number and size reaching a maximum approximately every ____ years.

A) ​5
B) ​7
C) ​11
D) ​18
E) ​25

Question 38

​The fact that we find glacial features near sea level in Africa today, is explained by ____.

A) ​the Theory of Plate Tectonics
B) ​Milankovitch theory
C) ​the precession of Earth's axis
D) ​the eccentricity of Earth's orbit
E) ​changes in the obliquity of Earth's orbit

Question 39

​When an oceanic plate encounters a lighter continental plate, it responds by ____.

A) ​pulling carbon dioxide out of the air
B) ​forming mountains
C) ​releasing gases into the atmosphere
D) ​a process called subduction
E) ​lowering global surface temperatures

Question 40

​As Earth rotates on its axis, it wobbles like a spinning top, and this wobble is known as the ____ of Earth's axis.

A) ​precession
B) ​eccentricity
C) ​obliquity
D) ​tilt
E) ​orbit

Question 41

​An example of a positive feedback mechanism is the ____________________, in which an increase in global surface air temperature might cause snow and ice to melt in polar latitudes.

Question 42

​The use of global-scale technological fixes to counter climate change by either removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or by changing the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth is called ____.

A) ​the Kyoto Protocol
B) ​geoengineering
C) ​radiative forcing
D) ​radiative equilibrium
E) ​plate tectonics

Question 43

​Presently, the annual average of CO₂ is about 400 ppm, and the concentration is increasing by about ____ ppm per year.

A) ​2
B) ​5
C) ​8
D) ​12
E) ​15

Question 44

​If the number of sulfate aerosols inside a cloud should increase, the cloud would have to share its available moisture with the added nuclei, and ____ cloud droplets would be produced.

A) ​the same number, but larger
B) ​fewer, but larger
C) ​more, but larger
D) ​fewer, but smaller
E) ​more, but smaller

Question 45

​Presently, glaciers cover less than ____________________ percent of Earth's land surface.

Question 46

Climate scientists believe that most of the recent global warming is due to increasing levels of ____________________.

Question 47

Most of the oxygen in sea water is composed of 8 protons and 8 neutrons in its nucleus, giving it an atomic weight of ____________________.

Question 48

​According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "extremely likely" means a probability of at least ____ percent.

A) ​25
B) ​50
C) ​75
D) ​95
E) ​100

Question 49

​Everything else being equal, the more CO₂ in the atmosphere, the ____.

A) ​cooler the surface air
B) ​warmer the surface air
C) ​more cloud cover of Earth
D) ​greater the amount of precipitation
E) ​the more likely ice will form in polar regions

Question 50

The most recent glacial period, called the ____________________, began about 2.5 million years ago.

Question 51

The northern-latitude warm spell during the current interglacial period, or Holocene epoch, is sometimes called the ____________________.

Question 52

​Climate models estimate that average global sea level will rise by an additional ____ or more by the end of this century

A) ​5-10 cm (2-4 in.)
B) ​20-30 cm (8-12 in.)
C) ​40-60 cm (16-24 in.)
D) ​70-90 cm (28-35 in.)
E) ​80-100 cm (31-40 in.)

Question 53

​The ____________________ ratios of calcium carbonate shells have provided information about the sequence of glacier advances.

Question 54

​The average global surface air temperature since the since the late 1800s has risen by more than ____.

A) ​0.2°C
B) ​0.4°C
C) ​0.5°C
D) ​0.8°C
E) ​1.2°C

Question 55

The ice began to retreat about 14,700 Ya as surface temperatures slowly rose, producing a(n) ______ spell called the Bölling-Alleröd period.​

Question 56

​Overall, the most prevalent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is ____.

A) ​methane (CH₄)
B) ​nitrous oxide (N₂O)
C) ​chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
D) ​carbon dioxide (CO₂)
E) ​sulfur dioxide (SO₂)

Question 57

In an attempt to mitigate the impact humans have on the climate system, representatives from 160 countries met to work out a formal agreement, called the ____, to limit greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations.

A) ​Global Geoengineering Agreement
B) ​Canadian Protocol
C) ​International Solar and Wind Power Initiative
D) ​Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment
E) ​Kyoto Protocol

Question 58

​Changes in the composition of the atmosphere that cause the Earth's climate to change are one example of a(n) ____________________ cause of climate change.

Question 59

​More than ____ percent of the energy trapped by increased greenhouse gases in recent decades has gone into the ocean rather than the atmosphere.

A) ​50
B) ​60
C) ​70
D) ​80
E) ​90

Question 60

​Warm periods that occur between glacial advances are referred to as ____________________.

Question 61

According to the 2013 Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, the primary source of the increased atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial period results from ____________________ use, with land-use change providing another significant but smaller contribution.

Question 62

An increase of 0.85°C is insignificant when compared with temperature changes over thousands of years.​

Question 63

Changes in the circulation patterns of the ocean and atmosphere, which redistributes energy within the climate system, is an example of an external cause of climate change.​

Question 64

​Earth's atmosphere is in a warming trend that began around the turn of the ____________________century.

Question 65

​When an oceanic plate encounters a lighter continental plate, it responds by diving under it, in a process called ____________________.

Question 66

Everything else being equal, the more CO₂ in the atmosphere, the ____________________the surface air.

Question 67

A warm spell called the Bölling-Alleröd period occurred about 6,000 years ago.​

Question 68

The basic premise of the ____________________ theory is that, as Earth travels through space, three separate cyclic movements combine to produce variations in the amount of solar energy that falls on Earth.

Question 69

The water vapor-greenhouse feedback represents a positive feedback mechanism.​

Question 70

The____________________ provided by extra CO₂ and other greenhouse gases has increased by about 3 W/m² over the past several hundred years, with the most rapid increase occurring over the last several decades.​

Question 71

Examining the boron-isotope ratio in ancient ice cores provides a past record of temperature trends.

Question 72

​The slow shifting of the continents and the ocean floors is explained in the widely accepted theory of ____________________.

Question 73

The most recent North American glaciers reached their maximum thickness and extent between about 26,000 and 20,000 years ago (Ya).​

Question 74

The volcanic eruptions having the greatest impact on climate are those rich in ____________________ gases.​

Question 75

Most of the recent global warming is due to an enhanced greenhouse effect caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases, such as CO₂.​

Question 76

​____________________ are huge magnetic storms on the Sun that show up as cooler (darker) regions on the Sun's surface.

Question 77

​Tiny solid and liquid particles, also known as ____________________, can enter the atmosphere from both human-induced and natural
sources.

Question 78

As Earth rotates on its axis, it wobbles like a spinning top, and this wobble, is known as the eccentricity of Earth's axis.​

Question 79

A theory ascribing climatic changes to variations in Earth's orbit is the Theory of Plate Tectonics.​

Question 80

Throughout much of Earth's history, the global climate was probably much warmer than it is today.