Deck 19: Global Change in the Earth System

Question 1

Some plankton make shells of calcite/aragonite,that is,CaCO₃.They do this metabolically by combining calcium (Ca²⁺)ions and bicarbonate (HCO₃-)ions that are both dissolved in water around them.When such plankton dies,their shells sink downward to become sediment on the ocean floor.Under some conditions in the ocean or sediment,the CaCO₃ shells may dissolve,locally enriching the pore waters or deep-ocean waters in HCO₃-.Portions of this total process could be considered belonging to each of the following cycles,EXCEPT for the ____________.

A) carbon cycle
B) biogeochemical cycle
C) methane cycle
D) calcium cycle

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Assume that a new family of bacteria species evolves and becomes widespread,and that it rapidly and easily combines atmospheric oxygen with previously stable minerals.What would you reconsider about the oxygenation of the atmosphere several billion years ago?

A) that it was a negative feedback
B) that it was an irreversible process
C) whether it really resulted in globally cooler temperatures.
D) that it did not really occur for the reasons that we think

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The formation of oil shale deposits,coals,and limestones has what overall effect on CO₂ in the Earth's atmosphere?

A) increases the total CO₂ in the atmosphere
B) decreases the total CO₂ in the atmosphere
C) either increases or decreases it, depending upon the depositional environment and diagenetic processes
D) The formation of oil shale deposits, coals, and limestones has very little effect.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The figure below shows a variety of processes that are part of the global carbon cycle.Which of the following three chemicals besides CO₂ are shown as part of the carbon cycle?

A) CO (carbon monoxide), C (graphite or diamond), and CO₃ (carbon trioxide)
B) CH₄ (methane), O₃ (ozone), and C (graphite or diamond)
C) CH₄ (methane), HCO₃- (bicarbonate), and CaCO₃ (calcite)
D) CO (carbon monoxide), CO₃ (carbon trioxide), and CaCO₃ (calcite)

Question 5

Cyclical global change includes the formation of core,mantle,and crust from a homogeneous mixture,a state to which one day Earth will return.

Question 6

Nearly all biological,physical,and chemical systems on Earth are disconnected and can be effectively studied in isolation from each other.

Question 7

Pollen species cannot be used to interpret ancient environments because most species inhabit all environments.

Question 8

Global warming has caused Earth to become warmer in the last few decades than it has ever been in geologic history.

Question 9

Based on information in this chapter and the chapter on energy,what effect do you think the discovery of several more centuries of oil reserves would probably end up having on global climate?

A) cooling
B) decade-long cycles of warming and cooling, similar to sunspot cycle-related changes in solar insolation
C) warming
D) none

Question 10

How are bicarbonate and carbon dioxide related to one another?

A) Carbon dioxide (CO₂) forms when bicarbonate minerals break down.
B) Carbon dioxide forms when bicarbonate migrates from its gaseous state in the atmosphere into soils.
C) Bicarbonate commonly forms when CO₂ molecules enter into water.
D) Bicarbonate and CO₂ are the same thing.

Question 11

The figure below shows the transmission,absorption,and reflection of radiation from various sources.In which layer (of the three layers labeled A,B,and C on the figure)do greenhouse gasses accumulate?

A) layer A
B) layer B
C) layer C
D) layers A and B

Question 12

If a new form of plankton were to develop that converted CO₂ into oxygen as part of its natural metabolism,what would the likely effect be on global temperature?

A) Global temperature would not rise as fast, because by removing CO₂, the plankton would be removing greenhouse gasses.
B) Global temperature would rise faster because plankton-produced oxygen has a greenhouse effect.
C) Global temperature would not be affected, because both CO₂ and oxygen are greenhouse gasses.
D) Global temperature would decrease because the total content of CO₂ in the atmosphere and hydrosphere would decrease.

Question 13

Change within the Earth system is unidirectional and cannot be reversed.

Question 14

Which of the following types of global change is reversible?

A) orogenic uplift
B) melting and crystallization of sedimentary rock to form igneous rock
C) evolution of life on Earth
D) flooding of the continents due to global warming

Question 15

Which of these is the longest-lasting sink for CO₂?

A) plant tissues and cellulose (the "woody" parts of plants)
B) the atmosphere
C) air bubbles within glacial ice
D) limestones and oil and gas deposits

Question 16

The factors that affect Earth's long-term climate are different from those that affect climate on shorter time scales.

Question 17

A biogeochemical cycle means the ____________.

A) movement of biogeochemical minerals over time through the rock cycle
B) exchange of chemicals among magmatic and solid-phase systems
C) transitioning and residence of specific chemicals among living and nonliving systems
D) Both a and b are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following processes removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

A) respiration (breathing) of animals
B) burning of coal and other fossil fuels
C) volcanism
D) photosynthesis

Question 19

The hydrologic cycle includes which of these?

A) changes in the storage of H₂O within glaciers
B) increased fluxes of methane (CH₄) into the atmosphere
C) changes in the net storage of H₂O within the bodies and tissues of all living things
D) Both a and b are correct.

Question 20

Which is the most correct statement about the hydrologic cycle and the carbon cycle?

A) Both deal primarily with phase changes.
B) Both deal primarily with chemical changes.
C) Both include both organic and inorganic processes.
D) Only the hydrologic cycle includes volcanic activity.

Question 21

During most of the Mesozoic,Earth was ____________.

A) about as warm as present
B) cooler than present
C) warmer than present
D) much colder than present

Question 22

Tectonic uplift and resultant chemical weathering ____________ CO₂ to/from the atmosphere.

A) remove
B) add
C) have no net effect on
D) nearly triple

Question 23

Warmer temperatures generally mean that the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ____________ in both ice forming and in the calcite shells grown by plankton.

A) decreases a relatively small amount
B) does not change
C) increases a relatively small amount
D) increases a large amount

Question 24

Albedo is the tendency of a surface to reflect solar energy instead of absorbing it,and snow and ice have a much higher albedo than water.Over the last several decades the amount of the Arctic Ocean that has ice on it has been decreasing,thereby exposing more and more of the Arctic Ocean to the atmosphere each summer.Would this cause the total absorption of heat in the Arctic to increase or decrease?

A) increase
B) decrease

Question 25

Oxygen-18 and oxygen-16 are useful in studying the geologic past,including gathering information about past climate,because ____________.

A) ozone formation and decay depend on the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16
B) both water and calcite contain oxygen
C) ice and plankton skeletons are often found in layers that geologists can age-date.
D) Both b and c are correct.

Question 26

Which of the following processes releases CO₂ to the atmosphere?

A) photosynthesis
B) weathering of silicate rocks
C) volcanism
D) burial of organic matter

Question 27

The figure below shows changes in sea level since the last ice age ended.Based on this,if Earth were to enter another ice age similar to the last one,what would the sea level most likely do?

A) rise about 120 m
B) rise about 20 m
C) fall about 20 m
D) fall about 120 m

Question 28

An example of worldwide climatological and ecosystem change caused by a geologic event is the____________.

A) Permo-Triassic meteorite impact event
B) impact of a meteor at the end of the Cretaceous
C) increase in the atmospheric oxygen content from approximately 1 to 22%, at the end of the Cretaceous
D) Cambrian eruption of approximately 3 million cubic km of basalt in what is now Siberia

Question 29

Ice and snow reflect much more of the sun's energy than soils or vegetation.What effect would a permanent,complete covering of the Arctic Ocean by floating sea ice have on the extent of permafrost in arctic and high latitude lands?

A) The areal extent of permafrost would increase.
B) The areal extent of permafrost would decrease.
C) The areal extent of permafrost would correlate more closely with the extent of the Arctic "ozone hole."
D) The areal extent of permafrost would correlate more closely with the extent of Arctic glaciers.

Question 30

Ice cores from continental glaciers provide geologists opportunities to study past atmospheric conditions such as air temperature and greenhouse gas content.The reliable record available from coring ice in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets gives information back to approximately ____________.

A) 65 million years ago
B) 5 million years ago
C) 800,000 years ago
D) 150,000 years ago

Question 31

A runaway greenhouse effect is an example of what kind of feedback mechanism?

A) positive
B) negative

Question 32

Which of the following inputs from outside the Earth system probably does NOT affect Earth's climate?

A) the sunspot cycles
B) subtle yet predictable variations in Earth's orbit
C) the neutrino flux from the sun and other sources in space
D) variation in the influx of cosmic rays

Question 33

Which geologic event is NOT suspected as a source of major climate change,and directly or indirectly,mass-extinction events?

A) massive eruption of flood basalts
B) eruption of supervolcanoes
C) impact of asteroids
D) very large earthquakes

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas or does not act like one?

A) oxygen
B) methane
C) water vapor
D) carbon dioxide

Question 35

Which of the following is an important long-term (acting over spans of tens of millions of years)factor in global climate change?

A) decrease in albedo due to soot from volcanic eruptions
B) variation in Milankovitch orbital parameters
C) variation in the abundance of sunspots
D) atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide

Question 36

If the Arctic Ocean and the air over it and nearby lands are warming up,does this mean that global warming must be occurring?

A) yes
B) no

Question 37

Based on the last approximately 130 years of solar energy reaching the top of Earth's atmosphere in the figure below,do you think the solar energy reaching Earth's atmosphere should rise or fall in the next 10 years?

A) rise
B) fall

Question 38

On what time scale does albedo change?

A) over millions of years
B) over decades
C) seasonally
D) daily
E) It does not change-the property of albedo is not affected by time.

Question 39

The warmest global temperatures since the end of the last ice age occurred ____________.

A) approximately 11 Ka, in the Younger Dryas
B) approximately 6 Ka, in the Holocene
C) approximately 1 Ka, in the Medieval Warm Period
D) in 1972, at the time that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed quotas and heavy price increases on the sale of oil to Western nations

Question 40

The discovery that the amount of solar radiation received at any latitude on the Earth's surface varies over scales of several thousand years or more and can be accurately predicted was made by ____________.

A) Einstein
B) Keeling
C) Yankovich
D) Milankovitch

Question 41

It is generally believed that humans began to significantly modify the environment about how long ago?

A) 8 Ka, near the start of agricultural-based societies
B) 4-5 Ka, near the "dawn of civilization"
C) 2 Ka, the birth of Christ
D) ~250 years ago, during the Age of Industrialization

Question 42

A blogger writes that global warming is a myth,noting that his or her city had its coldest ever-recorded temperature last winter.Which statement(s)about his or her statement is/are correct?

A) He or she is correct and has proven that global warming is not occurring.
B) He or she is confusing weather with climate.
C) He or she is confusing a local single measuring point with an evaluation made from hundreds or thousands or more data points.
D) Both b and c are correct.

Question 43

The graphs of five-year running averages of hemispheric temperature in the figure below are generally similar.If you assume that most of the temperature rise has been due to increased CO₂ generated by industry that was primarily in the northern hemisphere,do the northern and southern hemispheres appear to have separate air circulation,with very little or no mixing of air between them?

A) yes
B) no

Question 44

If Charles Keeling had chosen to carefully measure methane (instead of carbon dioxide)each month at the Mauna Kea Observatory,what might he have NOT found?

A) the gradual increase of that gas, year after year.
B) the same seasonal changes of that gas, year after year.
C) the effects of several volcanic eruptions, on atmospheric gas composition.
D) the effects of any massive melting/decomposition of methane hydrates.

Question 45

Which two features on the figure below are sources of CO₂ and hence probable contributors to global warming?

A) A and B
B) A and F
C) C and D
D) B and F

Question 46

Looking at the figure below,how much has sea level risen since the end of the last ice age,if we assume that was 16,000 years ago?

A) 110 m
B) 60 m
C) 20 m
D) 15 m

Question 47

According to the graph below,when did ocean waters begin to warm?

A) 1880
B) 1910
C) 1940
D) 1990

Question 48

Why would discovery of a large,previously unknown,ongoing source of seafloor methane probably result in lowering the estimated effects of human civilization on global warming?

A) because it would mean that humans are producing less total methane than had been expected and modeled
B) because methane is an icehouse gas and promotes long-term cooling
C) because it would mean that humans are responsible for a smaller fraction of greenhouse gas production than was previously thought
D) because it would mean that humans are producing less of the other greenhouse gasses than had been expected

Question 49

In the last few decades,global warming has been most strongly affecting the climate and wildlife of ____________ regions.

A) equatorial
B) temperate
C) polar
D) deep-sea

Question 50

Which of these is NOT an example of biological changes that are recently occurring and attributable to warming of the northern hemisphere?

A) the elevations at which mosquitoes can survive
B) the average weight of polar bears
C) the southerly limit of reindeer in the Scandinavian countries and arctic Russia
D) the average spring date at which tree sap begins to flow

Question 51

A greenhouse gas is one that __________.

A) affects the color of the sky (tending it toward subtle green-blue, as viewed from the Earth's surface during daytime)
B) absorbs more of the sun's incoming radiation
C) increases plant and vegetation growth around the planet
D) absorbs more of the long-wave radiation emitted from the Earth's surface

Question 52

What environmental phenomenon caused most industrial nations to intentionally decrease their production and use of refrigerants and other chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)in the last 20 years?

A) the decrease in Arctic Sea ice cover
B) the decrease in plankton fecundity in tropical and subtropical waters
C) the increase in hurricane, typhoon, and tropical cyclone intensity and/or number
D) the decrease in atmospheric ozone over the Antarctic

Question 53

Which of these has not been noted as an indicator of recent global warming?

A) the increased frequency of volcanic eruption since the industrialization of human society
B) changes in the volumes of glaciers
C) the southerly limits of Arctic permafrost
D) increased water vapor in the atmosphere

Question 54

With the increased amount of information that has been discovered in recent years,the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that __________.

A) Earth's climate is not warming to any significant degree
B) Earth's climate is warming due to variation in solar output; human inputs of greenhouse gasses have not had a significant influence
C) Earth's climate is warming, and human inputs of greenhouse gasses are most likely responsible
D) Earth's climate is warming, and human inputs of greenhouse gasses are a significant contributor to the warming

Question 55

How much has atmospheric CO₂ increased in approximately the last 50 years,according to the record for Hawaii's Mauna Loa observatory,in the figure below?

A) from about 220 to 320 ppm (parts per million)
B) from about 360 to 400 ppm
C) from about 310 to 390 ppm
D) from about 220 to 400 ppm

Question 56

Looking at the modeled changes in temperature for the Earth in the figure below,which hemisphere is predicted to warm the most quickly or severely?

A) the northern hemisphere
B) the southern hemisphere
C) the western hemisphere
D) the eastern hemisphere
E) The northern and southern hemispheres appear to be warming equally.

Question 57

Which three features on the figure below are best considered carbon (e.g.,CO₂)sinks?

A) A, B, and C
B) A, B, and D
C) A, D, and E
D) C, D, and E

Question 58

In an earlier chapter you learned that geologists are taught that "The Present is the Key to the Past." In studying paleoclimate,why would this idea probably be wrong?

A) because we do not have detailed records of the climate for more than the last 4000 or so years of recorded history
B) because the fundamentals of the carbon cycle have changed
C) because of the decrease in volcanic eruption since the start of recorded history
D) because of the many ways that humans are indirectly or directly affecting climate.

Question 59

Why is the Atlantic Ocean likely to develop a subduction zone along one or more margins,in the future?

A) because the most recently formed crust along the mid-ocean ridge is increasing in density
B) because the North American Plate is becoming smaller
C) because the Pacific Ocean will eventually close, and then subduction will need to occur somewhere else
D) because the very fast spreading rate at the East Pacific Rise is making crust that is too buoyant to subduct

Question 60

Which of the following chemicals is NOT a cause of acidification of the atmosphere or surface waters?

A) minerals containing sulfides
B) bicarbonate
C) carbon dioxide
D) minerals containing silicates