Question 1

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The nuclear winter scenario envisions an upper level layer of strongly REFLECTING | ABSORBING soot particles which would cause the ground to cool by reducing the amount of sunlight able to reach the ground.

Accepted Answer

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Question 2

Some scientists believe the earth is in a comparatively warm part of an ice age.

Accepted Answer

While the earth is currently experiencing a period of warming known as global warming, scientists believe that overall the planet is in an ice age due to the presence of polar ice caps and cyclical changes in climate over time.

Question 3

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Sulfate aerosols are good REFLECTORS | ABSORBERS of sunlight and their effect on climate has been studied extensively in recent years.

Accepted Answer

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Question 4

How many degrees did the globe warm in the 20th century? Why is this amount considered significant?

Accepted Answer

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Question 5

Warm ocean water cannot contain as much dissolved carbon dioxide as cool ocean water.

Accepted Answer

Cooler water has a higher capacity to dissolve gases, including carbon dioxide, than warmer water. This is because gas solubility in water decreases as the temperature increases.

Question 6

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. When the conveyor belt ocean circulation stops, winters in Europe are much WARMER | COLDER than normal.

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Question 7

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Did the Little Ice Age occur during a period of HIGH or LOW sunspot activity?

Accepted Answer

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Question 8

Climate models predict that oceans will warm more rapidly than landmasses in the northern high latitudes will warm under future climate conditions.

Accepted Answer

Climate models generally predict that landmasses, especially in the northern high latitudes, will warm more rapidly than the oceans under future climate conditions due to differences in heat capacity and land's faster response to increasing greenhouse gases.

Question 9

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Volcanic eruptions rich in sulfur tend to WARM | COOL the surface?

Accepted Answer

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Question 10

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Global mean surface temperatures appear to have increased slightly since the early 1900s. The greatest increase has occurred over the CONTINENTS | OCEANS in winter and spring.

Accepted Answer

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Question 11

Define the snow-albedo positive feedback mechanism.

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

The average warming experienced over the globe since the early 1900s has not been uniform. Where have the greatest and least amounts of warming occurred?

Accepted Answer

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Question 13

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Human activities add aerosols to the atmosphere; the overall effect of these particles on climate appears to be a net COOLING | WARMING of surface temperatures.

Accepted Answer

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Question 14

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The more elliptical the earth's orbit is, the GREATER | SMALLER the variation in solar energy received by the earth between its closest and farthest distance from the sun.

Accepted Answer

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Question 15

Recent evidence suggests that the variations in the earth's orbit around the sun proposed by Milankovitch actually have very little effect on the earth's climate.

Accepted Answer

While there is ongoing debate and further research needed, many scientists believe that Milankovitch cycles do have an impact on the earth's climate, particularly in triggering the waxing and waning of ice ages. However, it is important to note that other factors such as greenhouse gas emissions have become increasingly dominant in shaping our current climate.

Question 16

Briefly explain radiative equilibrium.

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Question 17

What is dendrochronology?

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Question 18

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Analysis of the oxygen-isotope ratio in ancient ice cores tells us the COLDER | WARMER the air was, the richer the concentration of oxygen 16 in the core.

Accepted Answer

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Question 19

The combined effect of trace greenhouse gases (such as methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and CFCs) in enhancing the greenhouse effect is about equal to carbon dioxide.

Accepted Answer

While trace greenhouse gases do contribute to the greenhouse effect, their combined effect is not equal to carbon dioxide alone. Carbon dioxide is the most significant greenhouse gas and accounts for the majority of the warming effect on Earth's climate.

Question 20

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Would you expect the chain reaction known as a runaway greenhouse effect to result from an unchecked POSITIVE or NEGATIVE feedback process?

Accepted Answer

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Quiz 13: Global Climate

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The nuclear winter scenario envisions an upper level layer of strongly REFLECTING | ABSORBING soot particles which would cause the ground to cool by reducing the amount of sunlight able to reach the ground.

Some scientists believe the earth is in a comparatively warm part of an ice age.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Sulfate aerosols are good REFLECTORS | ABSORBERS of sunlight and their effect on climate has been studied extensively in recent years.

How many degrees did the globe warm in the 20th century? Why is this amount considered significant?

Warm ocean water cannot contain as much dissolved carbon dioxide as cool ocean water.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. When the conveyor belt ocean circulation stops, winters in Europe are much WARMER | COLDER than normal.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Did the Little Ice Age occur during a period of HIGH or LOW sunspot activity?

Climate models predict that oceans will warm more rapidly than landmasses in the northern high latitudes will warm under future climate conditions.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Volcanic eruptions rich in sulfur tend to WARM | COOL the surface?

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Global mean surface temperatures appear to have increased slightly since the early 1900s. The greatest increase has occurred over the CONTINENTS | OCEANS in winter and spring.

Define the snow-albedo positive feedback mechanism.

The average warming experienced over the globe since the early 1900s has not been uniform. Where have the greatest and least amounts of warming occurred?

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Human activities add aerosols to the atmosphere; the overall effect of these particles on climate appears to be a net COOLING | WARMING of surface temperatures.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The more elliptical the earth's orbit is, the GREATER | SMALLER the variation in solar energy received by the earth between its closest and farthest distance from the sun.

Recent evidence suggests that the variations in the earth's orbit around the sun proposed by Milankovitch actually have very little effect on the earth's climate.

Briefly explain radiative equilibrium.

What is dendrochronology?

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Analysis of the oxygen-isotope ratio in ancient ice cores tells us the COLDER | WARMER the air was, the richer the concentration of oxygen 16 in the core.

The combined effect of trace greenhouse gases (such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and CFCs) in enhancing the greenhouse effect is about equal to carbon dioxide.

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Would you expect the chain reaction known as a runaway greenhouse effect to result from an unchecked POSITIVE or NEGATIVE feedback process?

The combined effect of trace greenhouse gases (such as methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and CFCs) in enhancing the greenhouse effect is about equal to carbon dioxide.