All iclicker questions Flashcards
(68 cards)
What is 32 degrees F in °C?
O degrees celsius
What is a “temperature anomaly”?
The difference between the actual temperature and a reference temperature
The urban heat-island effect both
- causes the rate of warming to be higher in cities than in rural areas
- by itself is not a large enough effect to explain all of the warming since industrialization
Over the past 150 years, global temperature has:
increased in a two steps, with several
decades of more rapid warming separated by several decades of stable temperatures
About how much has average global
temperature increased over the past 150 years?
1 degree celsius
Temperature measurements from satellites and from surface thermometers are?
Independent measurements of temperature that generally agree and provide confirmation of global warming
Where on Earth are surface temperatures increasing most rapidly?
High Northern latitudes
Where on earth is most of the energy derived from global warming going?
Into the ocean
Studies of the impacts of climate change on mountain glaciers show that
The on-going retreat of mountain glaciers is largely the result of increasing summer temperature
Which one is the largest source of meltwater to the oceans?
Glaciers
Approximately how much has sea level risen during the last 100 years?
17cm at a recently accelerating rate
How does extent of sea ice affect climate?
- Altering earths albedo (reflectivity)
- controlling the exchange of heat energy between the surface ocean and the overlying atmosphere
How much has artic sea ice decreased in the past 40 years?
30% (by millions of square kilometers) at the end of summer
In climate science, “attribution” is the process of:
determining the most likely causes for the observed change
Are solar irradiance and sunspot activity are correlated?
Yes, increases in sunspot activity
correspond to higher levels of solar
irradiance
Does Satellite data show that solar irradiance has been overall increasing over the past 50 years?
No. Solar irradiance has been overall decreasing
How do volcanos impact Earths climate?
Volcanoes emit sulfur gases that form
sulfate aerosols that cool the Earth surface
Can volcanic eruptions significantly impact the climate?
Yes, especially if they occur in clusters
What was the main reason for Earth’s early atmosphere to be so warm despite the Sun being 30% less bright?
Methane acted as a potent greenhouse gas, trapping heat
What pattern do we observe in Earth’s climate over the last 800,000 years, and what is its relationship to CO2 levels?
A sawtooth pattern of alternating ice ages and warm periods, with a strong relationship between temperature and CO2 levels
Why are coal, natural gas, and oil referred to as “fossil fuels,” and how does their formation relate to the carbon cycle during the time of the dinosaurs?
They formed from dead plant matter that accumulated
during the time of the dinosaurs, which locked away large
amounts of carbon over millions of years.
What was the global average
temperature like during the current interglacial period (Holocene) prior to industrialization?
temperatures rose during the first half
(6000 years) and then decreased during
the second half and temperatures did not change by more than about 1 degree celsius during this period
Which of the following statements accurately reflects current scientific understanding of climate trends over the past 2000 years?
The rate of warming over the past 50 years is unprecedented in more than 2000 years, and the magnitude of warming is the highest in over 100,000
years.
What was the little Ice Age?
An interval during a glacial period when ice sheets covered northern North America and carbon dioxide levels were much lower than pre-industrial time.
