Climate Change

Question 1

Define climate

Answer 1

Characteristic atmospheric conditions over a long period of time (years or decades)

Question 2

Define weather

Answer 2

Atmospheric conditions over a short period of time (days or weeks)

Question 3

Define permanent gasses

Answer 3

Gasses whose proportions stay constant (nitrogen or oxygen)

Question 4

Define variable gasses

Answer 4

Gasses whose proportions vary with time and space (carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide)

Question 5

Define aerosols

Answer 5

Microscopic liquid or solid particles whose proportions vary with with time and space

Question 6

What is the crysophere?

Answer 6

The part of the hydrosphere where water stays frozen year-round

Question 7

What are examples of the cryosphere?

Answer 7

• Permafrost
• Sea ice
• Ice caps
• Glaciers
• Ice sheets

Question 8

Define glacier

Answer 8

A thick mass of ice that originates on the land from the accumulation, compaction and recrystallization of snow

Question 9

What are four types of glaciers?

Answer 9

1- valley (alpine) glacier
2- ice sheet
3- ice caps
4- ice shelves

Question 10

What percentage of Earth’s land is covered by glacial ice today?

Answer 10

10%

Question 11

When was the most recent Ice Age?

Answer 11

2.6 million years ago

Question 12

During which division of geologic time did the most glacial stages occur?

Answer 12

The Pleistocene epoch

Question 13

Does glaciation cause sea-level rise or drop?

Answer 13

Drop

Question 14

About how many of these cooling-warming cycles have been identified?

Answer 14

20

Question 15

Lake Bonneville was a _____ lake

Answer 15

pluvial

Question 16

In what type of climate did pluvial lakes form?

Answer 16

Cooler and wetter

Question 17

Name 5 Pleistocene animals that roamed North America

Answer 17

1- Wooly Mammoth
2- Mastadon
3- Saber-toothed cats
4- Giant ground sloths
5- Camels

Question 18

Possible cause of glaciation: ___________ hypothesis

Answer 18

Milankovitch

Question 19

Shape (________) of Earth’s orbit varies

Answer 19

eccentricity

Question 20

Angle of Earth’s axis (_____) changes

Answer 20

obliquity

Question 21

Earth’s axis wobbles (_______)

Answer 21

precession

Question 22

How much have the mean annual temperatures risen over the last decade?

Answer 22

B] 1.4°C

Question 23

The rise in temperature has caused a rise in sea level of ______ inches over the past century:

Answer 23

B] 4-8”

Question 24

What area of the globe is experiencing the greatest warming?

Answer 24

The Arctic

Question 25

How do seafloor sediments provide evidence for climate change?

Answer 25

They record sea-surface organisms, which change with climate

Question 26

How does the ratio of oxygen isotopes provide evidence for climate change?

Answer 26

Glacial ice is enriched in ¹⁶O, and during Ice Ages the concentration of ¹⁸O in seawater is enhanced. These ratios are reflected in CaCO₃ shells

Question 27

Why do glacial ice cores provide evidence for climate change?

Answer 27

Air bubbles trapped in the ice records changes in CO₂ and methane concentrations

Question 28

Do corals provide evidence for climate change? Why or why not?

Answer 28

Yes, they exhibit seasonal growth bands

Question 29

Do greenhouse gases raise or lower the temperature of Earth's surface? Why?

Answer 29

GHGs raise the temperature because they re-radiate energy back toward Earth

Question 30

Where does coal come from?

Answer 30

Plant material

Question 31

Where does oil come from?

Answer 31

Typically remains of buried marine plankton

Question 32

CO₂ concentration data prior to 1958 came from air bubbles trapped in ____

Answer 32

ice cores

Question 33

What level (in ppm) did CO₂ surpass in 2013?

Answer 33

400ppm

Question 34

In addition to CO₂, name three other greenhouse gases:

Answer 34

1- methane (CH₄) 2- nitrous oxides 3- CFCs & HFCs

Question 35

What GHG is released when permafrost melts?

Answer 35

CH₄ (methane)

Question 36

Positive feedback mechanisms _____

Answer 36

amplify

Question 37

What are consequences of global climate change?

Answer 37

1- global warming may increase intensity of storms 2- wildfires are becoming more frequent & intense 3- oceans are becoming more acidic 4- sea level is rising

Question 38

Glacial-interglacial cycles occurred every ______ years

Answer 38

100,000