difficult questions Flashcards
(32 cards)
- On Page 58, your textbook says “Ultimately all of the horizontal and vertical movements (except those due to mechanical forces) can be attributed to differences in temperature across the globe”. Which of the following statements best describes the fundamental physics underlying this statement?
a Applying the Ideal Gas Law at constant temperature, hot air rises and cold air sinks.
b Applying the Ideal Gas Law with constant pressure, hot air emits more radiation than cold air.
c Applying the Ideal Gas Law at constant pressure, hot air is more buoyant than cold air.
d Applying the Ideal Gas Law with a constant Coriolis force, hot air rises and cold air sinks.
c Applying the Ideal Gas Law at constant pressure, hot air is more buoyant than cold air.
Which of the following is a positive feedback that doubles the amount of surface warming in response to an increase in greenhouse gases? Surface albedo feedback Planck feedback Water vapor feedback Aerosol feedback Cloud feedback
water vapor feedback
Would you expect the surface nutrient concentrations in the eastern Equatorial Pacific to be higher or lower than normal during La Nina (coolphase of ENSO) conditions?
a) Higher than normal, because there will be more upwelling b) Lower than normal, because there will be more upwelling c) Higher than normal, because there will be less upwelling d) Lower than normal, because there will be less upwelling
a)Higher than normal, because there will be more upwelling
- Which of the following statements describes the positive feedback loop reinforcing El Nino conditions?
a)When the Easterly trade wind strength increases,the East-West sea surface temperature gradientdecreases, causing further increasesin the Easterly trade wind strengths.
b)When the Easterly trade wind strength decreases, the East-West sea surface temperature gradient decreases, causing further decreases in the Easterly trade wind strengths.
c)When the Easterly trade wind strength decreases, the East-West Tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient increases, and also
increasesthe Easterly trade wind strengths.
d)When the Easterly trade wind strength increases, the East-West Tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient decreases, and alsodecreases in the Easterly trade wind strengths.
b)When the Easterly trade wind strength decreases, the East-West sea surface temperature gradient decreases, causing further decreases in the Easterly trade wind strengths.
- Why is there upwelling off the coast of Peru?
a) Winds blow from North to South but the net movement of the water column is West
b) Winds blow from South to North but the net movement of the water column is West
c) Winds blow from North to South but the net movement of the water column is East
d) Winds blow from South to North but the net movement of the water column is East
b)Winds blow from South to North but the net movement of the water column is West
- Why do atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase when humans turn rainforests into agricultural lands?
a) Rainforests are faster at photosynthesis than agricultural lands.
b) Rainforests fix more carbon in the soil than agricultural lands.
c) Rainforests have smaller respiration rates than agricultural lands.
d) Rainforests fix less nitrogen in the soil than agricultural lands.
b)Rainforests fix more carbon in the soil than agricultural lands.
- What happens when rates of silicate weathering and limestone formation decreaseas a part of the long-term inorganic carbon cycle?
a) Atmospheric carbon dioxide will increasebutatmospheric oxygen concentrationswill decrease
b) Atmospheric carbon dioxidewilldecrease, butatmosphericoxygen concentrationswill increase
c) Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will increase, while atmospheric oxygen concentrations will remain unchanged
d) Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will decrease, while atmospheric oxygen concentrations will remain unchanged
c)Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will increase, while atmospheric oxygen concentrations will remain unchanged
what describes a positive coupling in daisy world
when temperature increases, daisy coverage increases
In PC, Florida, which sits on atlantic ocean, there a frequent afternoon thunderstorms. why?
a) the sun warms the land more than ocean, causing air over the land to rise and form thunderstorms
b) prevailing easterlies cause on shore winds and rising motions
a) the sun warms the land more than ocean, causing air over the land to rise and form thunderstorms
which negative feedback prevents run away warming when greenhouse gase concentrations increase?
water vapor feedback
cloud feedback
planck feedback
ice albedo feedback
planck feedback
why is water vapor an effective greenhouse gas
a) wv absorbs and emits visible radiation
b) wv absorbs and emits infared radiation
c) reflects and scatters infared radiation
d) reflects and scatters visible radiation
b) wv absorbs and emits infared radiation
which supports evidence of presence of el nino?
a) negative surface temp anomalies in central pacific ocean
b) stronger upwelling for nutrient rich ocean waters off the coast of peru
c) decreased convection and percipitation over the western trop pacific ocean
c)decreased convection and percipitation over the western trop pacific ocean
why is it generally colder in CO in janruary than july
earths tilt makes the sun directly overhead
which is true of black bodies
black bodies are perfect absorbers of radiation
which of the following is true?
a) Isotopes are the same element, but with differing masses.
b) Isotopes are differing elements, but with the same mass.
c) Isotopes are the same element, but differing chemical composition.
d) Isotopes have the same mass, but differing chemical composition.
a)Isotopes are the same element, but with differing masses.
Which of the following processes is the strongest control Earth’s climate variations on timescales of millions of years?
a) Variations in Earth’s orbital parameter
b) Variations in Solar irradiance
c) Variations in the amount of CO2 released by volcanoes
d) Variations in dust concentrations in the atmosphere
c)Variations in the amount of CO2 released by volcanoes
Global mean surface temperatures during the Eocene (~50 million years ago) were approximately 13 degrees Celsius warmer than today. Why?
a) Carbon dioxide concentrations were 2.5 times larger than today
b) Carbon dioxide concentrations were 100times larger than today
c) Methane concentrations were 100times larger than today
d) Methane concentrations were 2.5times larger than today
a)Carbon dioxide concentrations were 2.5 times larger than today
Immediately stopping which process would reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations on million year timescales?
a) Silicate weathering
b) Biological pump
c) Fossil fuel formation
d) Volcanism
d)Volcanism
Which of the following processes controlled Earth’s climate variations on thousands of years timescales over the last 3 million years?
a) Variations in Earth’s orbital parameters
b) Variations in the weathering rates of rocks
c) Variations in the amount of CO2 released by volcanoes
d) Variations in dust concentrations in the atmosphere
a)Variations in Earth’s orbital parameters
Over the last 50 million years – Which of the following statements is True?
a) Earth’s surface temperature has decreased and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have decreased
b) Earth’s surface temperature has increased and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have decreased
c) Earth’s surface temperature has decreased and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased
d) Earth’s surface temperature has increased and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased
A
When are Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) able to form?
a) When atmospheric oxygen concentrations are relatively high
b) When the entire ocean is ice-covered (Snowball Earth)
c) At any point in Earth’s 4.6 billion year history
d) When equatorial oceans are more productive than high-latitude oceans
B
)Which orbital state is most likely to initiate a global glaciation? Hints: aphelion = Earth farthest from sun, obliquity is the same as tilt.
a) July aphelion, small obliquity
b) January aphelion, small obliquity
c) July aphelion, large obliquity
d) January aphelion, large obliquity
A
5) Why is the seasonal cycle in atmospheric carbon dioxide controlled by land plants and not by ocean plants?
a) Ocean plants produce energy without using carbon dioxide.
b) Photosynthesis in the ocean peaks in winter when more nutrients are available.
c) Warm water holds less carbon dioxide than cold water.
d) Cold water holds less carbon dioxide than warm water.
c
What happens to atmospheric composition when you stop fossil fuel formation (assume all
other processes do not change)?
a) Carbon dioxide concentrations decrease but oxygen concentrations increase
b) Carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations both decrease.
c) Carbon dioxide concentrations decrease but oxygen concentrations remain unchanged
d) Carbon dioxide concentrations increase but oxygen concentrations decrease.
D
