Exam 5

Question 1

Climate records w/ averages require

Answer 1

30 years of data

Question 2

Climate determines what?

Answer 2

The species (plant/animal) communities in an area

Question 3

Who keeps official climate records?

Answer 3

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Question 4

What is the main source of climate data for the Western U.S.?

Answer 4

WRCC (Western Regional Climate Center)

Question 5

Factors that control climate include…

Answer 5

Latitude, continentality, mountains

Question 6

Climate Zone A

Answer 6

Tropics

Question 7

Climate Zone B

Answer 7

Dry

Question 8

Climate Zone C

Answer 8

Mild Mid Latitude

Question 9

Climate Zone D

Answer 9

Severe Mid Latitude

Question 10

Climate Zone E

Answer 10

Polar

Question 11

Climate Zone H

Answer 11

Highland

Question 12

Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)

Answer 12

global temps were app. 8C warmer than now, sea level was app. 100m higher than now (no ice caps)

Question 13

Methods for measuring past climates

Answer 13

Ice caps, fossils, ocean cores

Question 14

Pleistocene

Answer 14

2.6 million years ago, ice caps began to grow, oscillations between glacial and interglacial periods begins

Question 15

Holocene

Answer 15

the last 12,000 years, warm, post LGM, modern humans and ecosystems developed

Question 16

Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)

Answer 16

15-20 thousand years ago, global temps 5-7C colder, sea level much lower, ice sheets deflected jet stream

Question 17

What are interglacial cycles controlled by?

Answer 17

orbit cycles: periodic and predictable changes in earth’s orbit with respect to the sun

Question 18

Milankovitch cycles

Answer 18

eccentricity, obliquity, precession

Question 19

Eccentricity

Answer 19

the shape of orbit- circular or elipse

Question 20

Obliquity

Answer 20

the angle of earth’s tilt relative to its axis

Question 21

Precession

Answer 21

the “wobble” changing the time of year each hemisphere faces the sun

Question 22

Long time scale factors contributing to climate change are

Answer 22

changes in orbit, changes in arrangements of continents, major changes in ocean circulation, greenhouse gases/atmospheric chemistry changes

Question 23

short time scale factors contributing to climate change are

Answer 23

volcanic eruptions, changes in land use, minor changes in ocean temps/circulation patterns (El Nino), greenhouse gas concentration changes

Question 24

Volcanic eruptions

Answer 24

inject aerosols into the stratosphere, blocks sunlight to cause net cooling

Question 25

Changes in ocean temp/circulation

Answer 25

reserve of energy that drives global weather systems

Question 26

El Nino

Answer 26

temporary warming of sea surface temps in Eastern Tropical Pacific, colder, wetter winters in southern U.S., warmer in north

Question 27

Where is the most rapid warming due to the GHG concentration rising?

Answer 27

the Arctic

Question 28

Major impacts of rising GHG concentrations

Answer 28

rising temps, shifts in precipitation, rising sea level, stronger storms (more extreme warm and cold snaps), habitat changes

Question 29

Projected temps by 2100

Answer 29

best scenario: 1.5 C warmer, worst scenario: 4.8 C

Question 30

Warmer temps will cause

Answer 30

hotter summers/warmer winters, shrinking glaciers, upward/poleward expansion, sea level impacts, ocean acidification

Question 31

Ocean acidification

Answer 31

increased CO2 concentration makes ocean water acidic, small shelled creatures are the base of the food chain and shells dissolve in acidic water

Question 32

Precipitation

Answer 32

more water vapor, stronger storms, deserts expand

Question 33

How much have humans warmed the earth compared to pre-industrial averages (1850-1900)?

Answer 33

+1.2 C

Question 34

How much has the global mean sea level increase between 1901 and 2018?

Answer 34

0.2 m (20cm, 200mm)

Question 35

What is the recent rate of sea level rise?

Answer 35

3.7mm/year

Question 36

How far back do you have to go to find CO2 concentrations as high as they were as of 2019?

Answer 36

2 million years

Question 37

What % of the heating of the climate system is accounted for by the warming of oceans?

Answer 37

90%

Question 38

Contributors to sea level rise include

Answer 38

22%: ice loss from glaciers, 20%: ice loss from ice sheets, 8% changes in land water storage, 50% thermal expansion from warming oceans

Question 39

SSP1- 1.9

Answer 39

Best case, emissions reach net zero by 2050

Question 40

SSP1-2.6

Answer 40

good, emissions reach net zero by 2075

Question 41

SSP2-4.5

Answer 41

intermediate emissions

Question 42

SSP3-7.0

Answer 42

high emissions w/ some mitigation

Question 43

SSP5-8.5

Answer 43

worst case scenario, business as usual w/ no mitigation

Question 44

Under the worst scenario, what are global temps likely to be by 2100?

Answer 44

4.4 C warmer

Question 45

Under the best scenario, what are global temps likely to be by 2100?

Answer 45

1.4 C warmer

Question 46

If global temps increase by 4 C, rainfall will likely increase where?

Answer 46

the Arctic, Northern Africa, Middle East, Equatorial Pacific

Question 47

Under the best scenario, what should sea level be by 2100?

Answer 47

0.6 m higher

Question 48

Positive Feedbacks

Answer 48

amplifies climate change, change that causes more of that same change, potential runaway effect

Question 49

Example of positive feedbacks

Answer 49

when a fruit ripens, it leads to other fruits that were exposed to it ripening too

Question 50

Negative Feedbacks

Answer 50

change in some direction that causes other changes that ultimately slow the original direction of change, helps maintain equilibrium

Question 51

Example of negative feedbacks

Answer 51

homeostasis, shivering to stay warm

Question 52

Positive Feedbacks in Climate

Answer 52

ice albedo, ocean CO2, permafrost melts

Question 53

Limiting GHGs

Answer 53

deployment of low emission energy sources, improve energy efficiency in buildings, reduce installation of fossil fuel infrastructure

Question 54

GHG Sources

Answer 54

25%: electricity production, 24%: agriculture/land use, 21%: industry, 14%: transportation, 6%: buildings, 10%: other