Quiz 4

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

Present conditions of the atmosphere over periods of up to 2 weeks

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Average conditions of all environmental components (temp, rainfall, pressure, particle counts) over a time of usually 30 years

Question 3

Low change (climate)

Answer 3

Proximity to oceans, altitude, proportion of land to water

Question 4

Dynamic change (climate)

Answer 4

Ocean currents, density and type of vegetation coverage, changes in quantity of greenhouse gas

Question 5

Climate change

Answer 5

rise in surface temps, drought, shift in ocean and wind currents

Question 6

Global Warming

Answer 6

ongoing rise in mean surface temps across Earth

Question 7

Prehistoric Climate Change caused by…

Answer 7

movement of continents, wobbles in Earth’s orbit, Volcanism, changes in solar energy output, asteroid impact, dinosaur gas

Question 8

Previous climate changes

Answer 8

Snowball Earth (700 mya)
Cretaceous period (100 mya)
PETM (55 mya)
Pliocene (3 mya)

Question 9

Glacial cycles

Answer 9

Driven by changes in Earth’s orbit, reinforced by greenhouse gases, positive feedback loop of more cooling

Question 10

Last major ice age

Answer 10

Quaternary period (20,000 ya)

Question 11

Present interglacial period

Answer 11

Holocene epoch

Question 12

How are water temps measured?

Answer 12

ships in remote areas w/ drifting floats that measure, record and report to satellites directly

Question 13

Proxy records

Answer 13

tree rings - more dense = cool season

Corals - skeletons made from extracts and precipitates of seawater

Clam shells - analyzed for chemical composition, oxygen isotopes present in the water

Pollen - preserved in lakes/bogs, changes in pollen shows changes in plants due to CC

Fossilized Vegetation and Insects - changes in type, distribution and coverage of vegetation
Milder changes = improved plant growth
Large changes = rapid loss, vegetation stress, desertification

Rock Hyrax Urine - stay in one place for generations, evident of climate events of last ice age

Ice Cores - Temp, ocean volume, gas comp., volcanic eruptions

Question 14

Volcanic activity affecting climate change

Answer 14

Large eruptions cause ash to block incoming radiation, leading to worldwide temporary cooling

Question 15

Temperature anomalies

Answer 15

Temperature change over time more important than absolute temp., show how temps have changed relative to common base period

Question 16

Arctic Circle

Answer 16

Includes Article ocean, Greenland, Baffin Islands, Parts of Europe, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Finland

Question 17

Sea Ice

Answer 17

Different than icebergs, made of fast ice and drift ice

Question 18

Sea Ice retreat

Answer 18

Less “old” ice-more vulnerable to melting, loss of sea ice doesn’t result in significant sea level rise

Question 19

Loss of Ringed Seals

Answer 19

adapted to living on stable article sea ice, create breathing holes.
Warming causes loss of sea ice, collapse of lairs=exposure to predators

Question 20

Loss of sea-ice Polar Bears

Answer 20

Malnutrition, lower cub survival, cannibalism

Question 21

Loss of sea ice Walruses

Answer 21

use ice to rest between dives, triggered increase in trampling deaths, shifted depth of hunting areas

Question 22

Glaciers

Answer 22

Perennial mass of ice which moves on land

Question 23

Glacier movement

Answer 23

due to pressure of own weight, retreat caused by increase in temps, evaporation

Question 24

Continental glaciers

Answer 24

massive, thick ice sheets found at poles, cover entire surface beneath them

Question 25

Alpine glaciers

Answer 25

Form on mountain slopes, valleys, cap mountains when snow piles up, turns into glacial ice - US, Switzerland, Norway CC indicator: smaller, less stable

Question 26

Terminal moraine

Answer 26

Melting zone of alpine glaciers

Question 27

Glacier, ice cap retreat impacts

Answer 27

- seasonal meltwater important for water supplies | - more freshwater entering North Atlantic- may slow conveyor, leading to regional cooling

Question 28

Rain on Snow Events

Answer 28

Warmer temps-more rain than snow, alternating freeze/thaw cycles. Creates crust.

Question 29

Precipitation changes-reindeer

Answer 29

- Rain on top of snow creates crust=must use more energy to find food - breaking through ice during migrations - increased insects-decreased fitness - changes in plant composition

Question 30

Permafrost

Answer 30

Occur in soil where max annual below freezing for 2 or more years in shallow coastal sea bed

Question 31

Loss of Permafrost

Answer 31

Frozen soil-like rock disintegrates when ice is removed, thawing creates cavities/depressions, long-term water drains from surface of soil, leading to drier conditions, increase in landslides, rock falls, erosion

Question 32

Drunken forests

Answer 32

Ice normally stabilizes ground, trees grow on thin layer of soil over permafrost, when permafrost removed, shallow root bed undermined

Question 33

Animals affected by permafrost loss

Answer 33

Lemmings - collapse of foraging spaces | Birds/Mammals dependent on forests

Question 34

Effect of permafrost loss on humans

Answer 34

Infrastructure - shifting soil | Ice roads-built seasonally but more stable when ground is frozen

Question 35

Greening of Arctic earlier

Answer 35

Disrupts local populations because of change in composition of plant communities, peak vegetation coming earlier before calving season of caribou

Question 36

Marginal ice zones

Answer 36

Where drifting pack ice meets open water, nutrients build up under ice in water, exposure to light =increased primary productivity

Question 37

Primary consumers of Sea Ecosystems

Answer 37

Zooplankton - eats smaller particles, photo plankton, smaller zooplankton, detritus Copepods Krill, which whales feel on

Question 38

Secondary Consumers of Sea Ecosystems

Answer 38

arctic cod, char, jellyfish | Some have antifreeze compounds in blood

Question 39

Top Predators of Sea Ecosystems

Answer 39

Arctic whales - beluga, narwhal, polar bear, walrus, seabirds

Question 40

Detritus

Answer 40

Old ice algae, dead organisms, fecal pellets, suspended in water gradually settles to sea floor - eaten by seals, walruses, gray whales, ducks

Question 41

One of the largest migrations of any mammal annually

Answer 41

Gray whales migrate 10,000 mi to feed on crustaceans living on sea floor Coastal CA to Bering Sea

Question 42

Ozone depletion

Answer 42

Hole grows each year-Largest in Sept. - Might have dominant role in recent climate change in this area - prevents outflow of cold air near south pole

Question 43

Does loss of sea ice result in significant sea level rise?

Answer 43

No, they are typically made of drift ice and are not as dense as glaciers

Question 44

T or F: The present warming we are seeing is higher than ever seen in the geologic record of the Earth's history

Answer 44

False

Question 45

If the global mean temp measurement for the year 2015 was 68 deg F, and the avg. global mean temperature measurement from the base period of 1950-1980 was 70 deg F, what would be the temperature anomaly for the year 2015.

Answer 45

-2 degrees F

Question 46

The Article circle is located above what latitude

Answer 46

66 deg N

Question 47

Of the ways to measure the temperature of the Earth, which has the longest record

Answer 47

Air temperature

Question 48

T or F: The scientific study of climate change and the effects of CO2 emissions on the Earth began in the 1950s

Answer 48

False