SS BAI 1

Question 1

What era did humans live in before the current climate?

Answer 1

Pleistocene era

Question 2

How long ago did the last ice age end?

Answer 2

Around 11,700 years ago

Question 3

What significant change has occurred in human societies since the last ice age?

Answer 3

Significant growth in number and capability

Question 4

What is the main cause of the current climate change?

Answer 4

Human activities, particularly burning fossil fuels

Question 5

What is the fundamental question regarding fossil fuel usage?

Answer 5

Will we stop burning fossil fuels in time to prevent further climate change?

Question 6

What is Earth System Science (ESS)?

Answer 6

A scientific approach that studies the Earth as a single system

Question 7

What are the four subsystems in Earth System Science?

Answer 7

• Geosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Atmosphere
• Biosphere

Question 8

What is the geosphere?

Answer 8

All land, earth, and rock on the planet

Question 9

What does the hydrosphere encompass?

Answer 9

All water on Earth, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and ice

Question 10

What is the atmosphere composed of?

Answer 10

Various gases in defined layers

Question 11

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 11

Gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere

Question 12

What is the biosphere?

Answer 12

All living organisms on Earth

Question 13

What are forcings in climate science?

Answer 13

Specific causes of climate change

Question 14

How does solar energy affect the Earth’s climate?

Answer 14

It heats the Earth, influencing climatic conditions

Question 15

What impact do volcanoes have on climate?

Answer 15

They can create cooler conditions by emitting dust and particles

Question 16

What are greenhouse gases?

Answer 16

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere

Question 17

What are positive feedbacks in the context of climate change?

Answer 17

Reactions that amplify climate change effects

Question 18

What are negative feedbacks in climate science?

Answer 18

Reactions that mitigate climate change effects

Question 19

What is the Anthropocene?

Answer 19

A proposed geological era where humans are the primary drivers of climate change

Question 20

What is the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to studying climate change?

Answer 20

It provides a more complete picture of climate history

Question 21

What are Milankovitch cycles?

Answer 21

Cycles that influence Earth’s climate by varying solar energy receipt

Question 22

What are reactions to climate change caused by forcings called?

Answer 22

Feedbacks

Question 23

What is the difference between positive and negative feedbacks in the context of climate change?

Answer 23

Positive feedbacks push climate change in the same direction as the original forcing, while negative feedbacks moderate climate change.

Question 24

Give an example of a positive feedback.

Answer 24

Melting ice sheets around the North Pole

Question 25

What happens to solar energy when ice melts in the ocean?

Answer 25

More solar energy is absorbed by the water

Question 26

What is an example of a negative feedback related to climate?

Answer 26

Increased cloud cover over the Great Lakes during warmer winters

Question 27

What is a proxy in climate studies?

Answer 27

Natural features that show evidence of past climate conditions

Question 28

Name three sources that provide evidence of past climate conditions.

Answer 28

* Ice * Trees * Soil

Question 29

What technique is used to analyze ice cores?

Answer 29

Ice core sampling

Question 30

What does dendrochronology study?

Answer 30

Tree rings to analyze past climatic conditions

Question 31

How do sediment layers provide climate data?

Answer 31

They contain historical information about water composition and pollen levels

Question 32

What are the archives of society?

Answer 32

Documents produced by humans that contain climate-related information

Question 33

What are instrumental records?

Answer 33

Precise data recorded by scientific instruments

Question 34

What kind of information do narrative records provide?

Answer 34

Clues about past climate conditions through human observations

Question 35

What is a limitation of the archives of society compared to the archives of nature?

Answer 35

Human records only describe conditions over the past hundreds or thousands of years

Question 36

What is the role of scholarly fields in studying climate history?

Answer 36

Different scholars specialize in analyzing specific types of sources

Question 37

True or False: The oldest instrumental records date back to the invention of the thermometer around 1700.

Answer 37

True

Question 38

Fill in the blank: A _______ is a record that provides clues about past climate conditions.

Answer 38

proxy

Question 39

What are the main fields that offer complementary views of climate history?

Answer 39

Historical climatology, paleoclimatology, climate history, and the history of climate and society (HCS)

Question 40

What is the primary focus of climatology?

Answer 40

The study of climate relying primarily on natural archives

Question 41

What skills must historical climatologists learn?

Answer 41

Collecting samples, operating analysis machinery, data analysis, and communicating findings

Question 42

How do climate historians differ from historical climatologists?

Answer 42

Climate historians analyze sources from society's archives using historical methods

Question 43

Who is considered a pioneer in the field of climate history?

Answer 43

Christian Pfister

Question 44

What does the History of Climate and Society (HCS) focus on?

Answer 44

The relationship between past climate conditions and human societies

Question 45

What is the importance of scale in HCS research?

Answer 45

Scale refers to the geographical and chronological scope of investigation

Question 46

What term describes the current era of significant human impact on climate?

Answer 46

Anthropocene

Question 47

What significant change is associated with the beginning of the Anthropocene?

Answer 47

The unprecedented release of greenhouse gases by humans

Question 48

What is the current accepted geological epoch?

Answer 48

Holocene

Question 49

What was the outcome of the 2024 proposal regarding the Anthropocene?

Answer 49

The International Union of Geological Sciences rejected the proposal

Question 50

What narrative technique do historians use to integrate climate history?

Answer 50

Mapping climate onto existing historical narratives

Question 51

What is climate determinism?

Answer 51

The theory that climate dictates the course of human history

Question 52

True or False: All studies of climate and society today endorse climate determinism.

Answer 52

False

Question 53

What is a potential weakness of overlaying climate history with existing historical narratives?

Answer 53

It may lead to biases and limit the understanding of climate history

Question 54

What does the term 'scale' refer to in the context of climate history?

Answer 54

The area and time frame of the investigation

Question 55

What is the significance of the mid-twentieth century in climate studies?

Answer 55

It is marked as the beginning of current warming trends

Question 56

What is the focus of scholars in the field of climate and society?

Answer 56

Careful study and analysis of causal mechanisms between climatic conditions and human history

Question 57

What is a major challenge in combining human climate history and human history?

Answer 57

The matter of scale between the chronological scales of human histories and Earth's climate evolution

Question 58

What term describes the current state of climate change caused by human behavior?

Answer 58

Anthropocene

Question 59

What significant book did Rachel Carson write, and what was its impact?

Answer 59

Silent Spring; it raised awareness about the environmental impacts of commercial pesticides

Question 60

Which two types of scholars study climate history?

Answer 60

Historical climatologists and paleoclimatologists

Question 61

What are the Earth's four subsystems?

Answer 61

* Earth * Water * Air * Living organisms

Question 62

What are forcings in the context of climate change?

Answer 62

Events such as volcanic eruptions, variations in solar energy, and rising greenhouse gas concentrations

Question 63

What is the difference between positive and negative feedbacks in climate change?

Answer 63

* Positive feedbacks: Reactions in nature that drive climate change further * Negative feedbacks: Reactions in nature that act against the initial drivers of climate change

Question 64

What challenges does the novelty of the Anthropocene present to scholars?

Answer 64

Old methods and narratives in history must account for new discoveries in climatology

Question 65

Fill in the blank: The _______ studies the relationship between climate history and human history.

Answer 65

history of climate and society

Question 66

True or False: The changes in climate caused by humans today are part of the story of Earth's climate that has developed over millions of years.

Answer 66

True