ATOC 1060

Which usage consumes the greatest amount of water in the US?

Agriculture

NH3

Ammonia

What was the Younger Dryas?

An abrupt period of re-glaciation from about 13,000 years ago to about 12,000 years ago

Forcing

An ongoing disturbance of a systemEx: solar brightening, anthropogenic release of greenhouse gas

Heterotroph

An organism that depends on other organisms to produce food (consumer)

2CH2O = CO2 + CH4

Anaerobic Respiration (Methanogensis), putting carbon in

When was the first fossil evidence of life

3.5 BYA

How old is the earliest isotopic evidence of life on Earth?

3.8 BY

When was the first global evidence of life on earth found

3.8 BYA

Ocean sediment cores show how many major glaciations every 100,000 years

700,000

True/False: The US has reduced our CO2 emissions since 2007.

True

True/False: The tropics receive a surplus of net radiation, and the poles receive a deficit.

True

How much did the average CO2 concentration increase from 1958 to 2008

Approximately 22%

Methanogens belong to which domain of the tree of life?

Archaea

What type of radiation does the stratospheric ozone layer absorb?

Ultraviolet

What is the use of lead isotopes?

Used for dating older material

Limitations to renewable energy sources

Variable with location and condition and currently they only make up 9% of energy consumption

Which terrestrial planet has the greatest greenhouse effect

Venus

By what mechanism did Earth recover from "Snowball Earth?"

Volcanism continued to outgas CO2 which increased the greenhouse effect.

Ekman Transport

Warm surface waters are pushed tot he center of the gyres, where they "pile up" and raise the sea level

Because of Ocean Circulation, which way does the ocean surface slope?

West to East, because water piles up in the west

If wind moves SOUTH where will water move and what will it cause

West, downwelling

Permafrost

When it melts it releases methane into the atmosphere and increases temp. and then further melting. (positive feedback)

Convergent Boundaries

When plates are moving toward each other, EX: Deep Sea trenches

Divergent Boundaries

When plates move away from each other, EX: Mid Ocean Ridges

When will be the next clumping

about 200 MY

Approximately what fraction of global heat transfer from the tropics to the poles does ocean circulation contribute (as opposed to atmospheric circulation)

about half

How much land does snow cover in the winter North of 20 degrees N.

about half

Energy conservation solutions

better home insulation, more efficient appliances, better fuel economy, compact fluorescent lights and LED's, telecommuting

Based on the Minnesota study of climate change impacts on forests, which species of tree will decline with increased CO2 and global warming?

Aspen

What are the most important reservoirs of warming

Atmosphere CH4 and CO2

Without land what would ocean circulation mirror?

Atmospheric circulation

Producer

Autotrophs, they form the base of the food web, produce organic matter fro inorganic compounds

ClO

chlorine Oxide

Cyanobacteria

Bacteria capable of both oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthesis, formerly known as blue-green algae

Stern Review on Economics of Global Warming

Concluded that the costs of adaption could be up to 30% of the GDP

Cloud Cooling

cover nearly 1/2 the earth and reflect sunlight

Thermokarst

devastating depressions left when permafrost melts

Why are ocean sediments that form during glaciations higher in 18O?

Because more 16O is locked up in ice during glaciations.

Why doesn't the circulation pattern in the above question make a complete single circuit from equator to poles?

Because of the Earth's rotation

Theory

has evidence to back it up

Largest Reservoir in chart

limestone in sedimentary rock

How much sea level rise does the IPCC AR5 predict to occur between now and 2100?

Between 0.5 and 1.0 m

Permian Extinction

Biggest Extinction. Extinct 96% marine life and 70% land life. Took 10 million years for life to recover

What were the first organisms to produce oxygen?

Cyanobacteria

Walker Circulation

East to West Circulation involving the trade winds where the ocean temp. gradient drives the trade winds ensuing the convective loop

If wind moves NORTH where will water move and what will is cause?

East, upwelling

Which direction do the near-equatorial trade winds generally flow?

Easterly

Negative Feedback

Effect subtract from cause (self stabalizing

Infrared Radiation

Electric magnetic radiation of fairly low energy and wavelengths longer than those of visible light from.7 to 1000

UV Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation of fairly high energy and wavelengths from 400 to about 10 nm, shorter than those of visible radiation

What will have to happen for CO2 concentrations to stabilize at 500-550 ppm.

Emission must decrease

Ice Albedo Feedback

Especially important for glacial and interglacial variation. Involves albedo changes caused by snow and ice. As Earth Climate cools, the extent of wintertime snow and ice cover increases in temperate regions. (positive feedback)

What caused the glacial period that occurred 2.4 billion years ago?

Biological production of O2

Permafrost must contain water

False

T/F: The Cenozoic Era has been gradually warming.

False

Tidal friction is slowly causing the length of a day to decrease.

False

True or false: Earth is absorbing more energy from the sun than it is emitting.

False

True/False: Tidal friction is slowly causing the length of a day to decreas

False

True/False: Volcanic eruptions tend to warm the Earth for the first few years following an eruption.

False

Tree Growth

Fewer trees grow during glaciation, which causes CO2 to build up and temp. to increase (negative feedback)

Over the past few hundred million years, what negative feedback has kept the O2 concentration of the atmosphere between 13% and 35%

Forest Fires

What is happening along the mid-ocean ridges

Formation of new sea floor

During what time frame can fossils provide clues regarding Earth's climate?

From about half a billion years ago to the present

Over the Pleistocene epoch, in what state has climate on Earth spent the most time?

Glacial

Which ice sheet is presently melting faster

Greenland

c3 plants

Grow faster in higher CO2 but do poorly in high temp. Ex: all tree, algae, etc.

Composition of comets

H2O ice, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, methanol, CO2 ice, rock and sand

The primary greenhouse gases of the early atmosphere

H2O, NH3, CO2

Cenozoic

Has been gradually cooling, decrease potential due to decrease in id ocean ridge spreading rates leading to a reduction in atmospheric CO2

Thermo

Heat

Which situation would most favor glaciation? Assume that eccentricity is 0.06.

High obliquity and NH summer at perihelion

In what way are the gyres in geostrophic balance?

High pressure is balanced by an inward coriolis force.

Which type of cloud tends to warm the Earth?

High, thin cirrus clouds

Antarctic Ozone hole

Hole formed above Antarctica discovered in 1979 causes by CFC

Why did the US refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol?

It did not place enough restrictions on emissions from developing countries and was therefore unfair.

Water management of the demand side

Recycle water waste, water wise crops, low flow fixtures

Keeling Curve

Shows CO2 tren over th elast 60 years, shows effect of plants on CO2 concentrations. Used in IPCC reports

What drives salinity?

Solar heating

Which property of Earth is not affected by the Moon

The length of a year

Which property of Earth is not affected by the Moon?

The length of a year

What is dendrochronology?

The study of the growth of tree rings

Which of the following is a negative feedback for glaciation?

The terrestrial biomass feedback

What is not true of an El Niño event

The thermocline raises in the eastern Pacific.

What do we call a type of ecosystem classified by its climate

Biome

Where did Earth's atmosphere and oceans come from?

They were outgassed by volcanoes and They were outgassed by volcanoes.

Where did Earth's atmosphere and oceans come from

They were outgassed by volcanoes. and They were brought in by comets.

La Niña can be considered an enhancement of the normal conditions in the tropical Pacific.

True

The planet can regulate temperature based solely on albedo

True

The sun rotates faster at the equator than at it's poles

True

What do the trade winds push

warm equatorial waters west

El nino occurs when the walker circulation what?

weakens

If all arctic sea ice is gone in 2100, what would happen

lower albedo

Moons effect of earths tilt

stabilizes the rotation axis, without it the tilt would vary by up to 85 degrees

What could droughts lead to

reduced glaciers and shortage of drinking water

Thermocline

temperature change dominates the density gradient in the pycnocline zone and the temperature drops rapidly with increasing depth

If all remaining mountain glaciers melted, by how much would the sea level rise just due to this?

40 cm

3.8 bYA the sun was how much brighter than it was today

70%

What would earths albedo be is clouds didn't exits

.1

What does the IPCC AR5 predict about sea level rise

.5-1.0 m. by 2100

If we completely stop burning fossil fuels how much would the earth continue to warm by

.6 C

How many degrees has earth warmed since 1850

.8 C

What is snows albedo

.8-.9 and it decreases as it get dirty

How much did the global average surface temperature rise during the 20th Century?

0.8 C

How much did the global surface temperature increase during the 20th Century?

0.8oC

How much warmer was it 125,000 YA

1 degree C warmer and sea level was 6 m. higher than today

How long will it take to return to preindustrial CO2 levels

1 million years

What percentage of Earth's biomass are consumers (heterotrophes)?

1%

Approximately how long does it take the global thermohaline conveyor belt to recycle all of the deep water in the oceans

1,000 Years

On what timescale does the deep ocean come into equilibrium with surface concentrations of CO2?

1,000 years

3 acre farm, how many pounds of food can you grow in 20 yrs.

1,000,000 lbs.

If you can harvest all of the runoff from 1 inch of rainfall from a 2,000 square foot home, how many gallons of water will you have?

1,250 gallons

Why is ice important for climate?

1. High Albedo is important for temperature regulation. 2. Latent heat of fusion aides thermal inertia 3. Ice/ snow high insulation to thermal inertia

What is the importance of the cryosphere in determining Earth's climate

1. Its high albedo leads to a positive feedback. 2. Its latent heat of fusion and insulating properties lead to high thermal inertia. 3. Permafrost melting can release CH4.

What does the AR4 predict to happen by 2100

1.4 to 4 deg. C increase

How much CO2 does fossil fuel release

1/10 as much as photosynthesis but it is not in balance

In two half lives how much material will remain

1/4 of the original amount

What percentage of snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere lasts through the summer

10%

Approximately when did the last ice age end?

10,000 YA

The Ozone hole should return to natural levels in

100 years

Over what time period does Earth's orbital eccentricity vary?

100,000 years

How many times higher is the CO2 release from fossil fuel burning than from volcanoes?

100x higher

Fossil Fuel burning release of carbon

100x larger than the CO2 released by volcanos

What isotope ratio do scientists use as a proxy for photosynthetic rates?

13C/12C

By what percentage has CH4 increased since 1750

150%

During glacial periods what is the ocean water enriched with

180

When was the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer discovered over Antarctica?

1985

Approximately how long ago did atmospheric O2 begin to rise?

2 BY

Suppose that humanity continues to burn as much fossil fuel as we can until we run out. What is the peak atmospheric CO2 level that we will reach by the year 2500?

2,100 ppm

How much warming do computer models predict will occur if the concentration of CO2 increases to 600 ppm if they include the water vapor feedback?

2.4 C

How much warming does the recently-published IPCC AR5 predict will occur by 2100?

2.5 - 6oC

What does AR5 predict by 2100

2.5 to 6 degree C increase

What does nuclear energy make up

20 % of Us electricity and 8% of total US energy

How much has sea level risen since 1880

20 cm.

If all ice on Earth were to melt, what percentage of the current land surface would be submerged by rising sea level?

20%

If all the ice melted how much would be submerged

20% of land

How much does the IPCC predict that permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere will be reduced by the middle of the 21st Century

20-35%

If fossil fuel burning were to increase at 5% per year starting right now, in approximately what year would we reach 800 ppm of atmospheric CO2?

2027

If fossil fuel burning continues to increase at 2% per year, in approx. what year will we reach 800 ppm. of atmospheric CO2

2050

At what latitude will the sun be located directly overhead on June 21?

23.5o N latitude

How much did the minimum arctic sea ice decrease between 1979 and 2005?

30%

How much has the sun brightened over its 4.5 billion year lifetime?

30%

How much water can permafrost contain

30%

The Stern Review predicted that the long-term cost of adapting to climate change would amount to what percentage of the global gross domestic product (GDP)?

30%

Over the past 600 million years, when was atmospheric O2 at its highest concentration.

300 million years ago

By how many degrees Celsius is the Earth's surface warmed by the greenhouse effect on average?

33 C

What is the average salinity?

35 parts per thousand

Carboniferous Period

360-300MYA heavily oxygen rich at its maximum. Responsible for giant insects and much plant growth

During solar maximum, how much brighter is the ultra violet radiation emitted by the sun compared with solar minimum?

3x brighter

What is the rate of continental drift?

4 cm/year

How thick are ice sheets

4 km thick

What is the maximum thickness a glacier could be before the extreme pressure, coupled with geothermal warming, would melt the ice?

4 km.

Approximately how old is the Earth

4.5 billion years

Approximately how old is the Earth?

4.5 billion years

What percentage of the total incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the ground

45%

How does the per-capita consumption of fossil fuel in the US compare with the global average?

4x higher

What is Us consumption of fossil fuel per person

4x the world average

By 1990, the tropical rainforests had been reduced to approximately what percentage of their prehistoric cover?

50%

What percentage of its flux does our sun emit in the visible range?

50%

When does evidence suggest humans live din N. America

50,000 YA

How many times more dissolved carbon do oceanic reservoirs contain than atmospheric reservoirs

50x

How far back can fossil provide clues about past climate

540 MY or less

By how much would sea level rise if the antarctica ice sheet melted

57 m.

How many main glacial periods has Earth had in its lifetime?

6

Approximately when did the Holocene climatic optimum occur?

6,000 years ago

When did the Holocene Climatic Optimum occur?

6,000 years ago

If humanity burns all of the fossil fuel, by approximately what percentage will atmospheric carbon rise?

600%

By how much would sea level rise if the greenland ice sheet melted

7 m.

KT Extinction

75% of all species went extinct, marine and land based organisms were effects. Theories, sudden sea level change, sharp temp fluctuation, volcanic eruptions, meteorite impacts. High concentrations of iridium ere found at the KT Boundary layer

When did "Snowball Earth" occur?

750 M.y.a.

Up to what angle does the surface water move the direction of the wind

90 degrees

How much of earths ice is contained in the greenland and Antarctica glaciers

99%

How does the Stern Review propose to mitigate climate change?

A carbon tax

What do scientists think caused the Younger Dryas to occur?

A shutdown of the thermohaline circulation

Unstable equilibrium

A state in which the system will remain if left undisturbed, but even slight disturbances will carry the system to some other (stable) equilibrium state

Pycnocline

A steep density gradient, caused by temp. and/or salinity change, that marks the transition between the surface zone and the deep ocean. Stable layer

Halocline

A steep salinity gradient in the pycnocline zone that marks the transition between the surface and the deep ocean and salinity rises rapidly with increasing depth

Giant impact hypothesis

A theory of lunar formation in which the moon forms as the result of a glancing collision between earth and a mars sized body

Holocene Climatic Optimum

A warm period that occurred during the mid Holocene 6,000 YA. conditions were wetter in Africa and there is evidence of cattle raising in Sahara

Things that are good emitters of electromagnetic radiation are also good _____________ of electromagnetic radiation.

Absorbers

Snowball Earth

Almost all life extinct, glaciation on all present 7 continents. Evidence from tillites, glacial striations and dripstones. Atmospheric CO2 was drawn to low levels. Theories are positive loops between ice albedo and surface temp.

What causes the "anti-greenhouse effect?"

CH4 haze

Which greenhouse gas is especially good at absorbing Earth's peak emission at a wavelength of 15 micrometers?

CO2

Worst case scenario for CO2 emission

CO2 rises to 1,000 ppm by 2100 and show no signs of slowing

According to the IPCC, what will happen to the atmospheric concentration of CO2 if we reduce emissions significantly by 2050?

CO2 will level off at 550 ppm by 2100

In the inorganic carbon cycle, dissolved minerals and CO2 combine to form what substance on the sea floor?

CaCO3

CACO3

Calcium carbonate

CH2O

Carbohydrate important in photosynthesis

CO2

Carbon Dioxide

What is 12C/13C used for?

Carbon dating organic material

Eccentricity

Causes the distance from the sun to change, which changes the amount of sunlight reaching earth

Precession

Change in the direction of Earth's rotation axis

Which country currently is the largest emitter of CO2?

China

If you are in a boat on the ocean in a region coinciding with the ITCZ, what kind of weather are you likely experiencing?

Clear, dry

What is not considered part of the cryosphere?

Cloud ice

What does Ekman transport cause to happen in the center of gyres

Convergence and upwelling

Are the centers of sunspots hotter or cooler than the avg. surface temp of the sun

Cooler, areas around the sunspots are hotter than the surface

Little Ice Age

Cooling in N. Atlantic from 1500 to 1950. It preceded by wet, cold condition in 1300's, leading to the black plague. Caused by volcanic activity temporarily cooling the earth

What does temperature do with depth?

Decreases with Depth

Gyres in the S. Hemisphere

Deflects water to the left

Abiogenesis

Development of life

What does Ekman transport cause to happen at the equator where the easterly trade winds are strong

Divergence and upwelling

What is the primary evidence that the Earth froze all the way to the equator during "Snowball Earth?"

Dropstones and glacial striation found in Australia

What contributes to the cycle of glacial periods

Earth's rotation axis changes over time

What causes salinity to vary?

Evaporation, precipitation, and freezing and thawing

Over the past 700,000 years, approximately how often have glaciations occurred?

Every 100,000 years

Approximately how often did glacial periods recur on Earth between 700,000 years ago and 2 million years ago?

Every 40,000 years

What caused the Permian extinction?

Extreme volcanism in the Siberian Traps.

Feedbacks important to glacial cycle

Ice Albedo and CO2 concentration

From which type of paleoclimate evidence do scientists extract data on atmospheric CO2 concentration?

Ice cores

Which positive feedbacks are important in the glacial cycle?

Ice-albedo feedback and Marine organic CO2 feedbacks

Where is the marine ecosystem the most productive

In regions of deep upwelling

What does salinity do with depth?

Increases with depth

Earth emits electromagnetic radiation primarily in what range?

Infrared

The evidence that a large meteor impacted the earth and killed the dinosaurs consists of the presence of what element in the KT boundary layer?

Iridium

What is not true of ocean circulation?

It is drive by solar heating

Where does most of the 14C on Earth originate?

It is formed in the upper atmosphere

Why is the stratosphere warmer at the top than at the bottom?

It is heated by O3 absorbing UV radiation

How did Earth's average temperature 125,000 years ago compare with global temperature today?

It was 1 C warmer

During the time of the dinosaurs, how did atmospheric CO2 concentration compare with today's levels?

It was 4x higher than today.

How did the sea level 125,000 years ago compare with the sea level today?

It was about 6 meters higher.

What happens when snow accumulates dust

Its albedo is lowered and it melts faster.

Why does air rise when it is heated?

Its density decreases.

Which planet is responsible for removing most of the leftover planetesimals from the solar system so that giant impacts on Earth are rare events?

Jupiter

Which emission scenario is the least effective in mitigating climate change?

Kyoto

Marine Inorganic Carbon Cycle

Largest reservoir

What percentage of energy in the US currently comes from renewable sources?

Less than 10%

What does the fact that hyperthermophiles are close to the root of the phylogenic tree of life suggest about where life may have originated?

Life may have begun in deep ocean ridge vents.

Albedo

Measure of reflectivity of a surface.

CH4

Methane

Over Earth's history, does the atmospheric concentration of O2 generally increase whenever CO2 decreases and vice versa

No because CO2 is influenced by more than photosynthesis

Which two processes have caused the 20 cm sea level rise

Mountain glacier melting and thermal expansion of water

What causes the year without summer

Mt. Tambora eruption in 1816

What effect does the perihelion and aphelion have on seasons

N. hemisphere winters are slightly milder than S. and somewhat shorter because the planet moves faster at the perihelion. Also, N. hemisphere summer tend to be longer and milder than S.

Composition of Early Atmosphere

N2, CO2, other gases but virtually no oxygen

Does the high correlation of CO2 and temp indicate that CO2 is driving temperature changes

No, correlations does not equal compensation. CO@ and temp vary in concert with each other due to positive feedback

Terrestrial organic carbon cycle

Nutrients that leave the biosphere form into earth until they are eroded or drilled and used as fossil fuels

What contributes to half the global heat transfer to the tropics?

Ocean circulation

What plays an active role in establishing continental climates?

Ocean currents

What does not contribute to Ekman transport

Ocean temperature

Water Vapor Feedback

One of the most important feedbacks in the climate system. If Earth's temp decreases, water vapor conduces out in the form of rain or snow, leaving less water vapor behind in the atmosphere. This reduction would cause a corresponding decrease in the greenhouse effect which would lower surf. temp. further (positive feedback)

CH4 +2O2 =CO2 +2H2O

Oxidation of Methane, putting in carbon

O3

Ozone

Ideal gas law

PV=mRT

CO2 + H2O + sunlight = CH2O (carbohydrate) + O2

Photosynthesis, Taking out carbon

What type of organism primarily comprises marine producers (autotrophes)

Phytoplankton

Upwelling results in what?

Phytoplankton blooms and marine vegetation

Montreal Protocol

Placed strict limitations on Freon and halon emission

If increasing temperature leads to decreasing sea ice cover which leads to reduced insulation over the ocean, what type of feedback process is this?

Positive

Kyoto Protocol

Proposal to reduce emission to 5% below 1990 level. 182 countries complies, US did not

CH2O+O2 =energy + CO2 +H2O

Respiration, Putting in carbon

Venus orbits the sun at 0.72 times the distance that Earth does. Given that the solar flux at Earth is S = 1366 W/m2, calculate the solar flux at Venus using the inverse square law.

S = 2,635 W/m2

Haline

Salt

What is the most imminent economic threat to low lying island nations with regard to sea level rise

Salt water contamination of fresh water and agriculture

Is 13C unstable or stable?

Stable

What do scientists believe is the reason that the earth stopped warming between 1940 and 1970?

Sulfate aerosols caused increased reflection of sunlight and therefore cancelled any warming.

Perihelion is January 3. How does this affect the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) when compared with an eccentricity of zero?

Summer is longer and less intense.

11-year sun spot cycle

Sunspots are caused by the twisting of the sun's magnetic field lines, which kink and then realign every 11 years

Given that the albedo of Venus is 0.8, use the value of S calculated in the above problem to solve for the Temperature of Venus in the absence of global warming. The value of the Boltzmann constant is s = 5.67x10-8 W/m2/K4 Use the following formula:

T = 219 K

Which volcanic eruption is believed to have caused the "year without a summer?"

Tambora

What have we learned about ancient climate from the Antarctic ice cores?

Temperature and CO2 concentration vary in concert with each other.

Which of the following statements is true of the Pleistocene age?

Temperature and CO2 vary in concert due positive feedbacks.

What do climate models predict would have happened to global temperatures since 1965 if CO2 increases are not included?

Temperatures would have decreased.

Temperature and CO@ negative feedback

Terrestrial biomass

Examples of Mountain glaciers

The Alps, himalayas, and andes

The hypothesis that the earth behaves like a self-regulating living organism is called

The Gaia hypothesis

What would we call a complete circuit of air rising at the equator, moving poleward, sinking at the poles, and returning to the equator?

The Hadley Cell

Many of Earth's deserts coincide with the meeting place of which circulation cells?

The Hadley cell and the midlatitude cell

The cryosphere is considered to be part of which component of the Earth system?

The Hydrosphere

Which Era on Earth was the warmest?

The Mesozoic

What do we call the negative correlation between sea-level pressure between the western and central Pacific

The Southern Oscillation

flux

The amount of energy (or photons) passing through a given area per unit time

Which region on Earth is experiencing the fastest climatic warming?

The arctic

What would happen if the air inside a hot air balloon had a higher density than the surrounding air?

The balloon would be negatively buoyant.

Divergence

The currents rotate in the opposite direction and results in upwelling

What happens during a Milankovitch cycle?

The direction of Earth's rotation axis precesses.

According to CO2 data from ice cores, when did the atmospheric concentration of CO2 first begin to increase due to human activities?

The early 19th Century

What happens to the oceans when the atmospheric concentration of CO2 increases?

The oceanic CO2 concentration increases and the pH decreases.

What do we call the region of global circulation where warm dry air from the midlatitude cell meets cold, moist air?

The polar front

Aphelion

The position in a planet's orbit that is farthest form the sun`

Perihelion

The position of the planet's orbit that is closest to the sun

Suppose you have an ideal gas in a rigid container of a certain volume. What would happen to the pressure of the gas if you doubled the temperature? (Assume the volume is unchanged.)

The pressure would be 2x the original pressure.

Photosynthesis

The process by which an organism such as a green plant uses sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce organic matter and oxygen

Desertification

The process of fertile land transforming into desert typically as a result of deforestation, drought, and improper agriculture

Origin of Atmospheric 02

The production f oxygen by evolved organisms that were capable of oxygenic photosynthesis eventually led to the establishment of our modern, 02 rich atmosphere

Where on Earth is the troposphere the thickest?

The tropics

In which layer of the atmosphere does the greenhouse effect primarily take place?

The troposphere

Impact Degrassing

The venting of water and other volatile compounds directly into a planets atmosphere during impacts of comets or asteroids. Is though to be the cause of the formation of the oceans

How would seasons generally compare with earth if obliquity was 0 and eccentricity was .2

The winter would be longer and the summers would be shorter

According to the faint young sun paradox, the early Earth should have been well below freezing. What was the primary reason that the early Earth was above freezing?

There was a greater greenhouse effect due to CH4 back then

What effect did the 1997-1998 El Niño event have on the United States

There were mud slides along the California coast.

If there was no land, what would happen to gyres?

There would be none

What property of the greenhouse gasses H2O and CO2 allows them to absorb IR radiation?

They are triatomic

What did Stanley Miller and Harold Urey accomplish with their famous experiment?

They formed amino acids from simple chemicals.

How did the first humans get to america

They walked across a land bridge across the bering sea during the last ice age

How long can permafrost stay frozen?

Thousands of years

Triatomic

Three atom molecule that can vibrate in 3 ways. More complex molecules have more different modes of vibration and rotation and can interact with light in more ways

What do we call composite stones that are formed when glacial movement scrapes together an amalgamation of mud and various rocks?

Tillites

Which direction does Ekman transport push surface water in the gyres

To the center of the gyre

The Coriolis force causes wind to bend in which direction in the Northern Hemisphere?

To the right

Atmospheric circulation plays a more important role in climate than the ocean circulation

True

Atmospheric circulation transports just as much heat the poles as the oceans do

True

Ekman Transport is partly due to the Coriolis effect

True

Which portion of Antarctica is warming the fastest?

West Antarctica

When do snowflakes form?

When atmospheric pressure is low enough that ice crystals form directly from water vapor

If there were no land what would currents be driven by?

Wind and rotation

Stable equilibrium

a state in which the system will remain left undisturbed and to which the system will return when disturbed

Perturbation

a temporary disturbance of a system Ex: volcanic eruptions and meteoric impacts

Hypothesis

an educated guess that has not been tested

Autotroph

an organism that can derive its energy for growth and reproduction from either solar or chemical energy (producer)

Consumers

animals, fungi, and bacteria

Smallest reservoir in chart

atmospheric CH4 (methane)

what risk does snow and grauple cause when falling together?

avalanche and instability

Where is the densest water located

bottom of ocean

How does snow cover vary in the NH seasonally

by more than a factor of 10

Excess CO2 in the ocean forms

carbonic acid

Salt water intrusion

caused by rising sea level and will result in low lying aquifers being unstable

how does seasonal change is sun angle effect the flux

causes less flux in winter than in summer

Spread of humans across the globe is due to

changing climate

Deforestation

clear cutting and agriculture release carbon into the atmosphere from the trees and soil

In which direction do gyres rotate in the Northern Hemisphere?

clockwise

What does the Ekman Transport drive

coastal upwelling and down welling

What does equatorial upwelling bring up?

cold, deep, water

Westerly/ easterly winds mean

coming from the west/ coming form the east

Changes in air density create

convection cells controlled by high and low pressure zones

What causes plate tectonics

convection int he earths mantle

What is atmospheric circulation fueled by?

convections due to solar heating

When does sea ice form

each winter near the poles as ice crystals form out of sea water at -1.8 degrees C

Agricultural adaptions to climate change

earlier planting, harvest, and more drought tolerant crops

Positive feedback

effect adds to cause (unstable)

Moons effect on tides

effects oceanic and atmospheric circulation

In which direction do tornadoes rotate in the Northern Hemisphere?

either direction

Visible light

electromagnetic radiation of moderate energy and a relatively narrow rang of wavelength from about 400 to 700 ppm. Withing this range the color of light depends on its wavelength

Volcanisms relation to climate

eruptions can eject sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere, where they can remain for several year and cool the earth

When do the continents clump together

every 500 MY

La Nina occurs when the Walker circulation what?

gets stronger

Evidence of glacial acitvity

glacial striation, dropstones, erratics, moraines and ocean sediment cores

Evidence of Pleistocene Glaciations

glacial striation, dropstones, erratics, moraines, ocean sediment cores

Examples of Continental glaciers

greenland and antarctica

C4 plants

growth dependent on CO2. Can grow at lower CO2 and higher temp than C3. Ex: corn, sugarcane, some weeds

Paleozoic Era

had much variability, detailed fossil record

What slows the progression of springtime warming

high albedo and high thermal inertia of snow

High clouds feedback

high altitude cirrus clouds cause warming and outweigh any increase in low altitude stratus cloud, which cause cooling (positive feedback)

Proxy Data for determining past climates

ice cored, palynology, dendrochronology

how does grauple form

if conditions are right for the presence of super cooled water droplets to come in contact with a slow flake

What is 13C/12C used for?

if material ever contained life

Has solar luminosity increased or decreased over the suns lifespan

increased

What type of radiation do greenhouse gasses absorb?

infrared

What occurs during solar max.

intensity of visible light is only .1% higher, but intensity of UV radiation is 3x higher

What determines the flux on an object

inverse square law

How are wavelength and frequency related

inversely

Vertical changes in deep oceans are

large

We can determine the age of the solar system by analyzing which isotopes in meteorites

lead

We can determine the age of the solar system by analyzing which isotopes in meteorites?

lead

Nice Model

model stating impacts happened all at once instead of over millions of years

Studies indicate that since 1972, hurricanes have become

more intense

If humanity burns all available fossil fuel, how long do scientists believe would it take for the atmospheric CO2 to return to its pre-industrial level?

more than 1 million years

Where are the majority of deserts located

near 30 degree N. and S. latitude

Why is sea ice constantly in motion

ocean currents

What is the reservoir pertaining to ocean acidification

ocean dissolved CO2

Temperature and CO2 positive feedbacks

permafrost, Marine Biological, Shelf nutrient

How is flux measured

perpendicular from the direction of the source

Gyres in the N. Hemisphere

pushes water to center of the gyre

Water Management on the supple side

rainwater harvesting, larger reservoirs for storage, more efficient transport, desalination

Residence time equation

reservoir size/ rate of change

Are rocks semi permanent or permanent reservoirs

semi permanent

Renewable energy sources

solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, biomass

Where the slope is low how much sea level rise could 1 m. mean

several km of retreat

Wave lengths relation to energy

short wavelength=high frequency=high energy

Is deep water circulation slow or fast? Why?

slow, because the ocean is largely stable

The deep ocean absorbs CO2

slowly

Horizontal changes in the deep oceans are

small

Which of the following atmospheric components has negative radiative forcing?

sulfate aerosols

Equation for half life

t1/2 of 14 C= 5730

Half life

the amount of time it takes for half of the material to decay

What does flux depend on

the angle at which light strikes the surface

Radiative forcing

the change in the outgoing flux cause by a change in the concentration of a particular gas. units w/m^2

What is Thermohaline Circulation

the circulation of the deep ocean; driven by density differences that result form variations in temperature and salinity

Deserts are located at

the convergence of two cells

Flux at sun vs. poles

the difference in flux is due to curvature in the earth and is why the poles are colder

What does biodiversity take into account

the different roles that different types of life play in the food web

Moons effect on Plate tectonics

the impact the created the moon is also responsible for plate tectonics

Wavelength

the length between the peaks

hydrological cycle

the major reservoirs of water in the earth system and the pattern of water storage and movement throughout that system

Biodiversity

the number of species in a given area

What is atmospheric circulation fueled by

the sun

What is the correlation between O2 and CO2

there is no correlation because CO2 is influenced by more than just photosynthesis

Convergence

thermohaline is pushed down which leads to downwelling at the center of the gyres

Cloud heating

they are made of H20 and absorb and re-emit OLR, which contributes to the greenhouse effect

Obliquity

tilt of the axis, this can vary from 22.5-24.5 degrees and causes the seasons

Temperature and CO2

vary are in concert with each other due to positive feedback.

How does volcanism release CO2

very slowly at 1/1,000 the rate of photosynthesis/respiration

What does the sun emit in

visible, IR and UV

El Nino surface temperatures

warm water migrates eastward and waters in the central pacific are colder than normal

Cambrian Period

warmer than today. large increase in biodiversity, rise of multicellular organism in the ocean. First land animals

Mesozoic Era

was much warm than today, age of the dinosaurs, extensive fossil evidence because of large animals warmer ocean waters, absent ice caps

When is 14C formed?

when cosmic rays hit 14N in the atmosphere

Sunspots

where magnetic field lines poke out of the surface of the sun