CHP 19

Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

photosynthesis

In the last few decades, global warming has been most strongly affecting the climate and wildlife of ________ regions.

polar

Carbon sinks have generally matched the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere until ________.

the onset of intensive industry and fossil fuel burning by humans, around the year 1850

What is the main reason that the Earth has a hydrosphere dominated by liquid water?

solar heating from the Sun

This image shows the ice-core record based on oxygen isotope data. Based on this graph, when did our most recent interglacial begin?

11ka

This graph shows the changes in CO2 concentrations over the last 55 years or so. Based on the graph, estimate what percentage increase we have seen in CO2 since 1965. (Remember, the graph does not start at zero!)

25%

Models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that by the year 2100, the average annual temperature will have increased in some parts of the world by as much as ________.

4°C

Plate tectonics has caused many unidirectional changes over the Earth's history. Which of the following best describes why plate tectonics still continues to occur on our planet?

An internal heat source has kept the asthenosphere weak enough to flow.

The following two images show a set of data derived from an ice core record and a separate set derived from a marine sediment core. Which statement BEST describes a relationship between the two data sets?

Because sediment cores are able to preserve much older data than ice cores, due to the fact that ice flows and melts, the sediment core shows a longer time span, but in less detail.

How are carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere affected by tectonic uplift of rocks and their resultant chemical weathering?

CO2 is removed from the atmosphere.

Which of the following best explains how the carbon cycle plays a role in climate change?

Changes in the carbon cycle affect the amounts of greenhouse gases, which influence climate.

Which of the following best describes the Earth's climate history?

Climate on the Earth has varied between icehouse and greenhouse periods throughout the Earth's history.

How are pollen species used to interpret ancient environments?

Different plant species live in different climates.

How are greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane different from other atmospheric gases like nitrogen and oxygen?

Greenhouse gases are more efficient at absorbing thermal energy and reradiating it than the other atmospheric gases.

Which of the following gases has the greatest total importance in retaining heat energy in the Earth's atmosphere?

H2O (water)

How does our modern concentration of atmospheric CO2 compare with CO2 during the past 800,000 years of Earth's history?

It is greater today than at any time in the past 800,000 years.

Throughout Earth's history, sea level has fluctuated greatly. This image shows changes in eustatic sea level over the last 500 million years. Based on the graph, which of the following statements is FALSE?

Sea level dropped steadily over the course of the Mesozoic.

The figure below shows three different computer-model projections about the rate of global warming. Look at the figure to determine which of the following statements is FALSE.

Some of the emission models show potential decreases in global temperatures by the year 2100.

Based on the figure below, how does the change in global temperature since the Industrial Revolution compare with temperature change in the past thousand years?

The temperature has increased, and at a very fast rate.

How would a time in the Earth's supercontinent cycle when there was much formation of oil shale deposits, coals, and limestones affect the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the Earth's atmosphere?

There would be a decrease in the total CO2 in the atmosphere.

What distinguishes weather from climate?

Weather is the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere; climate is the range of likely conditions based on many years.

The amount of solar energy reflected by a surface is known as ________.

albedo

The greenhouse effect is caused by ________.

atmospheric gases, which trap heat radiated from the Earth's surface

Which greenhouse gases play the most significant role in influencing changes in global atmospheric temperature?

carbon dioxide and methane

Which of these is the longest-lasting sink for carbon dioxide?

carbonate minerals in limestones

The image below shows different parts of the carbon cycle, the balance between released carbon and absorbed carbon. Which of the processes shown produces anthropogenic CO2?

combustion

Which of the following represents a unidirectional change in the nature of the Earth?

differentiation of the layers of the Earth

Global albedo was _______ during times of cooler global climate when there was more land surface covered by ice.

higher

The primary cause of global warming since the Industrial Revolution is understood to be ________.

increased burning of fossil fuels

This graph shows the change in CO2 concentrations over the last half century or so. What is responsible for the annual variation shown in the inset?

increased photosynthesis during the northern hemisphere summer

Milankovitch cycles describe variation in the Earth's ________.

orbit and tilt

Glacial ice cores provide a record of past temperatures based on

oxygen isotopes in the ice's water molecules.

The ratio of oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 isotopes in plankton fossils in deep-sea sediments can be used to determine ________.

past temperatures

Changes that occur ________ are called ________ changes.

repeatedly; cyclic

Evolution of species and mass extinction events are biological examples of ________ global change.

undirectional

The end of intense bombardment of the Earth's surface by asteroids was an example of a__________ change.

unidirectional

The image below shows different parts of the carbon cycle, the balance between released carbon and absorbed carbon. Which of the following processes does not absorb carbon?

volcanic eruptions

Which of the following processes releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

volcanism

During most of the Mesozoic Era, the Earth was ________.

warmer than present

With the increased data collected in recent years, scientists have become increasingly certain that the Earth's climate is ________.

warming as a result of human inputs of atmospheric greenhouse gases

The following graph shows eustatic sea level throughout history. One factor that drives sea level is the amount of water sequestered on land in the form of ice. Based on this information, and by reading the graph, when was Earth the coldest in the last 500 million years?

~240 million years ago