ENVS Chapter 12 Quiz
When was the IPCC created?
1988
The older ice core records show that carbon dioxide levels range from a low of about 180 to 190 parts per million (ppm) to a high of 280 to 290 ppm. More recent ice core records show a level of ______ and an increase of _____ .
380ppm and 2ppm/year
Where do the CO2 emissions resulting from human activities go?
60% to the atmosphere 20% to the ocean and 20% to terrestrial ecosystems
What is the Kyoto Protocol?
A binding agreement between the world's industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gases 5% below 1990 levels
What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?
An international organization of climate experts formed to study climate change and make recommendations to world governments
Biologists collected crabs from tidepools and tested their response to temperature in the laboratory. What did they find was the crab's reaction to an increase in water temperature?
As temperature increased, crab heart rate increased until it stopped
In 2001, what did climate scientists conclude?
Average global temperature had increased by 1°C by the burning of fossil fuels
Why is there a high degree of uncertainty in the predictions about future climate change?
Because no scientists have have ever observed atmospheric carbon dioxide at today's level
To make sure that all plots experienced the same conditions other than those being manipulated, each site was outfitted with heat lamp structures to ensure______remained constant.
Bird droppings
CO2 is considered the most important greenhouse gas because:
CO2 is emitted in far larger quantities than other greenhouse gases
Global warming potential (GWP) is a unit used to compare the estimated climate impact of a greenhouse gas in comparison to an equivalent amount of
Carbon Dioxide
The video explains that the scientists use oxygen isotope ratios to estimate the atmospheric temperature when the ice froze; what have they found that seems to follow the temperature trend for the last 650,000 years?
Carbon dioxide levels
Anthropogenic climate change is defined as:
Climate change due to the increase of greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities
Climate change has been observed to make several major weather system alterations with major impacts globally. How is climate change associated with more frequent dust storms from Africa reaching the Caribbean?
Climate change is altering the North Atlantic Oscillation to drive more dust storms from Africa Climate change is rapidly warming the Indian Ocean, altering major air circulation patterns Climate change is increasing drought throughout Africa, resulting in drier conditions and more dust
Important findings from the Vostok ice-core studies include:
Climate change is not always slow or steady CO2 concentrations documented since the industrial revolution are the highest in 650,000 years In the past 650,000 years,temperature fluctuations have been accompanied with fluctuations in CO2 In the past 650,000 years, CO2 concentrations have never exceeded 300 parts per million
What are aerosols and how do they relate to global climate change?
Compounds suspended in the atmosphere that reflect heat energy from the sun
Due to climate change, what new territory are the caribou seeking?
Cooler uphill areas
One impact of the changing climate observed in coral reefs is _____:
Coral Bleaching
How do the ecologists track the Porcupine River caribou population over time?
Counting caribou based on aerial photos
The video explains that the scientists use oxygen isotope ratios to estimate the atmospheric temperature when the ice froze; the also use the presence of another chemical (sulfates) to identify ______ in the ice core records.
Droughts
What is the reported link between the increasing rate of asthma among children and coral health reduction in the Caribbean.
Dust storms from Africa appear to be driving both phenomena
What did a recent review of more than 40 scientific studies find were the broad impacts of climate change on plants animals and natural ecosystem processes?
Earlier spring events, range shift northwards and a shift in organismal communities towards those that are more heat-tolerant
According to the video, in both laboratory and in field experiments an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide always resulted in an increase in plant biomass.
False
Since the year 1955, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have remained constant.
False
True or False: All areas of the globe are experiencing the same level of increased heating due to climate change
False
True or False: CO2 is the only greenhouse gas we need to be concerned about:
False
True or False: The earth's climate has always been the same it is now.
False
True or False: The reduced caribou population will only have impacts on the natural ecosystem and food chain.
False
True or False: With climate change, all areas are expected to become warmer and dryer.
False - Some areas are expected to become wetter and some dryer
True or False: All ecosystems will be harmed by climate change.
False- Some ecosystems could benefit from climate change, at the same time that many are harmed
Which of the following impacts of global climate change have already been observed?
Higher global average temperatures Changes in snow cover Changes in growing seasons Rising sea levels
Climate scientists believe that CO2 levels during the Eocene period (55 million to 38 million years ago) were _______ they are today.
Higher than
What are GCMs?
Highly detailed computer models that simulate the complex climate systems to understand the effects of each component
During global cooling periods, also known as ice ages, global ocean levels were lower because __________.
Huge volumes of water were trapped in glaciers and continental ice sheets
Other experiments around the country are verifying the results at Jasper Ridge, and most have found that if you wish to increase plant biomass by increasing carbon dioxide levels, you must ______.
Increase sunlight
From the following, choose two that are ways that climate change is predicted to result in increased sea level?
Increased erosion of seashores, raising the ocean bottom and increasing sea level AND Increasing of glacier melting - adding some 30 million cubic kilometers of water to the oceans
How does earth's natural greenhouse effect work?
Insulating the planet by trapping heat and preventing it from leaving the atmospher
Climate researchers report that modelling climate change is complicated because the climate system contains many feedbacks. What do they mean by feedbacks?
Interactions between components of the climate system that can either magnify or constrain climate change
Why is it so surprising that tropical glaciers in high mountains near the equator have also been found to be melting, something that hasn't happened for thousands of years?
It's surprising because the temperature at high altitude near the equator is very stable and doesn't fluctuate much between summer and winter.
What are the caribou running from?
Longer mosquito season
Which of the following is not an important paleoclimate record that scientists have studied to better understand the earth's past climate history:
Measuring global average temperature because the climate can't have changes that much from its current state
What is the effect on caribou of climate change's altered winter snowfall?
More snow leaving less access to dried lichen (wintertime Caribou food)
What is the effect on caribou of climate change's altered spring storms?
More spring rainfall - higher river levels drowning calves during migration
Warmer temperatures in Alaska is resulting in:
More winter rain and snow
Does the increase in Alaskan temperature make survival easier for the caribou and other native organisms?
No, because the change in climate is very rapid and the organisms won't have time to adapt
Over the past thousand years, average global temperatures have varied by less than:
One degree
What is one expected effect of climate change on undesirable species:
Overall increase in undesirable species as the conditions that support them increase worldwide
By moving to new territory, what are the caribou giving up?
Rich foliage in the valleys
What was the main technological development that allowed the drilling of tropical glaciers?
Solar Panels and an electric drill
The observed sudden decline and recovery of the zooplankton population was tied to a regime shift. What is a regime shift?
Sudden rearrangement of oceanic cold and warm water masses
What is the greatest movement of life on the planet?
The daily migration of ocean zooplankton up the water column
What is different about the increase in CO2 concentrations and temperature estimated for the Eocene period (55 million to 38 million years ago) compared with the current anthropogenic increase?
The increase in CO2 in the Eocene likely occurred over tens of millions of years, whereas anthropogenic CO2 increase is on the scale of hundreds of years
How does the increased average temperature relate to mosquitos in Alaska?
The increased temperature is lengthening the mosquito season
What observation have biologists made regarding the tide pool species composition in relation to climate change?
The mix of tide pool species is changing with fewer species
In general, when organisms are forced to live in warmer conditions than their optimal environmental conditions, what is the effect on the organism?
The organisms exhibit a stress response reducing survivorship with increasing disruption of environmental conditions
In response to climate change, what is happening to the Porcupine River caribou population?
The population is decreasing
Following the zooplankton reduction observed in the 1980s and 1990s, what happened to the zooplankton population?
The population rebounded and recovered
Scientists have been drilling ice cores in the arctic for decades. Which of the following is NOT an advantage to drilling ice cores from glaciers in the tropics?
The tropic glaciers are much easier for scientists to reach
At what level of involvement is the U.S. with regard to the Kyoto Protocol?
Uncommitted to the treaty on economic ground: only having signed but not ratified the treaty
What is the most broadly-supported international agreement on climate change?
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
