AOS 1 Final answer key

Where did modern humans emerge roughly 200,000 years ago?

Africa

Use the following graph to determine which of the following statements is true.

Organic carbon is part of the aerosol types that contribute the second-most to negative radiative forcing

The method of simulating processes that are too small-scale or complex to be physically represented in a climate model is known as...

Parameterization

How is precipitation expected to change in the Los Angeles region in the future?

Precipitation amounts don't change much, but more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow at higher elevations.

Describe why salinity is higher in the subtropics than it is over the equator.

Salinity is higher in the subtropics than it is over the equator due to the effects of evaporation. When water evaporates in these regions, the concentration of salt increases. This is because there is less water for the salt to dissolve in, meaning higher grams of salt per KG.

Warming of the ocean surface contributes to all of the following processes except 1. A decline in oxygen levels on the ocean surface 2. Thermal expansion 3. ENSO variability 4. Increased stability

ENSO variability

Match each aspect of the Milankovitch Cycle with each of the descriptions. Eccentricity Obliquity Precession - This is the primary cause and affects the extremity of Earth's seasons. - This impacts the extremity of perihelion and aphelion. - A cyclic wobbling in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation with a period of 25,772 years.

Eccentricity This impacts the extremity of perihelion and aphelion. Obliquity This is the primary cause and affects the extremity of Earth's seasons. Precession A cyclic wobbling in the orientation of Earth's axis of rotation with a period of 25,772 years.

What is the meaning of the term "ensemble-mean" in the context of climate change literature?

Even under the same forcing scenario, GCMS give a variety of answers regarding future climate change. The ensemble-mean outcome refers to the average of these answers across the GCMs

In which season of the year should you expect to have more CO2 emissions, worldwide? Consider both human and natural sources.

FALL

During El Nino, there will always be drier conditions than normal in Southern California.

FALSE

A flood return period of 100 years means a greater chance to be flooded compared to a return period of 20 years. T/F

False

The "4.5" in the RCP4.5 scenario means that the temperature by the end of the 21st century would be 4.5 degrees Celcius warmer... T/F

False

True/False: Santa Ana winds are expected to become more frequent and more intense in the future.

False

True/False: Sea breezes occur when air at the surface moves from land to sea.

False

Which of the following is NOT a downside (con) to renewable energy production?

Geothermal plants, despite constant energy production, are still major producers of greenhouse gases.

Why is the Montreal Protocol regarded as an example of a successful agreement to combat a global environmental problem?

It nearly eliminated worldwide production of CFCs

You notice very tall clouds forming in the upper atmosphere. What type of energy transfer is most responsible for this?

Latent heat flux

_______ diverse ecosystems are _______ sensitive to disruption. Higher biodiversity allows ecosystems to be more resilient.

Less diverse ecosystems are more sensitive to disruption. Higher biodiversity allows ecosystems to be more resilient.

Which of the following statements is false?

Many plants will grow slower as CO2 levels continue to increase in the atmosphere.

What is the main reason climate scientists are concerned about the loss of permafrost in the Arctic?

Melting permafrost will initiate a POSITIVE feedback associated with methane.

Reforestation is one process that can absorb anthropogenic carbon. Which of the following choices is correct:

Much of the forest today is re-growing.

This phenomena is responsible for the glacial-interglacial cycles because it impacts how Earth receives solar radiation.

Natural Milankovitch cycles

Match each concept with its definition. Radiative Forcing Climate sensitivity Climate Feedback - A response of the climate system to a given radiative forcing - A process that can either amplify or diminish the effects of climate forcings - An increase/decrease in the radiative energy budget of the planet (in W/m2) due to an external influence on a characteristic of the climate system

Radiative Forcing An increase/decrease in the radiative energy budget of the planet (in W/m2) due to an external influence on a characteristic of the climate system Climate sensitivity A response of the climate system to a given radiative forcing Climate Feedback A process that can either amplify or diminish the effects of climate forcings

Which of the following is an example of internally-generated climate variability?

ENSO

Which of the following is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity?

Carbon dioxide

Which of the following is true about current climate change in the Arctic region?

increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet

If the albedo of a planet were to decrease, how will this decrease in albedo affect the temperature of the planet?

it would increase global temperature

What is the consequence of the increase in CO2 (carbon dioxide) concentrations?

Carbon dioxide retains part of the radiation from the Earth surface.

Which of the following countries currently produces the highest level of carbon dioxide emissions?

China

What evidence do we use to prove deep convection and circulation in the ocean?

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Plants grow by using sunlight to combine _______________ to produce ________________

carbon dioxide and water carbohydrates and oxygen

Greenhouse gases are primarily responsible for warming a planet by what process?

creating heat through atmospheric chemical reactions

Is the statement "approximately 70% of human emissions have been absorbed by the ocean", TRUE OR FALSE?

false

What would you expect to find at a latitude with the value 80°?

glaciers and icebergs

For deep ocean convection to occur, surface waters should have:

high salinity and low temperature

Where is deep water formation most likely to occur?

North Atlantic

The image below shows the global average surface temperature change from 1950 to 2100: Which of the following explain why the next 30 years will experience similar warming no matter what RCP scenario we follow? Select all that apply.

- Natural variability - Specific heat capacity of water - Aerosol-cloud interactions - The climate system will still be adjusting to past radiative forcing.

Select all that increase the chance of destructive fires close to forests and wildlands:

- The building boom over recent decades - long-term changes in meteorological factors - fire suppression resulting in buildup of fuel

Assume that the orange curve is the warming distribution in a new warmer world. By how much the probability of hot days increase?

10%

Convert 4 Gt of carbon to Gt of CO2. (Pick the appropriate equation(s), from the ones given at the top of the page, to make this calculation)

14.66

According to the figures shown below, in which year can you statistically separate the two different scenarios projected by the IPCC?

2020

The plot below shows the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship, which gives the saturation concentration of water vapor as a function of temperature. If a parcel of air has 5 grams per kilogram of moisture and a temperature of 25 degrees C, what is its approximate relative humidity?

25%

The weather says that the forecast for tomorrow is 73°F / 22.77°C and sunny. What is this temperature in Kelvin?

295.9 K

The plot below shows the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship, which gives the saturation concentration of water vapor as a function of temperature. A parcel of air has 5 grams per kilogram of moisture and a temperature of 25 degrees C. What is the approximate relative humidity if the parcel is cooled down by 10 degrees C? (So that it's at 15 degrees C).

50%

What is the approximate wavelength spectrum of photons being emitted by an object that is 100°C?

7.77 micrometers

Ekman drift refers to the mechanical response of the ocean to wind blowing across its surface. In what direction is the NET water movement in relation to the direction of the wind?

90 degrees

Which of the following is a consequence of more frequent and intense heatwaves to humans?

A rise in core body temperatures overall

What process is most likely responsible for the unusually warm period from roughly 1930 to 1950 that characterizes the global average Earth's surface temperature?

A warm phase of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

What kind of information can be revealed by ice cores?

CO2 by trapped air bubbles

Which of the following greenhouse gases is the biggest contributor to ocean acidification? Nitrous Oxide Carbon Dioxide CFC's Methane

Carbon Dioxide

The amount of incoming solar energy that is reflected by the planet is known as what?

Albedo

Which statement is NOT correct?

An increased albedo (reflectivity) would cause an increase of Earth's temperature

What of the following is NOT evidence for past glaciations?

Analysis of real temperature values in the last 7000 years.

The image below shows the different IPCC scenarios and the exceedance rate of extreme heatwaves. Historically, we exceeded the 90th percentile just 10% of the time (by definition). What is the exceedance rate for 2020? Hint: Use the purple lines that correspond to the year 2020 as a reference.

Between 20% and 30%

What are some of the sources of carbon emissions? Check ALL that apply:

Burning oil and derivatives of oil Burning Coal Land use change Cement Production

What molecule does the 'Keeling Curve' track over time?

CO2 (carbon dioxide)

Briefly (2-3 sentences) explain why invasive species are also a concern due to climate change.

Climate change may expand habitable zones for certain invasive species, and bring them into ecosystems which they normally would not inhabit. These species can prey on the native wildlife present in a certain area and, therefore, disrupt the existing food web balance which exists.

Choose the statement that best describes the relationship between climate change and heat extremes.

Climate change will shift the natural variation of temperature, leading to a greater likelihood of extremely hot weather.

Why is the ocean so cold here along California's coastline?

Coastal upwelling

Climate change might have significant impacts on the cryosphere, hydrological cycle, and ecosystems. Match the impacts that are likely to happen in the future: Cryosphere Hydrological cycle Ecosystems -Species migrate poleward -Atmospheric water vapor concentrations increase -Springtime snow cover over North America continent decreases

Cryosphere Springtime snow cover over North America continent decreases Hydrological cycle Atmospheric water vapor concentrations increase Ecosystems Species migrate poleward

Which of the following is NOT a predicted direct impact of climate change? Sea level rise Deforestation Stress on natural ecosystems Intensification of hydrological cycle

Deforestation

Which of the following is not considered a greenhouse gas? water vapor nitrous oxide diatomic nitrogen carbon dioxide

Diatomic nitrogen

Which of the following is an important process that removes CO2 emitted by human from the atmosphere?

Dissolution in oceanic waters

What is an alternative name for conduction when considering the transfer of heat between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface?

Sensible heat flux

What type of radiation is most responsible for the greenhouse effect?

Shortwave radiation from the atmosphere

The Coriolis effect is the defection of ocean water cause by Earth's rotation. Match to what direction the effect acts in to the correct hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere Northern Hemisphere to the left; to the right

Southern Hemisphere To the left Northern Hemisphere To the right

The ozone layer is located in this layer of the atmosphere:

Stratosphere

Match the Latitude Regions with the names associated with them, as presented in class: Subtropics - High Latitudes - Mid-Latitudes - Tropics -

Subtropics - 20-35 degrees south and 20-35 degrees north High-Latitudes - 60-90 degrees south and 60-90 degrees north Mid-Latitudes - 35-60 degrees south and 35-60 degrees north Tropics- -between 20 degrees south and 20 degrees north

Density of seawater is influenced by..

Temperature and salinity

Which of the following is FALSE about species migration:

Terrestrial species are expected to be unable to track warming in the absence of human intervention

Which of the following best characterizes the challenge terrestrial species might face in adapting to a changing climate?

The habitat suitable for the species will shift geographically, and if the rate of climate change is too rapid, the species will not be able to move quick enough.

This figure shows that warming is more pronounced over land areas than oceans. Why is this the case?

The heat capacity of water is greater than that of land

Which of the following statements is NOT a reason ecosystems will be challenged in adapting to a changing climate?

The intensification of the hydrological cycle will increase ecosystem biomass everywhere.

What is the fate of anthropogenic carbon dioxide? Name the three sinks and roughly what percentage of CO2 they sequester (2-3 sentences)

The ocean carbon sink, which takes up about 23% of carbon emissions, occurs when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in seawater. The land carbon sink, which accounts for the intake of 31% of emissions, occurs due to the photosynthesis which results from both forest regrowth and CO2 fertilization. The atmospheric sink, which consists of CO2 that remains in the atmosphere, accounts for 46% of total human carbon emissions.

The heat capacity of the ocean is WHAT compared that of the land?

The ocean has more heat capacity than the land.

How is the pH of the oceans expected to change in future climates?

The pH will decrease

Which of the following factors makes it hard to predict the impacts of climate change in the Los Angeles region?

The presence of many different 'microclimates' that vary at scales of few tens of kilometers, much smaller than current global climate models.

FIGURE 1 is a representation of the Planck function, which describes the spectrum of radiation emitted by an object, for two different objects.

The right curve represents the object with the colder temperature

How do we know the Montreal protocol was successful?

The size of the 'ozone hole' is shrinking

Briefly summarize why the two panels (shown below) provide direct scientific evidence for an "extremely likely" role for humans in the global warming trend of the past century.

The top graph shows a GCM with anthropogenic forcing, and the bottom graph shows a GCM without anthropogenic forcing. The observed global mean temperature, shown by the black line, aligns more closely with the GCM that includes anthropogenic forcing. This indicates that anthropogenic forcing is the reason why observations and theory are aligned, and proves that climate change can be attributed to human activities.

Which of the following best describes why the warming climate of the 21st century will probably be associated with significant increases in the frequency of flood events?

The warmer air will generally contain more moisture, so rainfall rates will be larger on average, leading to more frequent flood events

The hydrologic cycle will likely intensify in association with an increase in greenhouse gases. Which of the following is true of this projected intensification?

The world experiences a uniform increase in evaporation, but a non-uniform increase in precipitation.

Which of the following best describes the primary driving force behind ocean circulation?

Tides generated by the ocean's interaction with the gravitational fields of the earth and the sun set the surface waters in motion

If the Pacific equatorial region receives roughly the same amount of solar radiation, why do we see a 'Western Pacific Warm Pool' off of eastern Australia?

Tradewinds push the warm water from East to West, accumulating the warming there

What is the layer of the atmosphere where nearly all the weather events happen?

Troposphere

Among terrestrial species, trees will probably have the greatest difficulty adapting to a changing climate. T/F

True

Species suited to the coldest environments could lose their habitat due to climate change. T/F

True

How do changes in evapotranspiration translate to changes in water consumption?

Under warmer temperatures, you will still need more irrigation because plants will evapotranspirate at a larger rate when the air around them is warmer

What evidence supports that the precession of the earth's spin axis, changes in the obliquity (or tilt) of the earth's spin axis, and changes in the eccentricity of the earth's orbit around the sun have caused climate changes over the past 2 million years?

Variations in the total amount of ice on land have occurred on the same timescales as those associated with these variations in the earth's orbit.

The _______ circulation/cell, help us to explain _______

Walker; ENSO

What is the primary reason the average area burned by wildfires is projected to increase in the Los Angeles region by mid-century under the RCP8.5 forcing scenario?

Warmer temperatures will lead to an increase in fuel aridity and thus a tendency to increase the number and size of fires during the summer.

Which of the following sentences best describes thermal expansion?

Warmer water takes up more room than colder water, increasing its volume

Which of the following is NOT predicted by the end of the 21st century in either the RCP 2.6 or RCP 8.5 scenarios?

Warming will be higher over the oceans than over the continents.

Is the following temperature profile stratified?

Yes

In the last century, how is the Earth's climate characterized?

a general warming trend

In an area of upwelling, we observe...

a strong supply of nutrients that favors phytoplankton growth.

Which of the following tropical Pacific anomalies is associated with El Niño?

a warming near the equator in the central and eastern sectors of the Pacific.

Which of the following is NOT a factor that has contributed significantly to global-mean radiative forcing since the pre-industrial era?

the change in the eccentricity of the earth's orbit around the sun

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is associated with ...

the rising branch of the Hadley cell, resulting in a band of clouds throughout the tropics.

Which statement best highlights the difference between climate and weather?

weather is the exact state of the atmosphere and climate is the statistics of the weather