ENSC 120 Test 1
Which areas of the world contribute to climate change LEAST by the burning of fossil fuels?
Africa and Latin America
There are two major anthropogenic sources of CO2. One is fossil fuel combusion. The other is ________________.
Cement Production
Which of the following statements is true regarding the role of CFCs on ozone depletion?
Free chlorine atoms contribute directly to ozone depletion.
What chemical was promoted to replace CFC's but then turned out to have its own problems as a potent greenhouse gas?
HFC's
What is the name of the first global treaty that worked to alleviate climate change?
Kyoto Protocol
Where did the 1987 meeting that limited use of chlorofluorocarbons take place?
Montreal
Making agricultural and other adjustments in response to climate change is called __________.
adaptation
The Dobson Meter measures the ozone thickness in the stratosphere:
based on the UVA:UVB ratio
Acidity __________ as pH decreases.
increases
The greenhouse effect is caused by atmospheric gases trapping what kind of radiation?
infrared
common source of formaldehyde in the indoor air environment
laminated wood products
common source of acetone in the indoor air environment
nail polish remover
Climate is the result of long-term __________ patterns in a region.
weather
To date, the global climate has warmed _____ degrees C over baseline.
0.8
Based on the amout of greenhouse gases already released into the atmosphere, we are "locked in" to a rise in global average temperature of ___ degrees C.
1.5
Tomato juice has a pH of 4.0. How many times more acidic is lemon juice, which has a pH of 2.0?
100 times
The Paris Climate Accords seek to hold global warming to ___ degrees C over baseline. However, the actual committments from the participants allow for a warming of ___ degrees C over baseline.
2, 3.5
We looked at data for 10 "lines of evidence" regarding climate change. Overall, what did we find?
All point to global climate change, except for Antartica, which is inconclusive
What is the acronym for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's standards that regulate fuel economy in motor vehicles?
CAFE
Which of the following greenhouse gases is entirely anthropogenic in origin and its use has been banned?
CFCs
Which of the following would best neutralize an acid?
CaCO3 or limestone
Which of the following is true regarding the El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO)? - La Niña events tend to result in warmer global temperatures, and El Niño events tend to result in cooler temperatures. - El Niño and La Niña events are directly caused by global warming. - La Niña events cause global warming. - ENSO events have been linked to the reversal of trade winds in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
ENSO events have been linked to the reversal of trade winds in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Your friend is a firm believer in the Gaia theory. When it comes to climate change, what does he think will happen?
Earth will naturally correct climate change.
Which of the following has been most clearly associated with climate change?
Extreme dry events in the tropics.
A new supervolcano erupts in Indonesia. Which of the following effects would you expect to be dominant at a global scale
Global cooling from sulphate in the stratosphere
To prevent the tipping point after which catastrophic environmental change will happen, what needs to be done?
Global greenhouse gas levels must peak no higher than 450 ppm and start declining by 2015.
A volcanic eruption increases the amount of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere. If all other atmospheric variables remain stable, what would you expect to happen to temperatures?
Global temperatures will decrease.
Which of the following questions is best addressed by studying ice samples from Antarctica?
How have the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide changed in the last 100,000 years?
Suppose less water evaporates from the world's oceans. Given that water vapor is a greenhouse gas, what will happen to mean global temperature if all other atmospheric variables remain the same?
Mean global temperature will decrease.
Which of the following is true regarding the Kyoto Protocol?
Neither China, nor India, nor the United States is participating in the Kyoto Protocol.
If all volatile organic compounds (VOCs) suddenly disappeared, what would happen to ozone concentrations in the troposphere?
Ozone concentrations in the troposphere would decrease
You work for the Environmental Protection Agency and receive a sample of lake water with a pH of 4.1. Where is this sample most likely from?
Pennsylvania
Which of the following is true regarding the greenhouse effect and climate change?
The greenhouse effect is a natural effect. Climate change is a result of an enhanced greenhouse effect caused by an increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Which of the following best describes cap-and-trade programs?
They were already in use by the European Union before 2010.
If fossil-fuel burning continues to increase, what will happen to the acidity of the oceans?
They will become more acidic.
Naturally, ozone is constantly being made and disassembled in the stratosphere. What causes the natural breaking apart of ozone in the stratosphere?
UV rays from the sun
Gasoline, paint solvents, and organic cleaning solutions release which of the following compounds into the atmosphere via evaporation and incomplete combustion of fossil fuels?
VOCs
The equation for the creation of ozone at ground level is: Sunlight + NOx + ________ = Ozone
VOCs
Climate change is about more than just warming. We also looked at changing precipitation patterns. Which of these is consistent with what we are seeing in the US?
Wetter in the Northeast, Dryer in the Southwest
Which of the following locations is most likely to have a temperature inversion (cooler air below and warmer air above) that results in large amounts of trapped air pollution?
a city in a valley with large numbers of people who use personal vehicles to commute
Define the ozone "hole"
a complex phenomenon in polar regions that results in the release of seasonally large amounts of chlorine, which breaks down ozone.
common source of toluene in the indoor air environment
adhesives
In what part of the world are we seeing the largest changes in temperature?
arctic
Of the following choices, which one would be most effective at eliminating photochemical smog?
banning gasoline-powered vehicles
What is the most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas?
carbon dioxide
The Clean Air Act mandated setting standards for what secondary pollutant?
carbon monoxide
Which one of the following types of scientists would most likely be interested in the information we can learn from ice cores from Antarctica?
climatologists interested in climate change
What approach to control pollution is exemplified by the Clean Air Act before the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments were enacted?
command-and-control
CFCs primarily contribute to the destruction of the ozone by
contributing free chlorine atoms, which act as a catalyst in the breakdown of ozone.
The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) can be thought of as a giant, complex __________.
conveyor belt
common source of trichloroethene in the indoor air environment
dry cleaned clothes
Which of the following industries would be most impacted if the Environmental Protection Agency mandated the elimination of sulfur dioxide from the air?
electrical utilities
Which of the following would have the largest impact on reducing the release of methane into the atmosphere?
eliminating cattle farming
Which of the following best describes a command-and-control approach to decreasing air pollution?
fining a utility company for emitting too much sulfur dioxide
common source of benzene in the indoor air environment
fossil fuel combustion
Methyl bromide, one of the gases responsible for ozone destruction, has been used widely as a(n):
gas that is pumped into soil to kill fungi
When we compare the magnitude of the various FORCING FACTORS on climate, which of these is the strongest in the direction of warming the planet?
greenhouse gases
The principle behind a hybrid electric vehicle is that it
has a battery-powered electric motor in addition to a conventional engine.
The thermohaline circulation pattern that dominates our ocean currents is based on which of the following?
how temperature and salinity affect the density of seawater
Sulfur dioxide reacts with which of the following to produce sulfuric acid?
hydroxyl radicals (OH)
Which of the following have opposite effects on climate change?
increased cloud cover and increased fossil-fuel burning
The problem with human-caused air pollution began with which "revolution" during the 1800s?
industrial
Which of the following air pollutants has shown the greatest percent reduction in emission in the United States from 1970 to 2013?
lead
In the Greenhouse Effect, energy from the Sun enters the atmosphere and heats up the Earth. This energy is re-radiated back into the atmosphere as ________________________ which is trapped by greenhouse gases.
longer-wavelength radiation
Melting permafrost in the Arctic can cause a positive feedback loop of warming. What gas is released from permafrost that causes this effect?
methane
What is the term for efforts that decrease greenhouse gas emissions?
mitigation
Which of the following will increase the planetary albedo?
more volcanic eruptions and more low clouds
If we take a sample of ice from 10 meters beneath the surface and find that it is 1,000 years old, where would we need to look for ice that is about 10,000 years old?
much deeper, about 100 meters below the surface
Alpha-pinene is an example of a VOC that is
naturally produced
Which of the following pollutants can form acids in the atmosphere?
nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides
Photochemical smog is produced when sunlight acts on what two pollutants?
nitrogen oxides and volatile organic carbon compounds
The most recently discovered air pollutants that are stratospheric ozone-destroying molecules are
nitrous oxide (N2O)
If all transportation in the United States were suddenly stopped, in which of the following pollutants would you expect to see the greatest decrease in emissions?
nitrous oxides
Your community is home to a large coal-fired power plant. Which pollutants are most likely to be found in the air?
particulate matter, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, and mercury
Which type of smog is characterized by the creation of ground-level ozone?
photochemical smog
Which of these would NOT contribute to a global increase in temperature?
planting trees
Which of the following provides proxy data for studying the Earth's climatic changes?
pollen deposits at the bottom of lakes
Switching from fossil fuels to _____ energy would significantly decrease the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
solar. nuclear, and geothermal
Many of your city's monuments and gravestones are slowly dissolving. Which of the following pollutants is the likeliest cause of the problem?
sulfur dioxide
What are the three factors that determine the level of air pollution?
the amount of the pollutant entering the air, the amount of space into which the pollutant is dispersed, and the mechanisms by which the pollutant is removed from the air
Ice that formed thousands of years ago is often found to contain tiny bubbles of gas. This gas came from __________.
the atmosphere
f large numbers of houses had their roofs painted white, how would that effect atmospheric temperatures?
they would likely decrease
The ozone layer is crucial for filtering out __________.
ultraviolet radiation
What is the most abundant greenhouse gas?
water vapor