ENVS Chapter 9

How much did CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use change in the 40 years shown on this graph?

Doubled (from about 14 to 30 Gt)

This graph of ice core data shows that today's CO2 concentration of over 410 parts per million (ppm) is _____.

over 100 ppm greater than any value in the past 800,000 years

Usually ________ eruptions interrupt climate for only a few years, as ash and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere block sunlight and cause earth to cool.

volcanic

Latent heat is important in the climate because _______.

water redistributes heat around the globe

How many countries participated in the 2015 Paris Accord on climate change?

195

How are ice cores used to learn about ancient climates?

Air bubbles within the ice contain tiny samples of the ancient atmosphere.

How does the loss of sea ice produce a positive feedback on a warming climate?

Because ice has such a high albedo, less ice means that more heat is absorbed by the oceans. So, a warm climate creates an even warmer climate.

An important conclusion from this EPICA ice core graph is that _____. (Choose all that apply.)

CO2 concentrations have not exceeded today's 390 ppm for at least 800,000 years changes in temperature closely match changes in CO2

The majority of clean energy investments has gone to the state of _________ which was seen rapid job growth in this sector.

California

There are various technologies available to capture and store__________ _______ . Doing so is commonly known as carbon sequestration

Carbon dioxide

The production of cement adds a significant amount of ______ to the atmosphere.

carbon dioxide

The majority of the atmosphere's mass is contained in the ______.

troposphere

Methane is a more effective greenhouse gas compared to carbon dioxide.

true

True or false: Approximately half of the solar energy that reaches earth's atmosphere never makes it to the surface.

true

Large investments in ______ in countries such as Zambia and Peru show that developing countries are investing in renewable energy.

wind and solar installations

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an atmospheric shifting that occurs in the Pacific Ocean, involving changes in ______.

wind, ocean currents, and air and water temperatures

The people that disagree with humans role in________ change primarily do so because of group identify and not science.

'climate

Rank the following countries by their current total contribution to global warming through emissions, with the highest emitter on top of the list.

1. China 2. United States 3. Western Europe 4. India

Rank the following surfaces in order of decreasing albedo. The surface with the highest albedo should be on top.

1. Fresh Snow 2. White Sand 3. Green Forest 4. Black Soil

Match the climate change misinterpretation to a scientific explanation. 1. Our modern lifestyle requires high CO2 emissions. 2. A cold, snowy winter indicates the climate is not cooling. 3. Scientists don't know everything. matches 4. Current climate change is completely natural. 5. Climate has always changed, so this is nothing new.

1. Higher standards of living are recognized in countries that have smaller emissions than those in North America. 2. Regional weather patterns will change, with some places actually becoming cooler and wetter. 3. The volume of evidence collected so far supports the current warming trend is due to human activity. 4. Many natural processes cause climate change, but our huge output of greenhouse gases likely is causing very rapid change. 5. Recent changes appear to be much more rapid than what has occurred in the past.

The Gulf Stream strongly affects regional climates. Order these stages in the movement of the Gulf Stream, starting with the first stage at the top.

1. Solar Heating in the Gulf of Mexico 2. Circulation in the North Atlantic draws warm water. 3. The warm current carries heat to northern Europe. 4. Near Iceland, warm water cools.

Order the layers of our atmosphere. Place the layer nearest earth's surface at the bottom of the list; put the outermost layer at the top of this list.

1. Thermosphere 2. Mesosphere 3. Stratosphere 4. Troposphere

Recall the steps in the development of El Niño conditions by putting these stages in the correct order from top to bottom.

1. Upwelling ocean currents weaken near Peru. 2. Currents pushing warm water westward 3. Warm water shifts to east toward Chile. 4. Sinking air causes drought in Indonesia

The thermohaline circulation system in the ocean is driven by differences in ocean __________ and ____________.

1.temperature or heat 2. salinity or saltiness

Latent heat refers to _______. (Select all that apply.)

580 calories of energy per gram of water vapor energy that is released when water vapor condenses energy stored in water vapor in the atmosphere

The EPICA ice core record, the longest one so far, reaches back _______ years.

800,000

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

A treaty of 160 nations agreeing to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions

What is the Gulf Stream?

A vast current of warm water that brings heat from the Caribbean to northern Europe

Match the area with the name of the correct convection cell.

A. Hadley B. Farrell C. Polar

Why does it tend to rain or snow on mountaintops?

Air cools, as it is forced up over a mountain, causing water vapor to condense.

What two atmospheric CO2 trends are shown on the Keeling curve?

CO2 concentrations vary annually in response to plant growth and decay. CO2 has increased from 1958 to 2018.

According to this graph, which greenhouse gas has increased the most in total emissions from 1970-2010?

CO2 from fossil fuel use

The Milankovitch cycles are natural, long-term cycles that alter earth's climate. Identify the Milankovitch cycles from the list below. (Choose all that apply.)

Change in the shape of earth's orbit around the sun Change in earth's axial tilt Wobble in earth's axis

The Hadley, Farrell, and Polar are all cells of _______ in the atmosphere.

Convection

Which of the following statements is not one of the "wedges" proposed for reducing carbon emissions?

Cut global trade by 25 percent.

Which of the following describe ozone in the atmosphere? (Choose all that apply.)

Destruction of ozone allows more UV radiation to reach earth. Ozone molecules absorb solar energy. Ozone molecules are concentrated in the stratosphere.

The name of the atmospheric process that allows certain types of energy to pass through to earth's surface while it traps other types of energy is called the __________ _________.

Greenhouse Effect

Match these greenhouse gases (GHGs) to their descriptions.

H2O = The most abundant GHG, but little affected by human activity CO2 = The most abundant human-caused GHG CH4 = The second most abundant human-caused GHG

Match the gases to their relative abundance in the atmosphere.

Nitrogen = 78% Oxygen = 21% Argon and CO2 = 1% Water Vapor = 0-4%

The two most abundant gases in earth's atmosphere are _____ and _____.

Nitrogen and Oxygen

Which of the following is ozone?

O3

We use climate models to discover the causes of recent climate change. How do we know these changes are human-caused?

Observed changes fit models with human inputs better than models without human inputs.

Why are ocean currents important in modifying regional climates?

Ocean currents redistribute heat from low latitudes to high latitudes.

Which of the following statement describes weather? (Choose all that apply.)

Precipitation resulting from circulation in the atmosphere Temporary variations in temperature Storms (short-term precipitation and temperature change)

Choose all the major points agreed upon in the Paris Accord.

Publicly visible, voluntary emission reduction goals Donations to a green carbon fund A goal of 0 carbon emissions

By current estimates, which is cheaper: the costs of dealing with the consequences of climate change or reducing carbon emissions now?

Reducing carbon emissions

Scientists and the public often think differently about climate. Which of these are plausible explanations (generalizations) for this difference?

Scientists have easier access to (more) information. Scientists look at data trends whereas the public are more influenced by specific events.

How do the IPCC reports from 2007 and 2014 compare?

The early reports were too conservative, and likely changes will be more severe.

Which of the following two factors help to create ocean currents?

Wind pushing on the ocean surface Variety in water density

The production of __________creates 4% of all CO2 emissions, with a large part of this coming from China's building boom.

cement

Fugitive emissions of methane come primarily from ______.

leaking oil and gas wells

Greenhouse gas emissions could be quickly decreased by sealing the methane _________ from oil and gas wells.

leaks, leaking, leakage,

Oxygen isotopes are important in understanding temperature from ice core records because ______.

lighter-weight isotopes evaporate more readily in cold years

The Milankovitch cycles refer to ______.

natural climate changes that occur in 26,000- to 100,000-year cycles

Although human activity has not affected the amount of this gas in the atmosphere nearly as much as other greenhouse gases, _______ vapor is the most abundant.

water

Why does it rain?

Air cools, usually by rising, and water vapor condenses.

How much of incoming solar radiation that reaches earth's atmosphere makes it to earth's surface?

50%

Other than reducing greenhouse gas emissions, why would an entity switch to an alternative energy solution? (Choose the most reasonable impetus.)

Alternative solutions are often less expensive in the long run.

The Vostok ice core, which was the first to provide a very long record, was drilled in ______.

Antarctica

What is the title of the y-axis in this graph?

Billions of tons of carbon emitted/year

Which of these countries is more responsible for climate change through emissions than the others?

China

Which of the following are effects of El Niño? (Choose all that apply.)

Droughts in Australia and Indonesia Warm, sunny weather in the Pacific Northwest Intense storms and heavy rains from California to the Midwest

The conditions represented in this image are known are _______ and ______.

El Nino

Which of the following statements are among the "wedge" approaches to reducing CO2 emissions? (Select all that apply.)

Increase vehicle efficiency. Capture CO2 from coal plants. Reduce car dependence. Replace large coal-fired power plants with gas plants.

The IPCC, or the _____, reviews scientific evidence.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Occurring in 1997, the ________ Protocol was an agreement by 160 countries to cut CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions to a certain level by 2012.

Kyoto

Which of the following produce significant amounts of methane that could be captured, with a dual purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating an energy source?

Landfills Oil wells Coal mines

This natural gas is a very effective absorber of energy in the atmosphere. It is produced in many ways through the decay of organic matter in the absence of oxygen.

Methane or CH4

IPCC's most recent report suggests that which of the following are likely to occur in the next 100 years?

Sea level rise of 1-2 meters An overall temperature rise of 2-4°C

What wealthy nation and leading producer of greenhouse gases refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol?

The United States

What is the data-based (scientific) response to the idea that there are no current energy systems that could replace our current one?

There are many options, and there are business opportunities associated with them.

How are developing countries doing (2014-2107) on investments in renewable energies?

They are investing nearly the same amount as developed countries.

Why might using wind turbines, solar power, and hydropower be a more stable long-term energy supply for a country?

They are not reliant on other countries for their energy supply.

What was the U.S. response to the Kyoto Protocol?

They declined to participate.

What happens to coral reefs as ocean temperatures warm?

They lose their symbiotic algae.

The _______varies in thickness: it is thinner over the poles because air there is cold and dense.

Troposphere

Match these atmospheric layers to their characteristics.

Troposphere = Turbulent; becomes cold at elevations of several km Stratosphere = Extremely stable; warms slightly with elevation, as ozone absorbs solar energy Mesosphere = elevation Located roughly between 50 and 85 km of elevation; cools dramatically with elevation Thermosphere = Warms dramatically with height due to ionizing radiation

Per capita, the people of the ______ produce more CO2 emissions than the other countries listed.

United States

What is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere of earth?

Water vapor

Which of the following are effective heat-trapping greenhouse gases? (Choose all that apply.)

Water vapor (H2O) Methane (CH4) Nitrous oxide (N2O) Carbon dioxide (CO2)

The oceans are becoming more ________ as temperatures rise and they absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere.

acidic

Convection currents in the troposphere move heat and moisture around the globe through _________ circulation.

air

This graph shows that since about 1970, observed mean temperatures on land (black line) fit best the range of models that include ______.

anthropogenic plus natural causes (pink shading)

The Keeling curve, created from measurements taken on the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, shows ______ since 1958.

atmospheric CO2 concentrations steadily increasing

The idea of wedge analysis is that very large problems ______.

can be broken down into small and reasonable tasks

The greenhouse effect refers to the fact that certain gases in the atmosphere, such as methane, ______

capture and retain some energy in the atmosphere

The IPCC's mission is to _____.

collect and synthesize scientific evidence on climate change

Air circulates in the troposphere in large vertical and horizontal ______.

convection currents

Recall the steps in the development of El Niño conditions by filling in the blanks: Upwelling ocean ____________ near Peru weaken; currents pushing ___________ water westward from Chile to Indonesia weaken; warm water shifts to the__________ toward Chile; and sinking air causes drought in Indonesia and Central America.

currents, warm, east

Two degrees of warming will most likely cause ______ to increase. (Choose al that apply.)

droughts climate refugees heat wave deaths sea levels

Improving the _______ of buildings, vehicles, and power plants constitutes the major of wedge strategies to reduce carbon emissions.

efficiency

Alternative energy and transportation solutions, such as biking instead of driving a car somewhere, are often less ______ than their counterpart.

expensive

Excess carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the oceans, atmosphere, and terrestrial settings comes primarily from ______.

fossil fuel combustion

Countries such as Sweden and Denmark have reduced their carbon emissions by switching to renewable energy sources such as ______.

hydropower biogas wind solar

Particularly in the United States, the study of earth's climate has turned into an argument based on ______, and not on science.

politics and identity

As sea ice melts, it leaves behind ocean water that has a much lower albedo, thereby creating a ________ feedback on a warming climate.

positive

The costs of not reducing greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to ______ of annual global gross domestic product (GDP).

range widely between 5 and 20%

Albedo is an important factor in climate dynamics. Another word for albedo is ________.

reflectivity

Besides the atmosphere where it acts to absorb heat given off by earth, excess carbon dioxide produced by humans is also absorbed by ______. (Choose all that apply.)

terrestrial ecosystems the oceans

Countries in ______ have the highest per capita CO2 emissions.

the Middle East

The density of water is controlled by temperature and salinity, and in turn drives worldwide movement of seawater through the ______________circulation system.

thermohaline

One of the reasons that we personally dispute climate change is that we find the idea ______.

threatening

The difference between weather and climate is mainly that ________.

weather is short-lasting and local; climate involves long-term patterns

The number of climate ________will likely increase dramatically if temperatures rise by just 2°C, as both sea levels and droughts will both increase, displacing large numbers of people.

refugees

When is the benefit of a wedge analysis solution noticed?

About 50 years after implementation