Meteorology Exam 3
Approximately what percentage of Antarctica's sea ice melts every year?
100%
In the Milankovitch theory, the cycle corresponding to changes in the eccentricity is _____ years
100,000
The Little Ice Age spanned what time frame?
1300-1855
The year without a summer occurred in ____
1816
What time period was colder than 95% of all temperatures in the past 11,000 years?
1900-1909 AD
Glaciers have been experiencing a slow melt for over 100 years. What year did the melting rapidly increase?
1970
What year did the northern polar ice cap start a more rapid melt?
1970
In the Little Ice Age, the average global temperature was about ___ degrees Celsius below what it is today
2-3
If Antarctica's land based ice completely melts, the sea level will rise by how many feet?
200 feet
If Greenland's land ice completely melts, the sea level will rise by how many feet?
21 feet
In the Milankovitch theory, the cycle corresponding to changes in precession is ____ years
23,000
If the ocean conveyor belt were to shut down it is thought that it could send us in a minor ice age. This could happen in a time period of ____
3-10 years
The carbon dioxide concentration today is about ____
400ppm
In the Milankovitch theory, the cycle corresponding to changes in Obliquity is ____ years
41,000
A reasonable amount of time to examine trends to be considered as climate is about ____
80 years
About what percent of the Glaciers worldwide are retreating?
95% or higher
A term that refers to global warming being caused by humans is ____
Anthropogenic
What is the most dominant factor in the Milankovitch theory?
Change in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit around the Sun
The little Ice age was probably caused by _____
Conveyor Belt shutting down
The Most reliable temperature data used to construct climate records going back 500,000 years is found from ____
Ice Cores
The melt season in the Arctic is from _____
March 21st- September 21st
The last time the CO2 concentration was greater than 300ppm in the last 650,000 years was ____
Never
Most temperature data that goes back 400,000 years or so is based on ___
O18/O16 isotope ratio
Sulfur Dioxide added to the atmosphere is a ____ feedback to Climate Change
Positive
The melting of the arctic cap is a ____ feedback to climate change
Positive
What was the time period referred to that preceded the Little Ice Age?
The Medieval Warm Period
It is thought that the Little Ice Age is responsible for wiping out ___
The Vikings
What might be reliable evidence that global warming is occurring?
The average temperature of the Earth gradually increasing since 1970
The year without a summer was a result of ____
The eruption of Mount Tambora
The pan evaporation data since 1950 suggests that ____
The rate of evaporation has been decreasing since 1950 suggesting that solar radiation has been decreasing since 1950
T/F- A warmer Earth will result in more Hurricanes
True
One of the results of the Little Ice Age is ____
We drink more beer and hard liquor as opposed to wine in the US
What cold spell may have been caused by the conveyor belt shutting down?
Younger-Dryas
If Antarctica's sea ice completely melts, the sea level will rise by how many feet?
Zero
If the Arctic sea ice completely melts, the sea level will rise by how many feet?
Zero
A greenhouse gas is one that ______
allows visible light to pass but traps outgoing infrared light
The study of tree rings to determine past climate is known as ____
dendrochronology
In the past 400,000 years, the rise in temperature occurs before the rise in CO2 levels. For the first time in history, CO2 levels are rising before temperature. One explanation for this is ____
global dimming is masking the real impact of the Greenhouse Effect
The main problem associated with the melting of the Arctic ice cap is _____
ice reflects 90% of sunlight while water absorbs about 80%
Methane added to the atmosphere is a ____ feedback to Climate Change
negative
Carbon Dioxide added to the atmosphere is a ____ feedback to climate change
positive
For the past 10-12 years, the temperature of the Earth has been steady, not increasing or decreasing. However, the carbon dioxide concentration is still increasing. The most likely reason for this is _____
sulfur emissions from China are cooling the globe canceling out the warming due to CO2
One possibility for the cause of the Little Ice Age is ____
the Maunder Minimum
A cooling trend occurred from 1940-1970. Afterwards the Global Temperature began to increase again. One possibility for this sudden change is ____
the enforcement of the Clean Air Act
