Midterm 2, midterm 2 h7

As the Earth cools, the atmosphere holds ____ water vapor and that tends to cause the atmosphere to emit ____ radiation to space.

"less" and "more"

As the Earth warms, the atmosphere holds ____ water vapor and that tends to cause the Earth to emit ____ radiation to space.

"more" and "less"

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +25 kg/s/m, by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of −5 m?

-125 kg/s

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −3 kg/s/m, what is the final perturbation if a forcing of −9 kg/s is applied?

-3

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −15 kg/s/m, by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of 3 m?

-45 kg/s

What is another way to write 300 Mya?

0.3 Gya

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −8 kg/s/m, what is the final perturbation if a forcing of 4 kg/s is applied?

0.5 m

Borehole paleothermometry reveals a mean global ground-temperature increase over the past ~100 years of

1 K

Ocean acidification puts 60% of the carbon burned by humans into the ocean on a timescale of

1 thousand years

What is the modern estimate for the likely range of Earth's climate sensitivity?

1.5 to 4.5 K

Roughly at what rate are fossil fuels being burned today?

10 GtC/year

The acidified ocean is returned to its original pH on a timescale of

10 thousand years

What is the timescale for a human to grow to its maximum height?

10 years

After ocean acidification and dissolution of calcium carbonate, silicate weathering removes the remaining 20% of the extra carbon still in the atmosphere on a timescale of

100 thousand years

In a business-as-usual scenario, what is a likely concentration of atmospheric CO2 in the year 2100?

1000 ppm

When was the universe formed?

14 Gya

In what year was the greenhouse effect postulated, thereby initiating the field of climate science?

1824

The first prediction of global warming was made in what year?

1896

In what decade did measurements on Mauna Loa first document rising concentrations of CO2?

1960s

In what year did congressional testimony first raise public awareness about global warming?

1988

By how much have Berkeley's warm-season maximum temperatures increased over the past 125 years?

2 K

Roughly at what rate is the atmospheric concentration of CO2 increasing?

2.5 ppm/year

What is roughly the per-capita consumption of oil in the United States?

20 barrels/year

Roughly what fraction of the carbon burned by humans is still in the atmosphere as CO2 after 10,000 years?

20%

If the concentration of atmospheric CO2 increases by 100 ppm, roughly how much more carbon is there in the atmosphere?

200 GtC

What was the preindustral concentration of carbon dioxide?

280 ppm

If Earth's mean temperature increases from 288 K to 291 K when CO2is doubled from its preindustrial concentration, what mean temperature would you expect if CO2 were quadrupled from its preindustrial concentration?

294 K

Given Earth's feedback parameter of -1 W/m2/K, what is roughly its final temperature perturbation in response to a doubling of CO2, which causes a forcing of 3 W/m2?

3 K

What is the modern best estimate of Earth's climate sensitivity?

3 K

What is 3 Gya?

3 billion years ago

What is roughly the per-capita consumption of coal in the United States?

3 tons/year

On planet Zorkon, the effective height of longwave emission to space is at 9 km where the temperature is 210 K. If the lapse rate in Zorkon's dry atmosphere is 10 K/km, what is the surface temperature?

300 K

On planet Cruftulon, the effective height of longwave emission to space is at 3 km where the temperature is 310 K. If the lapse rate in Kruftulon's dry atmosphere is 10 K/km, what is the surface temperature?

340 K

What is the mean of 0, 4, and 8?

4

How much fossil fuel have humans burned?

400 GtC

What is the current concentration of atmospheric CO2?

400 ppm

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +24 kg/s/m, by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of 2 m?

48 kg/s

Roughly at what rate are the ocean and plants absorbing CO2 at present?

5 GtC/year

If the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases by 100 GtC, roughly how much does the concentration of CO2 increase?

50 ppm

How many GtC were there in the preindustrial atmosphere?

600 GtC

If humans burn 5000 GtC in a couple centuries, roughly what will the atmospheric concentration of CO2 be in the year 12017?

750 ppm

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −20 kg/s/m, by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of −4 m?

80 kg/s

Given Earth's feedback parameter of -1 W/m2/K, what is roughly its final temperature perturbation in response to a brightening of the Sun that leads to 9 W/m2 of extra solar absorption?

9 K

What is a GtC?

A billion tons of carbon

What is an AMSU?

Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit

What is the empirical formula for coal?

C or CH

What is the empirical formula for oil?

CH2

What is the empirical formula for gas?

CH4

Photosynthesis is best described by what chemical reaction?

CO2 + H2O + photon → O2 + CH2O

Which is not a contributing factor to the seasonal cycle in atmospheric CO2?

CO2 is a greenhouse gas.

What chemical reaction ultimately removes the excess carbon from the atmosphere and ocean?

CaSiO3 + CO2 → CaCO3 + SiO2

When was most coal formed?

Carboniferous period 300 Mya

Which of the following carbon pools has the largest amount of carbon at present?

Coal

Who is credited with alerting scientists to global warming by documenting the rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Dave Keeling

What is the first molecule that CO2 forms when dissolved in water?

H2CO3

Which chemical reaction describes ocean acidification?

H2CO3 → H+ + HCO3−

In what form is most of the dissolved carbon in the ocean?

HCO3−

Who is credited with alerting the public to global warming with his congressional testimony?

James Hamsen

Who is credited with identifying the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect?

John Tyndall

Who is credited with postulating the existence of a greenhouse effect and thereby kicking off the field of climate science?

Joseph Fourier

When was most oil formed?

Jurassic period 150 Mya

Who created the cloud classification scheme that we still use today?

Luke Howard

Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?

Nitrogen

Atmospheric CO2 decreases most rapidly in

Northern-Hemisphere summer

Respiration is best described by what chemical reaction?

O2 + CH2O → CO2 + H2O + photon

What is Earth's biggest negative feedback?

Planck feedback

Who first predicted global warming and made a calculation of Earth's climate sensitivity?

Svante Arrhenius

From what optical depth into the Sun does the Sun emit light to space?

T=1

How deep into a gas does the gas emit radiation like a solid surface?

T=1

Which of the following federal agencies does not have its own climate model?

USPS

Roughly how much of the recoverable coal have humans used?

a few percent

What is an acid?

a molecule that adds H+ ions to water

The optical depth T for some path of light through a gas depends on

all of the above -density -length -constant k

The purpose of a Stevenson screen is to

all of the other answers

With the exception of high-energy nuclear reactions, which of the following is always conserved?

all the other answers

The radiative forcing by extra greenhouse gases is best described as causing

an decrease of outgoing power

Which causes the greater amount of additional warming?

an increase of CO2 from 300 to 400 ppm

What is HCO3−?

bicarbonate ion

What is CaCO3?

calcium carbonate

Which of the following gases is relatively opaque to longwave radiation?

carbon dioxide

What is CO3−−?

carbonate ion

What is H2CO3?

carbonic acid

Climate sensitivity is the

change in temperature for a doubling of CO2

What do we call a fundamental law of physics that says that stuff is neither created nor destroyed?

conservation law

If the Earth suddenly becomes warmer than its steady-state temperature, the Planck feedback tends to make the Earth

cooler

What is the most certain way to date glacial ice?

counting layers

The acidified ocean is returned to its original pH by

dissolution of calcium carbonate

Coal is

fossilized peat

Natural gas is

fossilized plankton

Why is the sky blue?

gas molecules scatter short wavelengths more than long wavelengths

Roughly how much of the recoverable oil have humans used?

half

The higher the k and/or ρ of some gas in the atmosphere, the ______ the effective height of emission to space.

higher

What is H+?

hydrogen ion

A negative perturbation

is a decrease in the stock from its steady-state level

A positive forcing

is an externally applied increase in the net inflow

A negative forcing

is an externally applied reduction in the net inflow

A positive perturbation

is an increase in the stock from its steady-state level

What is so super about a supercomputer?

it has many ordinary computers connected together

If the height of a sand dune is 50 meters and the net inflow of sand is 10 kg/s, what can we say about this sand dune?

it is not in steady state

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +8 kg/s/m, what happens if we suddenly reduce the height of the dune by 2 m?

it will disappear

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −5 kg/s/m, what happens if we suddenly add 4 m of sand?

it will go back to its original steady state

An AMSU measures temperature at many heights in the atmosphere by measuring atmospheric emission at multiple wavelengths on the side of an oxygen resonance that each have a different

k and so a different τ=1 level

Which of the following is not a positive feedback?

lapse-rate feedback

Which of the following is not one of the primary pieces of evidence for global warming?

lunar brightness records

For climate studies, what are the two most important instruments inside a Stevenson enclosure?

min-temperature and max-temperature thermometers

Which of the following is a violation of conservation of energy?

none of the other answers

Which of the following is a violation of conservation of mass?

none of the other answers

Which of the following is a violation of conservation of momentum?

none of the other answers

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +1 kg/s/m, what is the final perturbation if a forcing of -2 kg/s is applied?

nonsense question because the dune is unstable

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +3 kg/s/m, what is the final perturbation if a forcing of 3 kg/s is applied?

nonsense question because the dune is unstable

What does optically thick mean?

opaque

Large optical depth τ ≫ 1 corresponds to being

optically thick

Small optical depth τ ≪ 1 corresponds to being

optically thin

Which of the following gases is transparent to longwave radiation?

oxygen

Why is the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere decreasing?

oxygen is being reacted with carbon to make carbon dioxide

What do we call the layer of the Sun that emits light to space?

photosphere

What kind of orbit do most AMSUs fly?

polar

Is the ice-abedo feedback a positive or negative feedback?

positive

With respect to Earth's temperature, an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere can be described as a

positive forcing

What is peat

soggy swanp soil

What is serial computing?

solving a single problem on a single computer

What is parallel computing?

solving a single problem on multiple computers at the same time

What word do we ascribe to a sand dune that has no grains of sand being added or removed?

static equilibrium

What do we call a situation where wind is actively blowing sand onto and off of the sand dune, but the height of the sand dune is not changing in time?

steady state

January is during the Southern Hemisphere's

summer

What causes the seasons?

the Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to Earth's orbital plane

What best describes the atmospheric greenhouse effect?

the atmosphere lets shortwave pass through but greenhouse gases readily absorb longwave

Why does burning fossil fuels cause global warming?

the extra atmospheric CO2 lifts the 𝜏=1τ=1 layer to a colder level in the atmosphere

The timescale for a process is

the time it takes for the process to be mostly done

What does optically thin mean?

transparent

Studies of boreholes reveal that these layers of the ground are warmer than they would be in the absence of global warming.

upper layers

If the Earth suddenly becomes cooler than its steady-state temperature, the Planck feedback tends to make the Earth

warmer

AMSU records show the atmosphere

warming at low altitudes and cooling at high altitudes

The unique fingerprint of CO2-induced global warming is

warming at low altitudes and cooling at high altitudes

Which more strongly absorbs longwave radiation?

water vapor

What is the Earth's biggest positive feedback?

water vapor feedback

What is acidic water?

water with a high concentration of H+ ions

What color are clouds as seen from space?

white because water drops and ice scatter all wavelengths

When the Northern Hemisphere is in summer, the Southern Hemisphere is in

winter