GLY MID-TERM

The uncertainty with which our models predict the global average temperature resulting in 2100 from any particular RCP is plus or minus:

0.5 to 1 degree Celsius

The last glacial period ended about ________ years ago.

10,000

The Holocene is a geological time interval that began about:

12 thousand years ago

How long ago was the peak of the last major glaciation?

20,000 years

From the Dire Predictions, what portion of the Western U.S area is seeing 'dry' conditions throughout most of the past 15 years?

20-40%

About how many calculations per second are preformed by supercomputers at NASA's Center for Climate Simulation?

400 trillion

According to the Southeast Climate reading on precipitation trends what is the annual precipitation total for the southeast as a whole?

50 inches

Earth has been in long-term cooling trend for the previous:

50 million years

In Gainesville, about what percent of the summer will be in a heat wave (temperatures beyond 3-sigma from the mean) by the end of the century, as predicted by RCP 8.5?

80-100%

What probability level does the IPCC require to conclude that a climate change prediction is virtually certain to occur?

>99%

Which of the following played NO role in controlling global climate prior to humans? A. Amount of ice on Earth's surface B. changes in earth's orbit C. amount of GHG in atmosphere D. All of the above

All of the above

Which of the following is NOT one of the major organizations that assemble global instrumental surface temperature data into models showing global temperature variation over the past century? A. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences B. NOAA National Climate Data Center C. American Meteorological Society Climate research center D. UK Meteorological Office Climate Record Unit

American Meteorological Society Climate research center

Most models project that surface temperature will increase the most in which part of the world?

Arctic

Over its lifetime in the atmosphere, the compound that has the greatest GW potential is:

CF4

Milankovitch cycles include all of the following, except: A. changes in the earth's axial tilt B. changes in the average distance between the earth and the Moon C. amount of wobble of rotational axis D. changes in the path of the orbit

Changes in the avg distance between the earth and the Moon

Which of these is NOT true?

Climate is more chaotic than weather

Which subject is not covered by the working group on the physical science basis for climate change?

Ecological responses

Which of the following an an example of a short-term climate feature?

El nino

Milankovitch cycles cause the total amount of solar energy reaching Earth to vary over the past million years.

False

Models show that rainfall will decrease almost everywhere on Earth by 2100.

False

The Earth's carbon cycle consists only of transfers of carbon between the atmosphere and plants and animals.

False

When we say that big data is relational, we mean they are stored as the same type of file

False

Which of these has NOT been used by the IPCC as emission scenarios for GCM input data? A. Shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) B. Future emission Futures (FEFs) C. Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) D. Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)

Future Emissions Futures

In view of the climate change that have occurred over the past billion years, we can be said to be currently living in a ______.

Icehouse world

According to the Southeast Climate reading on rainfall, which region of the U.S has experience the greatest increase in very heavy precipitation?

Northeast

In AR5, potential future human C02 emissions are called:

Representative Concentration Pathways

The RCP (emission scenario) that is mostly to occur depends upon all EXCEPT... A. economic growth B. technological developments C. solar output variability D. land use trends E. population

Solar output variability

GCMs that coupled the atmosphere and the ocean were first available in the late 1970s.

True

What is an interglacial?

a time interval when glacial ice volume was relatively low

Relative today, the global average temperature 55 million years ago was:

about 10 degree C warmer

The planetary albedo of the Earth is:

about 30%

Which is correct? Climate is: A. a statistical rendering of the state of the atmosphere B. all of these are true C. determined using collections of daily observations D. a historical agglomeration of weather data

all of the above

Variations in climate over the past 8000 years are due to: A. greenhouse gas concentration B. All of these C. Ocean-atmosphere oscillation D. solar variability

all of these

Which of these does NOT suggest human causation of 20-21st century global warming? A. increase in atmospheric CO2 matches pattern of human usage of fossil fuels B. increased T can only be simulated by models when Anthro CO2 added C. carbon in atmosphere is getting younger D. atmosphere CO2 concentrations have increased since 1850s

carbon in atmosphere is getting younger

Which of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas? A. methane B. Ozone C. carbon dioxide D. carbon monoxide E. water

carbon monoxide

What are Milankovitch cycles?

changes in Earth's orbit and orientation to the Sun

Suprisingly, the Earth has greater Albedo than the Moon. This might be because the Moon has no:

clouds

Which of the following phenomena is thought to have controlled the timing of glacial/interglacial periods during the Pleistocene epoch?

cycles of change in Earth's orientation and orbit towards the sun (Milankovitch cycles)

A reduction in ice cover would be expected to ______ Earth UV reflectivity and represents a _______ feedback to global warming.

decrease, positive

All systems are characterized by all of the following EXCEPT: A. tipping points B. interactions among multiple components C. driven by external forcing D. display linear behavior E. defined by its boundaries

display linear behavior

How has flooding already likely changed due to climate change?

don't know/limited data

More dust will be found in ice layers that formed during...

dryer periods

Which of these is NOT one of the 3 general types of models? A. mathematical B. conceptual C. elemental D. physical

elemental

According to Dire predictions, which is true of heat waves such as the European 2003 heat wave?

events such as this will occur more often given AGW

What is one of the reasons we think the cooling over the Cenozoic Era might have occured?

formation of the Himalayan mountains

Which of these is not a major line of evidence supporting the theory of GW? A. ice core record of atmospheric CO2 and T B. evaporating water C. agreement of 3 major global surface T reconstruction models D. CO2 concentrations measured over time on top of an extinct volcano E. global increases in flood and drought frequency

global increases in flood/drought frequency

The primary external drivers of a planet's climate involve all EXCEPT: A. how much of the energy emitted by the planet is absorbed by the atmosphere B. how the atmosphere and ocean currents distribute heat around the earth C. how much solar energy is received by the planet D. how much total solar energy is reflected by the planet

how the atmosphere and ocean currents distribute heat around the earth

The pattern of expected atmospheric temperature change varies with elevation and with respect to the different climate forcings. Which of these is CORRECT?

human-generated increases in the GHG are predicted to warm the troposphere and cool the stratosphere.

Heavy stable isotopes such as Oxygen-18:

is depleted in glacial ice during glacial relative to interglacial periods

Which is TRUE? Albedo:

is high for ice and snow

Satellite observation of recent decreases in stratospheric (upper) temperatures are important because they:

lend further support to theory that GHG increases are causing global warming

Under higher emissions scenario RCP 8.5 model predictions, Florida is predicted to have ____ precipitation in winter and _____ less in the summer than present.

less, less

When considering future projections, which of the following is virtually certain?

magnitude of warm daily temperature extremes will increase

Methane in the atmosphere mainly comes from:

microbes that inhabit oxygen-poor environments

If one wants to know the oxygen isotope signature of seawater in the past they could examine:

oxygen isotopes in marine plankton skeletons

In regards to hurricanes, we are most confident that CC will cause:

poleward shifts

The immediate purpose of the set of different emission scenarios (RCPs) is to:

predict how much CO2 will be emitted by humans in the future

Which of these is NOT an example of a 'primary source'? A. technical report B. review of recent papers published C. graduate dissertation D. letter of correspondance

review of recent papers pulished

Approximately how far back in time can one investigate climate change on Earth using ocean sediment cores?

several hundred million years

An actual "greenhouse" works because:

short wave lengths of energy pass through the glass but longer ones can't

The majority of the energy received by the Earth from the Sun is _______, whereas that emitted by the Earth is _______.

shortwave, longwave

Over the last decade, global warming has been ______ than that predicted by climate models.

slightly less

Which of these is NOT true? A. solar output and sunspot activity are related B. solar activity remains constant over century timescales C. increases in solar output over the past century may have contributed to GW in this time D. sun spot activity varies with 11 year periodicity

solar activity remains constant over century timescales

Among climate drivers, which is estimated to have had the smallest impact changing climate during past 250 years?

solar irradiance

Scientists use _____ to establish climate records for the sea surface temperature from fossils found in ocean sediment cores.

stable isotopes

Scientists use ______ to establish climate records for sea surface temperature from fossils found in oceanic sediment cores.

stable isotopes

If all human GHG emission were to stop today:

the Earth would continue to warm (committed warming)

Albedo is a measure of:

the amount of solar radiation reflected from the Earth back to space

Climate change consists of all of the following, EXCEPT: A. long-term behavior of the atmosphere B. long-term changes in annual precipitation C. the high temperature for a given day D. average properties of the atmosphere

the high temperature for a given day

When one is doing critical thinking, they should do all EXCEPT: A. consider a variety of viewpoints B. recognize the extent/weight of evidence C. not reject unpopular views out of hand D. recognize own bias E. try to prove own viewpoint

try to prove own viewpoint

According to Dire Prediction, climate models predict that, due to global warming, El Niño will become...

uncertain, the models don't agree

As one goes further back in time in the climate record...

uncertainty increases and resolution decreases

Which of these is most certain in regards to global climate change?

unusually rapid warming has occurred over the past century

During the last 800,000, climate could be described as:

variable with a pattern of roughly 100,000 year cycles in climate

Most of Earth history can be characterized by average climate conditions that are

warmer than today

Which of these observations does NOT suggest the occurrence of global warming over the past 150 years? A. decreasing heat exiting from the top of the atmosphere B. warming trend in Eastern Pacific ocean surface C. decreasing areas of continental mountain glaciers D. 15/16 warmest years on record occured in the past 15 years E. decreasing sea ice coverage

warming trend in the Eastern Pacific ocean surface

Which of these would most climate schientist say is NOT an uncertainty in regards to global CC? A. future human emission rates B. effect of feedbacks C. whether humans are responsible D. how much warming will occur E. local CC that will result from GW

whether humans are responsible