Chapter 16

Select the best description of the Little Ice Age (ca. 1350-1850 A.D.).

Colder than average temperatures experienced in parts of North America and much of Europe likely triggered by explosive volcanic activity

Paleoclimatology is the study of ______.

Earth's historical climate using proxy records

True or false: Climate predictions are now possible mainly because of the vast increase in the number of instruments recording temperature data around the world.

False Rationale: climate predictions are made based on paleoclimatological proxies and model predictions. Model predictions have improved with the increase in the amount of data available and a better understanding of the complex feedback systems

True or false: Global climate is driven solely by interaction between the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

False Rationale: interactions between the atmosphere and hydrosphere are important drivers of climate, but interactions between those two and the cryosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and anthrosphere drive climate as well.

Select the summary that best describes the possible effect of warming on thermohaline circulation. Recall that deep-water formation is an important driver of global thermohaline circulation.

Increased warming and precipitation at high latitudes will decrease surface-water density, and that will slow deep-water formation Rationale: the formation of the North Atlantic Deep Water may also be slowed by freshwater runoff, as the Greenland ice shelf melts

The goal of the _________ Protocol was to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% relative to 1990 levels by 2012.

Kyoto

A period of cooling in parts of North America and much of Europe from about 1350 to 1850 A.D., likely triggered by volcanic eruptions and continued by associated positive feedback mechanisms, is known as the ______.

Little Ice Age

True or false: From 1885 to 1985, summer sea ice cover in the Arctic decreased, and model projections indicate this trend will continue at least as far as 2085.

True Rationale: the greatest decrease in the sea ice cover during this 200-year period is during the twenty-first century (now)

A greenhouse gas is a gas that ______.

absorbs solar energy (absorbed and radiated from Earth) and remits it as heat

The greenhouse effect is the heating of Earth's atmosphere caused by the ______.

absorption and reradiation of solar energy by greenhouse gases

Marine algae may provide a raw source for the production of ______.

biofuels

The current warming pace of Earth's atmosphere is faster than anytime in the last 1000 years. This rate of warming ______.

cannot be explained by natural causes, as there is no natural forcing occurring that can explain the rate of warming

Ocean acidification results from oceans absorbing ______. The buffering system then favors the formation of carbonic acid, thus lowering the ocean's pH.

carbon dioxide

The interactions between the anthrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere drive global __________.

climate

The major difference between climate and weather is ______.

climate is the long-term average of weather Rationale: climate also includes information about the frequency of weather extremes

Thermal __________ caused by a rising temperature of the ocean, and water being added by the melting of land-based ice, are two important causes of sea-level rise.

expansion

The current human-forced rate of warming of Earth's atmosphere is ________.

faster than has occurred in the last 1000 years

An atmospheric gas that absorbs solar energy and releases that energy as heat can be classified as a(n) __________ gas.

greenhouse

The path to reducing global warming involves both removing __________ gases from the atmosphere and slowing the rate we are adding them.

greenhouse

The Earth is warmer than it would be otherwise because gases in the atmosphere absorb energy and release it as heat energy. This heating is known as the __________ __________.

greenhouse effect

Identify the negative feedback mechanism in the list below.

heating leads to increased evaporation and the formation of clouds, which decreases heating

Winds and waves will be sensitive to an increase in global air temperatures because wind and waves ______.

help to balance the flux of energy between the ocean and atmosphere

The average temperature of the upper ocean has ______.

increased but not as fast as the atmosphere

An increase in the amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean. This increased absorption drives the formation of carbonic acid and increases the ocean's acidity. This problem is known as ______.

ocean acidification

Scientists working in the field of ______ use proxy records to try to understand Earth's historical climate.

paleoclimatology Rationale: other fields also investigate Earth's historical climate, but it is the main aim of paleoclimatology to do so

Albedo is a ratio of ______.

reflected radiation to incident radiation Rationale: albedo is usually expressed as a percentage

Carbon sequestration is the ______.

removal of carbon from the atmosphere to a reservoir

The removal of carbon from the atmosphere to a reservoir is called carbon ______.

sequestration

Direct measurements, such as ______, indirect measurements, and ______ based on scientists' understanding of how Earth's six spheres interact provide us with the information used to document climate change.

temperature; models

The international body of experts tasked by the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization to identify the causes and consequences of climate change and to provide a scientific consensus on climate change is ______.

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Identify the positive feedback mechanism in the list below.

the formation of sea ice increases the albedo, decreasing heat absorption and leading more cooling and sea ice formation

Late summer to early fall is the period with the least amount of Arctic sea ice. Model projections and historical data indicate ______.

the trend of decreasing Arctic sea ice cover from 1885 to 1985 will continue through at least 2085

In 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that ______.

there is no doubt that Earth's climate system is warming Rationale: the conclusion that the warming of climate system is occurring is based on a combination of evidence from models, modern instrument records, and paleoproxies

It is projected that sea levels will rise ______ in the next 100 years than they did in the twentieth century.

two to three times faster Rationale: the expected increase will likely be the result of thermal expansion

The upper ocean (the top 700 meters) has warmed by about ______°C over the last century due to rising atmospheric temperatures.

0.6

Select the predicted effect on phytoplankton primary production due to atmospheric warming. (Select all that apply.)

1. A short-term increase in productivity will occur, as warmer water speed up the "microbial loop" 2. a long-term decrease in productivity will occur, as an increase in water stratification will decrease nutrients from deep-water sources

Forward projections of climate are based on ______. (Select all that apply.)

1. historical trends 2. model predictions

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2014 that the climate system was without a doubt warming, as evident from observations of _______. (Select all that apply.)

1. increases in ocean temperature 2. increases in global air temperatures 3. widespread decreases in snow and ice cover 4. rising average sea level

Identify areas more negatively affected by sea-level change. (Select three.)

1. low-laying cities such as New Orleans 2. Low-laying tropical atolls in mid-ocean locations 3. costal marshlands

The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) forms as cold and saline surface waters sink due to their high densities. The prediction is that atmospheric warming will disrupt the formation of NADW because the surface waters will warm, and increased _______ will decrease surface-water salinity. (Select all that apply.)

1. melting 2. precipitation

Identify the sources of information used to document climate change. (Select all that apply.)

1. models based on scientist's understanding of climate science 2. direct measurement of our modern climate 3. indirect measurements, particularly those of past climates

Identify possible biological impacts of climate change to organisms in higher-latitude ecosystems. (Select all that apply.)

1. rapid expansion of invasive species 2. impacts resulting from the decrease in ocean pH, including the direct impact on calcifying organisms 3. impacts on organisms that rely on sea ice and those that rely on the ice edge

Select the two ways we can reduce climate change or at least slow it down. (Select two.)

1. remove the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere 2. remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere

Identify the factors that influence global sea-level change. (Select all that apply.)

1. thermal expansion 2. melting glaciers 3. melting land-based ice caps

Select all the possible energy sources we can obtain from the oceans.

1. thermal gradients 2. current energy 3. wave energy 4. tidal power

Cities located at or near river deltas are at greater risk from sea-level rise because ______. (Select all that apply.)

1. they are already very close to, at, or below sea level 2. protective marshlands are highly sensitive to rising seas Rationale: marshlands more easily erode, as their plants die due to the rising seas

Identify the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (Select all that apply.)

1. to identify the causes of climate change 2. to provide a clear scientific consensus on climate change 3. to identify the consequences of climate change

The long-term average of __________, including frequency of extreme events such as large hurricanes, defines the __________ of a given ecosystem or the planet as a whole.

1. weather 2. climate

The imbalance of energy between the atmosphere and ocean is adjusted, in part, by __________ and __________. Therefore, both of these will be affected as global air temperatures rise, increasing this imbalance.

1. wind 2. waves

Sea level is currently rising at a rate of approximately ______ per year.

3.1 mm (0.12 in)