Geology 10 and 11
Marine organisms preserve the current oxygen-isotope ratio in their _______________.
shells
The Santa Ana winds are ____.
strong, dry winds arising from high pressure pushing air westward over southern California
Desertification is ____.
strongly linked to human activity
A tornado's rotation is created by ____.
surface wind shear in an area where warm, humid air is rising over advancing cold air
In an adiabatic process, ____.
there is no change in heat content
Low-pressure systems tend to form where ____.
warm air and cold air are moving in parallel but opposite directions
Thunderstorms form when ____.
warm, moist air flows upward into cool, dry air
The troposphere extends from the Earth up to about _______________ km.
18
Approximately when did the rapid increase in human-produced atmospheric CO2 begin?
1950
As of 2015, what is the approximate CO2 level in Earth's atmosphere?
400 ppm
What was the relationship between Earth's temperature and incoming solar radiation between 1998 and 2014?
Earth's temperature rose slowly during a period of weaker solar energy.
Warm shallow ocean temperatures in the equatorial western Pacific Ocean are characteristic of the ____.
El Niño
Equatorial ocean circulation normally moves from west to east.
False
Thunderstorms form most commonly on the border of warm fronts.
False
What do the vast majority of climatologists who have carefully examined the data agree on regarding human-induced global warming?
Human-induced global warming has begun and is increasing.
Recent increases in carbon dioxide levels are plotted on a graph called the _______________.
Keeling curve
Which of the following is the best example of a positive feedback effect?
Melting ice exposes the dark surface of the ocean, which reflects less of the sun's energy than ice. This heats the water and in turn, melts more ice.
Water temperatures in the northern Pacific Ocean vary from warm to cool due to the ____.
Pacific decadal oscillation
Regular variations in the winter atmospheric pressure over the northern Atlantic Ocean are associated with the ____.
Polar Vortex oscillation
The average number of tornadoes per year is highest in ____.
Texas
Judge the following sentence: Even though water vapor has the greatest effect as a greenhouse gas, it is not normally discussed as one BECAUSE water vapor is completely natural and we have no control over it.
The assertion and reason are both correct.
Judge the following sentence: Temperatures have risen faster in the oceans than on the continents BECAUSE the ocean has a greater heat capacity than land.
The assertion is incorrect but the reason is correct.
Why is it warmer in the northern hemisphere in July than it is in December?
The sun's rays shine more directly on the northern hemisphere in the summer than in the winter.
How are tree rings used as proxy data to provide an indirect record of past climate conditions?
Tree rings are thicker and the wood is denser when growing conditions are better..
Incoming solar radiation is short-wave, while radiation outward from the Earth is long-wave.
True
Low-pressure zones circulate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.
True
The amount of water vapor in the clouds contributes to changing albedo.
True
In a cold front, ____.
a more rapidly moving cold air mass collides with warm air, lifting it
Lightning flows ____.
only in areas of heavy rainfall
Moist air that is forced to rise over a mountain range expands and cools through the __________________ effect.
orographic
An El Niño event would be expected to produce ____.
rains and floods in Mexico and California
The effect of aerosols can be best described as ____.
reflecting sunlight and cooling the atmosphere
Monsoons in southern Asia are ____.
regular yearly variations between dry winter and wet summer weather
When air near the ground is heated, air pressure ____.
remains constant as cool air replaces warm air forced upward
What contains the largest reservoir of carbon?
rock
The three methods of heat transfer are conduction, radiation, and _______________.
convection
Downbursts from a thunderstorm ____.
create high surface winds that extend in every direction from the center of the burst
The jet stream is ____.
generally marked by fronts and storms
What are an example and an effect of a high-albedo surface?
glacial ice; keeps Earth cool
A tornado system can be detected on Doppler radar by the appearance of a ____ echo
hook
According to analysis of air in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores, global temperature has ____.
increased and decreased in cycles over the past 400,000 years
Approximately when did Earth's atmospheric temperature begin rising?
late 1700s
An ice storm can form when a ____.
layer of cold air lies under a layer of warm, moist air
The adiabatic lapse rate for moist air is ____.
lower than for dry air due to latent heat released during condensation
In addition to carbon dioxide, _______________ and _______________ have risen above their pre-industrial levels in Earth's atmosphere.
methane, nitrogen oxides
Lightning results from electrical charge differences ____.
between the upper and lower parts of a thundercloud
Lake-effect snow is primarily a problem ____ of large lakes.
around the entire border
Tornadoes generally form ____ of a thunderstorm cloud.
at the trailing edge
Which of the following is NOT a layer of Earth's atmosphere?
Allosphere
The Coriolis effect arises because ____.
air and water are not rigidly connected to the rotating surface of the Earth
At the dew point, ____.
air is completely saturated with water vapor
Different surfaces reflect more or less sunlight, a property called _______________.
albedo
Dust storms ____.
can cause effects on a global scale
Most of the energy in China, India, and many other developing countries is produced using _______________ as a fuel.
coal
In a single year, which of the following is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide into Earth's atmosphere?
coal-fired power plants
You would expect the most severe weather effects at the border of a ____ front.
cold
