Global climate change

What is the environmental lapse rate that occurs going up in the troposphere?

The air temperature decreases 6.5°C/km.

In which layer of the atmosphere do temperatures rise to more than 1000°C?

Thermosphere

What term describes the amounts of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) present in greenhouse gases?

Trace

What gases will be released as a result of the melting of permafrost and decomposing vegetation?

Carbon dioxide and methane

What acid forms when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in seawater?

Carbonic acid

Which of the following substances can be used as a paleothermometer?

Corals

What was the approximate increase in global temperature during the twentieth century?

0.8°C

How many spheres are involved in the exchanges of energy and moisture that occur in Earth's climate system?

5

Below which altitude measurement is 50 percent of Earth's atmosphere found?

5.6 km

What term refers to a measurement of the amount of radiation reflected by a surface?

Albedo

What type of bacteria produces methane?

Anaerobic

How much has sea level risen over the last 100 years?

Between 10 and 23 cm

Of the following, what material makes up much of the shells of numerous marine microorganisms called foraminifera?

CaCO3

What term refers to the temperature decrease in the troposphere?

Environmental lapse rate

How do explosive volcanic eruptions affect global temperatures?

Explosive volcanic eruptions lower global temperatures.

What accounts for the increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide ("laughing gas")?

Fertilizers

How will increased levels of atmospheric CO2 ultimately affect the pH of global oceans?

Lower

Would the average surface temperature of Earth's atmosphere be lower, higher, or unchanged if it contained no greenhouse gases?

Lower

Are eccentricity, obliquity, and precession considered to be natural, human, solar, volcanic, or astrological causes of climate change?

Natural

Which gaseous element comprises the greatest percentage of the air that we breathe?

Nitrogen

Which regions of the Earth will experience a greater adverse response to global warming?

Polar

What is the name of the lines of indirect evidence that scientists use to reconstruct past climates?

Proxy data

What instrument records vertical changes in temperature, pressure, wind, and humidity?

Radiosonde

In which layer of the atmosphere does the temperature remain constant to an altitude of about 20 kilometers?

Stratosphere

In which zone of the atmosphere is ozone concentrated?

Stratosphere

What huge magnetic storms may be responsible for variations in temperature and precipitation?

Sunspots