ATM Quiz 2
The oceans are warming:
Mostly near the surface
Which of the following is NOT required for hurricanes to form?
The presence of high clouds
What factors drive the thermohaline circulation? Select all that apply.
Differential heating of the ocean at high and low latitudes Difference in density between waters with high and low salinity Winds
Even with irrigation and plenty of nutrients, once beyond the optimal growing temperature crop yield decreases because
(A) plants grow quicker and stop growing earlier (B) respiration increases faster than photosynthesis (C) spikelet fertility is reduced
Climate change is a greater threat to food security in the tropics and subtropics (e.g., Africa and India) than in the midlatitudes (e.g., Europe and the US) because
(A) tropical temperatures are already well beyond the optimal temperature for growing grains (B) many more people depend on agriculture for food and income in the tropics (C) people in the tropics are relatively poor and spend a large fraction of their income on food
Concern over the reduction of sea ice in the Arctic is due to:
Disruption of the marine food chain
Why might we want to consider geoengineering?
-The fat tail of climate -Unforeseen and catastrophic climate effects -Cutting CO2 emissions is a very tall order
Which of the following is a major contributor to the urban heat island effect? Choose all that apply.
-When city surfaces have lower albedo than native vegetation, it increases the amount of shortwave energy absorbed at the surface -Buildings absorb and re-radiate infrared energy back to the surface, keeping the surface warm -The operation of cars, air conditioners, etc. in urban areas releases a lot of heat to the environment -Urban centers tend to have fewer plants, limiting evaporative cooling
The El Nino/Southern Oscillation phenomenon causes:
-Year-to-year changes in precipitation in the tropical Pacific -Year-to-year changes in temperature and precipitation across the Americas -Climate anomalies that nearly span the globe
Concerns about global warming:
-Many species will become extinct -Species will be affected differently, leading to mismatches in the life cycles of interacting species -Increased forest fires in the western US due to drying
Under otherwise ideal conditions (optimal water, nutrients), yields in the tropics and subtropics will decrease by
20% by 2050
The concensus projection from climate models show that summer sea ice will be gone by
2060
The change in global sea level from 1900 to today is
21 cm
Due to the burning of fossil fuels, the acidity of the near surface ocean today is
29% above preindustrial
The global average temperature during the Last Glacial Maximum was
4 to 5C colder than today
Summer sea ice extent has decreased in the Arctic
40%, staring in 1970
Compared to today, by the end of this Century sea level will have increased by
50 cm, mainly due to thermal expansion
Dryville is a town experiencing an extreme hydrological drought. Several rain storms are forecast to hit Dryville this week, which would bring Dryville up to its normal precipitation for the year. And yet, Dryville is still expected to be in a hydrological drought at the end of the week. How is this possible?
A few rainstorms are unlikely to replenish severely depleted water reservoirs
Which of the following is best simulated by the most recent generation of climate models?
A) Continental-scale surface temperature trends over the past several decades.
Evidence for Ice Ages comes from
A) dating the moraines of glaciers B) the isotopes in the shells of organisms in the sediments at the bottom of the oceans
The rate of increase in global food production has been steadily decreasing since 1975 due to
A) increasing limitations on water B) decreasing fertility of land used for cropping
Adapting to climate change, some species will:
A) move poleward to avoid the increasing heat B) move to higher elevation to avoid the increasing heat C) go extinct
Which of the following is NOT true of monsoons
All monsoons are driven by differential heating of the ocean and atmosphere
Land glaciers are retreating (melting)
Almost everywhere in the world
Why is there more rainfall over the western tropical Pacific than over the eastern tropical Pacific?
Because precipitation tends to occur preferentially over the warmest ocean waters, and the western tropical Pacific is warmer than the eastern tropical Pacific
Sea level rise
Both natural and forced
Ice Ages cycles are caused by
C) changes in the way the earth orbits the Sun
Globally, the frequency of tropical cyclones is likely to ________ over the next century.
Decrease
An increase in atmospheric CO2 causes the pH of the oceans to _________ which causes the oceans to become __________ acidic.
Decrease; more
Global-mean sea level is projected to rise by about half a meter over the course of the 21st century. However, this long-term sea level rise will not be spatially uniform, and some locations are expected to experience more sea level rise than others. Which of the following are reasons why long-term sea level rise might vary from place to place? Select all that apply.
Changes in the ocean circulation Some coastlines are still rebounding (rising) following the last ice age A combination of natural processes and human removal of oil, water, and gas from beneath the surface has caused some coastlines to subside
Which of the following is TRUE of projected tropical cyclone changes in the North Atlantic?
Changes in the overall frequency of tropical cyclones are highly uncertain, and changes in the frequency of the strongest hurricanes are highly uncertain.
Which of the following is FALSE?
Climate models are weather models, but without the chaos.
Which of the following are ways that the anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels is a threat to coral reefs? Select all that apply.
Corals depend on the microalgae living within them for food, and corals expel these algae when ocean temperatures become too warm Ocean acidification limits the corals' ability to maintain their skeletons
What are some effects of melting permafrost in the Arctic? Select all that apply.
Damage to infrastructure in Arctic towns Release of methane 'Drunken forests,' or trees tipping in all directions Increased coastal erosion
How does ENSO influence the weather outside the tropics?
During an El Niño year there is anomalous precipitation and upward motion in the central Tropical Pacific because the sea surface temperatures are unusually warm there. This anomalous rainfall and upward motion send out a wave in the atmosphere that influences the weather outside of the Tropics.
If all of the ice on Earth were to melt, which of the following would contribute the most to global sea level rise?
East and West Antarctic ice sheet
Select the statement about the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon that is TRUE.
El Niño events occur when the tropical Pacific trade winds are weaker than usual, and La Niña events occur when the tropical Pacific trade winds are stronger than usual
What is the primary way hurricanes receive energy from the ocean?
Evaporation of sea water into the air
What causes storm surge?
High winds in a hurricane pushing water toward the shore
The strongest winds occur in the _______ of a hurricane, and the weakest winds occur in the _______.
Eyewall; eye
Currently, the melting of the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland contribute more to the increase in global sea level than do melting mountain glaciers
False
TRUE or FALSE: From AR4 to AR5, the representation of clouds in climate models improved to the point that cloud processes no longer represent a key uncertainty in the temperature response to increasing greenhouse gases.
False
TRUE or FALSE: Having accurate initial conditions is extremely important for accurate climate predictions.
False
True or False: Deforestation decreases the risk of flooding
False
True or False: Mountain glaciers will most likely contribute the most to global sea level rise in 100 years.
False
True or false: Climate models tell us that natural forcings could be responsible for the observed changes in the climate system.
False
True or false: If the thermohaline circulation slows down due to global warming, all of Europe, but especially the United Kingdom and Norway, will experience much colder temperatures in the future.
False
The Titanic sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada after hitting an iceberg in the north Atlantic Ocean, which ruptured its hull. This iceberg had drifted down from the Arctic Ocean, where it has formed as sea ice during the prior winter.
False, icebergs don't originate from the ocean, but rather from calving events off of land-based ice.
Long term, global ocean acidification
Forced
Which of the following is NOT expected as a result of Arctic summer sea ice loss?
Greater than 1 meter of sea level rise
There have been some proposals to reduce the solar radiation reaching Earth's surface by increasing the concentration of sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere or increasing the albedo of marine clouds in an effort to counteract some of the effects of global warming. What impact would these efforts have on ocean acidification?
Have no impact
The IPCC projects that global mean sea level will likely rise 25 to 80 centimeters by the end of the century compared to present day. What factor contributes the most uncertainty to this estimate?
How Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics will change in the future
Mark the statement that is TRUE about ENSO
In the Pacific Northwest, ENSO accounts for a moderate amount of wintertime temperature variability but very little of the wintertime precipitation variability.
If all of Greenland melted, global average sea level would
Increase by 7m
Crop yields are already decreasing in the tropics and subtropics (35N to 35S) because of
Increased temperature due to increased atmospheric CO2
The increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events in the US over the past 50 years
Is unknown
Increased ocean acidity is a problem for marine organisms because
It makes is more difficult for them to build shells
Which of the following factors can influence drought?
Land use What impacts you care about (a period of drought for a farmer, for example, might look different than a period of drought for a water manager) Population growth The location and how much precipitation is normal for that region Evaporation
In a hurricane, the eye is the region with the ________ surface pressure, and there is ________ motion there.
Lowest; sinking
Imagine you are an urban planner in Miami that has consulted with climate scientists to learn that the region is expected to experience around 1 foot of sea level rise by the year 2050. You have the responsibility of helping the city adapt to the impending changes. What potential impacts are you concerned with? Select all that apply.
Many people living along the coast will need to be relocated farther inland when sea level rises up to and over their houses. With increased sea levels, storm surges from tropical storms and hurricanes will penetrate farther inland. Rising sea levels might cause saltwater intrusion into groundwater and wells, contaminating local water supplies. Loss of beach area. On a beach with a slope of 1:100, 1 foot of sea level rise equates to 100 feet of beach lost.
For present-day conditions, rank the following from GREATEST (1) to SMALLEST (5) contribution to global sea level rise.
Melting sea ice 5 Melting and breakup of the West Antarctic ice shelves 4 Melting and breakup the of the Greenland ice sheet 3 Mountain glaciers melting 2 Thermal expansion of seawater 1
Global warming will likely cause hurricanes to become
More intense everywhere
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation
Natural
El Nino
Natural
La Nina
Natural
Pacific Decadal Oscillation
Natural
We know that current atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is ~405 ppm and the average pH of the world's oceans is currently ~8.1. In pre-industrial times, carbon dioxide concentrations were ~280 ppm and the average pH of the world's oceans was 8.2. Since the pH scale is logarithmic, that small change of 0.1 on the pH scale meant an increase of ~30% in hydrogen ion concentrations! If global carbon dioxide concentrations reach 650 ppm at the end of the century, will seawater become acidic (pH < 7)?
No; you would need much more carbon dioxide than that to make the oceans acidic
Globally, the frequency of tropical cyclones has __________ over the course of the last several decades.
Not changed much
Methane hydrates are molecules of methane bonded with water at high pressures and low temperatures. These molecules are notably found in ___, which could produce a ____ ____.
Permafrost; positive feedback.
Which of the following is NOT a solar radiation management geoengineering strategy?
Planting more trees
In the Southwest US, global warming is expected to
Reduce precipitation, reduce evaporation
The main reason increasing CO2 will cause the arctic to warm more than the tropics is:
Sea ice is replaced by open ocean
Global warming is expected to slow the ocean thermohaline circulation which would:
Slightly reduce the warming in western Europe expected due to increasing CO2
Which of the following would be considered an agricultural drought?
Soil moisture measurements in Eastern Colorado show soil moisture is much depleted in spring
Global warming will have a greater negative impact on coldblooded animals in the tropics than in the midlatudes because:
Species in the midlatitudes have evolved to deal with large natural excursions in temperature
Which of the following is NOT a necessary ingredient for hurricanes?
Strong wind shear
The first climate model was built by:
Suki Manabe in 1969
If the Gulf Stream collapsed later this century:
The Gulf Stream is not sensitive to global warming
Which region of the world sees the most intense hurricanes the most frequently? Why?
The West Pacific north of the equator; sea surface temperatures are often highest in the world there
Which of the following is required to determine whether an ice sheet is growing or shrinking? Select all that apply.
The amount of snow gained per year due to snowfall The amount of snow lost per year due to melting and sublimation The amount of ice lost per year due to calving of icebergs
Why are many of the world's deserts located at around 30 degrees North and South?
The descending branch of the Hadley circulation is located at these latitudes, promoting sinking motion and dry air
The increase in global sea level (1900-2000) was due to (from greatest to smallest)
Thermal Expansion, Melting Glaciers, Ice Sheets
We measure sea level by:
Tide gauges Radars mounted on satellites
Climate models simulate temperature better than they simulate precipitation
True
If all the permafrost in the NH melts and the stored carbon is released to the atmosphere, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere would more than double
True
Of the ~ 28,000 studies on the displacement of species in the 20th Century, 90% show species are moving in ways that are consistent with what is expected due to warming
True
Heat waves in the Puget Sound region are usually accompanied by easterly winds (that is, winds that blow in the east-to-west direction). Based on what you learned in class, why might this be the case?
Under an easterly wind regime, air originates from east of the Cascade mountains and there is warming and drying of the air as it descends the lee side of the mountains
Which of the following correctly describes how the occurrence of floods might change in the future with warmer temperatures?
Warm air holds more water vapor, which means if all other factors contributing to storms stays the same, heavy precipitation (and thus flood occurence) will increase.
The response of the hydrological cycle that we have most confidence in is that wet areas should get wetter in a warming world. What physical principle underlies this response?
Warmer air holds more moisture
Which of the following contributes to sea level rise?
Warming of the ocean (thermal expansion) Melting of land ice and mountain glaciers Reduction of liquid water storage on land
Condensation _______ your drink when it forms on the outside of the glass because _______.
Warms; condensation releases energy to the glass
The most favorable condition to start an ice age is
cold summers and warm winters
Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Hadley cell and ITCZ?
When the ITCZ is located over top of an area, that location is sitting in a stormtrack.
Land glaciers are important because
When they melt or grow, they affect global sea level
A doubling of atmospheric CO2 will increase crop yield by
about 10%, including the negative effects of climate change
The major reason yields will decrease by mid-century in the breadbasket countries US, Russia, Europe and China is
increased temperature combined with natural variability
Over the past four decades in the contiguous United States, the frequency of record warm temperatures has __________ and the frequency of record cold temperatures has __________.
increased; decreased
As atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase, more carbon dioxide is dissolved in the oceans. The increase in carbon dioxide in the ocean water ___________ hydrogen ion concentrations, and ________ the acidity of the seawater. One consequence of these chemical reactions it that there is less calcium carbonate in the water, and shells and skeletons of marine life become ________.
increases; increases; weaker
In general, climate model simulations are better for _________ than for _________ scales.
larger; smaller
The greatest source of uncertainty in climate models' projection of future temperature rise is...
the empirical representation of clouds.
