ESC 110 F
According to Katherine Hayhoe, how many independent lines of evidence indicate that the planet is warming?
> 26,500
What is the net radiative forcing since 1750?
+2.5 W/m2
Use the drop down list to rank the gasses from highest to lowest greenhouse potential, 1 being the highest and 4 being the lowest.
1. halocarbons 2. nitrous oxide 3. methane 4. carbon dioxide
What sequence of events occurs during the ice-albedo feedback loop following an initial warming? Use the dropdown list to correctly order the sequence of events in the feedback loop.
1. ice melts 2. albedo decreases 3. Ein increases 4. more warming occurs
During Northern Hemisphere spring and summer, global (blank) by plants exceeds global (blank) by plants and produces the net drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide visible in the Keeling Curve.
1. photosynthesis 2. respiration
Organic carbon in soil is about ___ the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
2.5 times
The same amount of ocean heat would heat the atmosphere how much?
20 degrees F
Imagine there is a carbon reservoir that holds 12,500 GtC. The flux out of this reservoir is 50 Gt/C/year. What is the turnover time of this reservoir?
250 years
Given that the climate sensitivity of Earth is about 3K per doubled carbon dioxide, how much would the planet warm if there was a change of albedo that led to +5W/m2?
3.75K
Over the past 150 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen from 270 parts per million (ppm) to more than
400 ppm
The world ocean holds about ______ the amount of carbon found in the atmosphere.
43 times
According to D. Keeling, the increase in CO2 is only ____ of what we actually put into the atmosphere.
50%
According to Ruth Gates, ____ of the world's coral reefs have been lost in the last 30-40 years due to warming.
50%
How much of the warming we experience on Earth is due to climate feedbacks rather than warming from greenhouse gas input to the atmosphere?
50-75%
Fossil fuels still account for how much of the world's power?
80%
What has the Army Corps of Engineers proposed for Norfolk?
A $1.5 billion adaptation plan
What does comparing graphs of CO2 and earth temperature reveal?
A near perfect match
Why is the path to perfect climate models a work in progress?
Earth's climate machine is so complicated
How could agriculture help to limit climate change?
Focusing on soil building and health to put carbon back into the ground
What are the two obvious ways to stabilize our climate and prevent further warming? Select all that apply.
Intentionally engage in activities that create negative radiative forcings Reduce human activities that lead to positive radiative forcings
Using ice cores to extend the Keeling curve back in time reveals what about today's concentration of CO2?
It is unusually high
What is able to turn energy from the sun into electricity, and is also relatively easy to work with?
Perovskites
What does R. Gates wish to do with super coral
Repopulate reefs around the world
At the surface, ocean water is warmer, but in the deep ocean it is very cold and has not been exposed to the atmosphere in hundreds of years. According to the narrator, where does this deep cold water rise to the surface?
Southern Ocean
According to the narrator, what have changes in earth's orbit triggered?
Temperature swings from warm periods to ice ages
In the 1950s, what did Dave discover?
The annual rise and fall of CO2
Changes in wild fires, Arctic sea ice, 1000-year floods, glaciers, sea level, heat waves, plant and tree flowering, bird migration, and storms have led an overwhelming majority of climate scientists to which alarming conclusion?
The earth's climate is changing
In a simple demo, what happens when a dark box featuring a clear pane of glass is turned towards the sun?
The inside of the box heats up
Use Figs. 6.1a and 6.1b to answer this question. In Figure 6.1a, there is no atmosphere, and in Figure 6.1b there is an atmosphere present. Given what we know about the presence of an atmosphere warming the planet, why is the temperature of the surface still the same, 255 K, in the two figures?
Thermal inertia! Just like a pot of water, the temperature of Earth' surface does not rise immediately when heat is added
According to A. Sella, what was the business end of Tyndall's experiment?
Thermopile
How are computer models calibrated?
They are compared to the history of climate change
According to the narrator, for over 200 years, scientists have developed a deep understanding of how the climate machine works, and they have proven beyond reasonable doubt that climate change is happening, and that burning fossil fuels is the primary cause.
True
What is the term for what is happening in the atmosphere at a given time or place (e.g., hot, cold, rain, snow), and for which climate is an average?
Weather
Forests soak up CO2 and put it into what?
Wood, leaves, roots, etc.
In the video, greenhouse gases are compared to
a blanket.
Use Figure 5.8 in your book (page 85) to answer the following question. Imagine that this year you emit 16 tons of CO2 (the yearly average for an American citizen). In 2,000 years from now, approximately how much of the CO2that you emitted this year will still be remaining in the atmosphere?
about 3 tons
Greenhouse gases are primarily responsible for warming a planet by what process?
absorbing outgoing infrared radiation
Which of the following contribute carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as a result of human activities, either as a source or reduction of a sink?
accelerated decomposition of plant and soil organic carbon through land-use and development, burning of petroleum (oil), deforestation (removing forests), burning of coal, and burning of natural gas
Warming due to increased greenhouse gas concentrations ____ the decomposition of soil organic carbon, thereby accelerating the release of carbon dioxide.
accelerates
As the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide (due to higher concentrations in the atmosphere), the ocean becomes more
acidic in pH
Because human activities release more carbon dioxide than can be absorbed and utilized by plants and phytoplankton...
atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase
The global carbon cycle involves exchanges of carbon between which of the following reservoirs: (Choose all that apply.)
biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, including fossil fuels, and atmosphere
All living things are made of
carbon
The movements of carbon through living and non-living reservoirs is referred to as the ____ ____ (two words).
carbon cycle
The amount of warming or cooling that will occur on earth in response to a positive or negative radiative forcing on Earth is referred to as the
carbon cycle feedback
Gases made from carbon, such as _______ ________ (two words) play an important role in regulating climate.
carbon dioxide
When organic-rich permafrost melts in the presence of oxygen, which greenhouse gas is produced by bacteria?
carbon dioxide
Which of the following is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity?
carbon dioxide
Use Figure 5.8 in your book (page 85) to answer the following question. Based on the Figure 5.8, what conclusion can be drawn about methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
carbon dioxide has a longer residence time in the atmosphere
Which of the following processes is involved in the atmosphere-rock reservoir carbon exchange? Select all that apply
chemical weathering, burning fossil fuels, and volcanic eruptions
The practice of cutting down forests is called
deforestation
Which of the following is not considered a greenhouse gas?
diatomic nitrogen
What is the concern if the permafrost melts?
enormous amounts of greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere
True or false: The ocean has no effect on Earth's climate.
false
Climate forcings and feedbacks are similar in that they both have the ability to affect the temperature on Earth. What is the key different between forcings and feedbacks?
forcings cause a change in temperature and feedbacks amplify that change
According to G. Asner, what might cause the breakup of glaciers to be much faster than previously thought?
fracture
Given that global respiration emits 10 times as much CO2 to the atmosphere than fossil fuel combustion annually, which explanation best explains why we are concerned about fossil fuels instead of CO2 rates from the land biosphere?
historical data shows that global respiration is balanced by photosynthesis, however there is no natural process to balance the fossil fuel combustion on human timescales
Imagine you are working as a climate advisor to the federal government and they want to craft a bill to drastically reduce methane emissions in America. Which of the following policies would you recommend to them as the most effective in reducing methane?
incentive programs to reduce meat production and consumption, while additionally subsidizing alternative diet options
The amount of carbon dioxide emitted as a result of human activities ______ the amount that plants and phytoplankton can absorb and use.
is greater than
Understanding the carbon cycle and how humans interact with it
is key for understanding changes in Earth's climate
The modern day global carbon cycle
is not in balance
Which of the following human activities is considered a perturbation to the carbon cycle on Earth? Select all that apply:
land use changes and fossil fuel combustion
The accumulation of dead, carbon-containing phytoplankton on the seafloor represents the ____ reservoir of carbon on the planet.
largest
When organic-rich permafrost melts in the absence of oxygen, which greenhouse gas is produced by bacteria?
methane
Methane is a ____ greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
more potent
In colder water, which form of oxygen increases?
oxygen-18
Frozen dirt in the Arctic tundra is called
permafrost
Plants and their oceanic counterparts, phytoplankton, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the process of
photosynthesis
Which method of carbon removal is already built into the climate machine?
photosynthesis
Which of the following events best explains the annual saw tooth pattern that is seen in the Keeling Curve?
photosynthesis and respiration of plants
The CO2-absorbing organisms at the base of the marine food web are called
phytoplankton
Tiny marine "plants" that absorb carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis are called
phytoplankton
When considering radiative forcings, [Select] radiative forcings warm the planet and [Select] radiative forcings cool the planet."
positive negative
In the ocean, the surface mixed layers warms quickly, but the deep ocean warms slowly .
quickly slowly
The change in Ein-Eout for the planet as a result of some change imposed on the planet before the temperature of the planet has adjusted in response, is called the:
radiative forcing
At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Joseph Berry and his team are working on
reinventing the solar cell.
Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activities have caused Earth's temperature to ____ due to the greenhouse effect.
rise
Which carbon reservoir exchange was responsible for the extremely high carbon dioxide levels present on earth millions of years ago?
rock to atmosphere exchange
Andrea Dutton looks for clues about past temperatures in
sea shells
According to David Holland, what evidence for a past glacier is seen in NYC's Central Park?
sediments
The atmosphere is a relatively _____ reservoir compared to other carbon reservoirs.
small
In the modern day global carbon cycle, which of the following is true about carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere?
sources > sinks
Where is the largest rainforest in the world located?
south america
According to P. Douglas, adding heat creates weather that is
super-sized.
The wood in trees, their trunks, leaves, and branches, is made by plants using carbon from
the atmosphere
Large volcanic eruptions can cause aerosols to be formed in the stratosphere, leading to what climactic response?
the climate experiences cooling that lasts several years
Which of the following compositions of carbon allows scientists to attribute increased carbon in the atmosphere to fossil fuel combustion?
the emissions are radiocarbon dead
Imagine you are a scientist and you are working with a museum on an archaeology exhibit. They tell you that they have an ancient leaf they believe to be 24,000 years old. You use radiocarbon dating and discover that the leaf contains 1/32 of the carbon-14 of a living plant. What do you tell the museum?
the leaf is actually 30,000 years old
Use Figure 5.7 in your book on page 81 to answer the following question. Figure 5.7 shows the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities (orange line) and the observed annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (blue line) since the 1960's. Why is the observed atmospheric CO2 so much lower than the emissions?
the observed CO2 is lower because some of the emissions are absorbed by the ocean and the land biosphere
As a result of a slowdown in ocean circulation caused by global warming
the ocean will become less effective at absorbing carbon dioxide
In what way do aerosols affect atmospheric cloud formation? Select all that apply:
they can make clouds evaporate quicker if black carbon is present they increase the number of cloud condensation-nuclei in a cloud they reduce rain formation, causing clouds to persist for longer periods
One way to track changes in the land, ocean, the global carbon cycle, and Earth's climate, is
through the use of Earth-observing satellites
According to scientific evidence, today's climate changes are linked to humanity's burning of fossil fuels.
true
According to the narrator, the level of atmospheric CO2 is a key factor in regulating earth's thermostat.
true
True or false: Carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater.
true
True or false: The Amazon rainforest is larger than Europe.
true
True or false: Trees store atmospheric carbon dioxide in their wood.
true
What is the most important positive feedback loop in Earth's climate system?
water vapor
Which of the following are considered slow feedbacks? Select all that apply:
weathering thermostat and carbon cycle
