geography exam 2 online review questions
Radioactive carbon-___ isotope has been used in dating organic objects that can be used in climate change studies.
14
The Little Ice Age was a brief cold period in which Europe suffered from famine around the years ___
1400 to 1850.
The climatic normal is based on the most recent _______ averages.
30 year
Hurricane Katrina reached a category ____ on the Saffir-Simpson Scale before landfall
5
The highest category for hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson Scale is a ____.
5
In tropical monsoon Asia, where there is a strong seasonal change in rainfall amounts, the Köppen classification is
Am
The steppe or semi-arid grassland climate is denoted as ___ in the Köppen climate classification.
BS
Northern India's monsoon climate may have _____ climate in the higher elevations.
Cw (humid moderate climate with dry winter)
The Greenland icecap and the Antarctica plateau would be classified as ____ climates.
EF (polar ice caps)
The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic never warm above 10C, but remain above freezing. The Köppen classification for these islands is
ET
When the annual temperature range remains between 0°C and 10°C, the climate is ___.
ET (polar tundra)
Charleston, South Carolina and ________ are both examples of Cfa (humid subtropical) climate.
Shanghai, China.
Desertification is:
The correct answer was: b. the process of desert expansion into the steppes
The Younger Dryas was an abrupt cooling period around 13000 years ago that was believed to be caused by:
a change in the thermohaline circulation of the Atlantic.
An occluded front is when:
a cold front overtakes and lifts the warm front.
Which of the following trait is NOT different with Cw (humid moderate w dry winter) and Aw (only rains during summer) climates
a distinct dry season
Which of the following is not considered a main type of uplift for precipitation?
advection
Which of the following has been influenced by human activities?
atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, changes to the surface albedo, atmospheric greenhouse gases concentration
The taiga vegetation includes
boreal forests
A study involving 50 years of tornado data would probably be considered:
climatology
Most rainfall occurs with ______ clouds.
cumulus
The study of tree rings in climate research is called:
dendrochronology
The rainshadow areas generally occur:
downwind of mountain ranges
The Milankovitch Cycle explains long-term natural climate variations based on:
earth's orbital cycles
Burning tropical forests _________
effects surface albedo, water balance, and adds carbon dioxide to the air
Mediterranean climates occur in all of these EXCEPT
florida
the highest frequency of thunderstorm days in the US occurs in
florida
When snow melts and refreezes on contact with a subfreezing surface it is called:
freezing rain
When two different air masses converge, they may produce _______ precipitation.
frontal
Twenty thousand years ago, the Earth was experiencing:
glaciation.
Measurements of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning show that about _____ of the atmospheric increase remains in the air, while the other half is taken up by _____.
half; ocean and continents
D climates generally have:
harsh winters and mild summers
B climates are found in all of these EXCEPT:
high latitudes
In the 2007 IPCC report, climate change that is predicted to be very likely (more than 90% probability) includes
higher minimum temperatures.
What are H climates?
highland climates
Anthropogenic climate change describes:
human caused climate change
In which climate does the warmest average monthly temperature stay below freezing?
ice cap
Most rain and snow occurring in the US and Canada occur through the ______ process.
ice-crystal
B climates can be found:
in all of these
The D Köppen climate classification is found:
in high latitude continental interior regions.
In most computer climate models, the greatest warming is predicted to occur _____.
in higher latitudes.
Global temperatures in the 20th century have:
increased except for the 1940 to 1970 period.
Today, we are living in a(n) ___________ period of climate.
interglacial
D (moist continental mid latitude) climates are characterized by a(n) _____ annual temperature range.
large
the release of stored heat when water freezes is called
latent heat
In B climates, actual evapotranspiration is generally ___ potential evapotranspiration
less than
In winter, most rain and snow storms that reach the west coast of the U.S. are from ____ air masses.
maritime polar
During the summer, ______ air mass brings warm, humid weather to the eastern US
maritime tropical
Hail occurs in the ______ stage of a thunderstorm development and can grow as large as ____.
mature; softballs.
Viking exploration and colonization of Greenland and Vineland (North America) took place during a warm period called ____.
medieval optimum
In mountain climates:
more climate zones occur in the vertical than the horizontal.
Tundra vegetation includes:
mosses, lichens, and stunted trees
Hurricanes never occur _______.
near the equator
The carbon dioxide-weathering feedback is an example of ____ feedback
negative
If rainforest trees are removed by logging, _____
none of these
Mediterranean or Cs Köppen climate is generally found:
on the west coast of continents near the subtropics.
The ratio of oxygen-18 to _____ isotopes has been used to show temperature changes taking place in the ocean and atmosphere in the past millions of years.
oxygen-16
Permafrost is
permanently frozen soil
The Köppen climate classification system is based on the grouping of _____.
plants
mid latitude cyclones tend to follow the
polar jet stream
In B climates most of the net radiation is used in
sensible heat
he peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season is in:
september
When snow melts and refreezes in cold air before reaching the Earth's surface, it is called
sleet
The Sahel of Africa is located:
south of the Sahara
a line of moving thunderstorms is called a
squall
Acid rain involves precipitation through an atmosphere with high amounts of
sulfur and nitrogen oxides
For Am climates, most precipitation occurs in the ____
summer
In the high mountains where forests are restricted by the cold, the treeline generally persists at an altitude where
summer temperatures are 10C or below.
In 1998, a large El Nino year, global temperatures were the warmest recorded up until that time. In comparison to the 1961-1990 mean, in 1998
the eastern equatorial Pacific was especially warm.
One of the uncertainties with global climate models is:
the effects of aerosols in clouds on climate change
The strongest winds and largest cloud development in a hurricane occur:
the eye wall
Why do polar ice caps not melt in the long summer daylight?
the high reflection of solar insolation
Over water surfaces, the potential evaporation is _____ the actual evaporation.
the same as
An indicator of warming is
the shift of vegetative zones to higher elevations and latitudes
Tornado Alley is located in ______ of the United States.
the south central states
Most damage and fatalities associated with hurricanes is due to ____.
the storm surge
The 2013 IPPC report stated that most global warming is ____ due to human activities raising greenhouse gases.
virtually certain
Which of these cannot be considered a C climate (moist subtropical mid latitude)
warmest month average is 9oC.
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was one of the largest warming events known) The spike in temperatures took place approximately ___ years ago.
55 million
What is the connection between deforestation of rainforests and McDonalds?
As forests are cleared, cattle ranchers move in creating pasturelands.
A savanna climate is denoted in Köppen classification as:
Aw
East coasts of mid-latitude continents generally have a _____ climate.
Cf ( humid moderate with dry winter)
Most of Western Europe is classified as ___ in Köppen classification.
Cfb (marine west coast)
In the ___ climate, rainfall occurs mostly during the cool season due to mid-latitude winter cyclones.
Cs (mediterranean)
For A climates the coolest month must be:
above 18oC.
the rate of evaporation depends on
all of the above: temperature, wind speed, and humidity
Global Climate Models (GCMs) show that natural forcing by solar variations and volcanic eruptions
are not as good at explaining the observed temperature record as anthropogenic influences.
In the eye of a hurricane:
clear skies, no wind or rain
Without __________, rainclouds will not form.
cloud condensation nuclei
Thunderstorms and heavy rains are more common when a ______ passes in a mid-latitude cyclone.
cold front
heat is released into the environment when water vapor changes into cloud droplets. this process is called:
condensation
One of the uncertainties with global climate models is:
cooler
In the last 15 million years, the Earth's climate could be described as:
ice house climate.
In the _____ stage of a thunderstorm, both strong updrafts and downdrafts dominate the system
mature
The record heat and drought of 2012 are good evidence of:
none of these
Evidence of climatic variation prior to instrumented data is called:
proxy data
The lower case f, as in Af, Cf and Df in the Köppen climate classification represents
rainfall throughout the year.
Along a warm front, warm air ________.
rises and cools
in general, the daily highest relative humidity occurs at
sunrise
which of the following contains the most water vapor
temperature of 80, relative humidity of 35%, dew point of 50
The Köppen climate classification is based on:
temperatures and precipitation
Deforestation of tropical rainforests is occurring in
the Amazon and tropical areas of Africa
the temperature at which air must be cooled to reach saturation is called
the dew point
Subgroups of C climates are mainly based on:
their seasonal precipitation patterns.
Hurricanes tend to dissipate when:
they hit land or cooler water
Cfa (humid subtropical) can be impacted by:
tornadoes, hurricanes, and droughts
When a tropical cyclone reaches wind velocity of 40 mph, it is termed a:
tropical storm
