climate change (21)

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

The state of the atmosphere at any given time

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

A description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region

Question 3

Climate System

Answer 3

Exchanges of energy and moisture occurring among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere

Question 4

Cryosphere

Answer 4

The portion of Earth’s surface where water is in solid form, including snow, glaciers, sea ice, freshwater ice, and frozen ground. It is one of the spheres of the climate system.

Question 5

Five connections between climate and geology

Answer 5

Glaciers
Volcanic Activity
Human Use of Fossil Fuels
Changes in Amount of Ice in the Sea
Changes in the Amount of Land Coverage

Question 6

Proxy Data

Answer 6

Data gathered from natural recorders of climate variability such as tree rings, ice cores, and ocean-floor sediments

Question 7

Paleoclimatology

Answer 7

The study of ancient climates; the study of climate and climate change prior to the period of instrumental records using proxy data

Question 8

What are some examples of natural recorders of climate variability?

Answer 8

Glacial Ice
Seafloor Sediments
Oxygen Isotopes
Corals
Tree-Growth Rings
Fossil Pollen

Question 9

The higher the 18O/16O ratio, the _____ the climate.

Answer 9

cooler

Question 10

The lower the 18O/16O ratio, the _____ the climate.

Answer 10

higher

Question 11

Oxygen-Isotope Analysis

Answer 11

A method of deciphering past temperatures based on the precise measurement of the ratio between two isotopes of oxygen, 16O and 18O. Analysis is commonly made of seafloor sediments and cores from ice sheets,

Question 12

Dendrochronology

Answer 12

The dating and study of tree rings

Question 13

What is clean, dry air is composed of?

Answer 13

78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
0.93% Argon
0.0405% Carbon Dioxide

Question 14

Aerosols

Answer 14

Tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere

Question 15

Troposphere

Answer 15

The lowermost layer of the atmosphere. It is generally characterized by a decrease in temperature with height

Question 16

Environmental Lapse Rate

Answer 16

The rate at which the temperature decreases in the troposphere

Question 17

Normal Lapse Rate

Answer 17

6.5 degrees Celsius per kilometer

Question 18

Radiosonde

Answer 18

A lightweight package of weather instruments fitted with a radio transmitter and carried aloft by a balloon

Question 19

Stratosphere

Answer 19

The layer of the atmosphere immediately above the troposphere, characterized by increasing temperatures with height, due to the concentration of ozone

Question 20

Mesophere

Answer 20

The part of the mantle that extends from the core-mantle boundary to the depth of 660 kilometers (aka the lower mantle)

Question 21

Thermosphere

Answer 21

The region of the atmosphere immediately above the mesosphere and characterized by increasing temperatures due to absorption of very shortwave solar energy by oxygen

Question 22

How does air pressure changes with an increase in altitude?

Answer 22

Air pressure decreases with increases in altitude

Question 23

All objects, at any temperature, ____ ____ ____.

Answer 23

emit radiant energy

Question 24

Hotter objects radiate _____ total energy per unit area than do cooler objects.

Answer 24

more

Question 25

The hotter the radiating object, the _____ the wavelength of maximum.

Answer 25

shorter

Question 26

Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good _____ as well.

Answer 26

emitters

Question 27

Albedo

Answer 27

The reflectivity of a substance, usually expressed as a percentage of the incident radiation reflected.

Question 28

What is the planetary albedo?

Answer 28

30%

Question 29

Greenhouse Effect

Answer 29

The transmission of short-wave solar radiation by the atmosphere coupled with the selective absorption of longer-wavelength terrestrial radiation, especially by water vapor and carbon dioxide, resulting in warming of the atmosphere

Question 30

Eccentricity

Answer 30

Changes in the shape of the orbit

Question 31

Obliquity

Answer 31

Variations in the angle that Earth’s axis makes with the plane of its orbit

Question 32

Precession

Answer 32

The wobbling of the axis

Question 33

Sunspot

Answer 33

A dark area on the Sun that is associated with powerful magnetic storms that extend from the Sun’s surface deep into the interior

Question 34

Trace Gases

Answer 34

Gases present in Earth’s atmosphere at concentrations much lower than that of carbon dioxide. Methane and nitrous oxide are important trace gases that absorb outgoing radiation and help warm the atmosphere

Question 35

Black Carbon

Answer 35

Soot generated by combustion processes and fires

Question 36

Feedback Mechanism

Answer 36

Various outcomes that may result when on of a complex interactive physical system’s elements is altered

Question 37

Positive Feedback Mechanism

Answer 37

As used in climatic change, any effect that acts to reinforce the initial change

Question 38

Negative Feedback Mechanism

Answer 38

As used in climatic change, any effect that is opposite the initial change and tends to offset it