Climate Change Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What is the present concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere?

280 parts per thousand

417 parts per thousand (correct)

360 parts per million

560 parts per million

423 parts per million

There is widespread agreement that to minimize the amount of catastrophic damage due to climate change, the total amount of warming of the Earth's surface since the onset of the Industrial Revolution must be kept to $≤1.5°C$. Given current trends in fossil fuels burning and energy policies of industrialized countries, what is the more likely amount of total global warming that will occur in this century?

4°C or higher as we are on the 'business as usual' emissions track

between 3.0 and 4.0°C

This is a trick question

between 1.5 and 2.0°C

between 2.0 and 3.0°C (correct)

Which one of the following statements best describes how the present-day concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere compares to the past before the accelerated use fossil-fuels?

The CO2 concentration in today's atmosphere has started to decline since the Paris Agreement was made in 2015 reflecting that industrial countries have successfully initiated efforts to develop and use more green energy.

The CO2 concentration in today's atmosphere is higher than the past few 100s of thousands of years but it is rising so slowly that it is negligibly impacting humans and other life on Earth.

The CO2 concentration in today's atmosphere is higher than that of any time in the past 14 million years ago. (correct)

The CO2 concentration in today's atmosphere has stayed near constant over the time since humans evolved.

We don't know because it is not possible to reconstruct how atmospheric CO2 has varied in the very distant past.

Which one of the following is not a reason why extreme precipitation events have been increasing in both frequency and intensity over the past 3 decades?

The Earth's surface has warmed on average by 1.2°C since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following conditions has maintained the warming at this level and prevented a higher level of warming? That is, given the amount of CO2 that has been added to the atmosphere since the 1860s, higher temperatures would be expected.

The oceans have absorbed ~90% of the excess heat created by increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following best explains why climate change that is happening now appears to be unprecedented in Earth history when compared to past times of major climate change?

This statement is not true. Past periods of climate change that we will learn about in GEL 10 were far more extreme than what is happening presently thus modern climate change is not unprecedented. Modern climate change is unprecedented because the rate of change in environmental conditions is faster than ever previously experienced on Earth. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following behaviors is not contributing to the increase in wildfire activity in the western US over the past few decades?

Energy and matter are constantly flowing through the different reservoirs of the Earth system. Signup and view all the answers

What do we call the atmosphere if more CO2, which is generated by fossil-fuel burning, flows into the atmosphere (and is stored) than flows out (into the ocean or into the biosphere for photosynthesis)?

a source Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following Earth system components has absorbed the most heat energy created by fossil-fuel burning and land-use changes over the past 100 years?

the oceans (part of the hydrosphere) Signup and view all the answers

Are the greenhouse effect and global warming interchangeable terms? Which one of the following statements correctly speaks to this issue?

The natural greenhouse effect is primarily controlled by the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere (the primary greenhouse gas), which varies seasonally with changing temperature of the atmosphere, whereas global warming (enhanced greenhouse effect) is a consequence of fossil-fuel burning that is adding more CO2 to the atmosphere. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following sets of actions will lead to a negative feedback loop? Note, the actions listed below do not complete the feedback loop; you need to do that to answer the question.

Set 5: Air temperatures warm, the number of photosynthesizing algae (coccoliths) in the ocean increases. These algae give off a sulfur-rich gas (di-methyl sulfide) that causes formation of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere, which in turn act to nucleate low-lying clouds. Signup and view all the answers

And what is the effect of this negative feedback on the Earth's climate?

It stabilizes the system by returning conditions back towards where they started. Signup and view all the answers

You work for an environmental advocacy group and you have traveled to the Arctic with a White House representative to negotiate buying Greenland. The pilot announces that he seems to have miscalculated the landing target by several 1000s of kilometers. This is because the flight path of the plane has been deflected in which one of the following directions?

deflected to the west (right) welcome to Missouri Signup and view all the answers

The tropics is where atmospheric circulation is initiated. Which one of the following statements best describes why?

The intensity of Sun's heat energy delivered to Earth is greatest in the tropics (i.e., the ITCZ) leading to warming of the oceans, evaporation, and vertical rising of moisture-rich warm air masses. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following is the 'pump' (fuel) that keeps the flow of air moving through the atmospheric circulation cells and is an effective way to move water and heat energy from one area to another?

the Coriolis effect Signup and view all the answers

The Jet Stream delivers winter storms brought from the northern Pacific Ocean to California, Oregon, and Washington. Which one of the following correctly describes the Jet Stream?

A river of fast-moving air ~10 km high in the atmosphere that flows between the high- and low-pressure regions in the mid-latitudes. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following is causing the Jet Stream to weaken and develop 'kinks' that leads to extended heat waves or freezes?

The 4 times more rapid warming in the Arctic region than elsewhere on the planet is lessening the difference in temperatures between the Arctic and the tropics, causing the Jet Stream to weaken. Signup and view all the answers

Which of one of the following statements explains why O2 and N2, which make up 99% of the atmosphere, do not absorb Earth's heat energy, whereas gases such as CO2 and CH2, which are present in small quantities in Earth's atmosphere, are strong greenhouse gases?

The bonds between atoms in dipolar molecules (greenhouse gases) can bend and stretch to accommodate the absorption of infrared radiation; diatomic molecules (charge balanced) cannot do this so heat energy passes right through them. Signup and view all the answers

Some parts of the surface ocean are 'marine deserts' and others are teeming with photosynthesizing life (primary producers). Of the following places in the ocean, where are marine deserts found?

in the middle of gyres Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following reasons best explains why these regions are marine deserts?

These regions are positioned under the atmospheric subtropical highs, thus there are minimal winds, there are no strong surface currents, and the surface water is evaporatively enriched. Signup and view all the answers

Arctic sea ice and Greenland ice sheet melting are major concerns given the impact on the climate system. Which one of the following statements best describes this impact?

Melting of the Greenland ice sheet and less sea-ice formation will decrease the surface ocean salinity in the polar region making it less dense, decrease the rate of deep-water formation and lead to a slowing of the oceanic conveyer belt. Signup and view all the answers

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been disrupting climate in the western Americas for over 4 million years. Which one of the following statements best summarizes what is the ENSO system?

A linked oceanic-atmospheric system in the tropical/subtropical Pacific that creates drought conditions in the western Americas during El Niño events and wet conditions during La Niña events. Signup and view all the answers

The transfer (cycling) of carbon through the different reservoirs of the Earth system influences surface conditions and is necessary for life. Which one of the following statements best explains why C cycling is so critical?

C cycling through the Earth System reservoirs regulates the CO2 and CH4 contents in the atmosphere. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following is direct evidence that the Earth's carbon cycle is currently out of balance and that the atmosphere is acting more like a sink for CO2 than a source?

CO2 levels in the atmosphere have increased by 35% over the past 70+ years and continue to rise by ~ 2 ppm/yr. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following processes is the uber-restorer of atmospheric CO2 levels — that is, it is the only process that can completely return the Earth's CO2 to ‘healthy' levels and stabilize its climate if given enough time?

biologic pumping in the oceans and photosynthesis on land by trees and other vegetation Signup and view all the answers

The Earth has two main climate states — which one of the following has been the far more common climate state throughout Earth history?

Greenhouses Signup and view all the answers

Most of the world's oil formed during a greenhouse period 200 million years ago — the time of the dinosaurs & giant reptiles. The oil- & gas stored in deeply buried rocks or pumped out are the geologic expression of which environmental condition that developed during this time of global warming?

Very slow ocean circulation due to warming that led to little CO2 being brought to the deep ocean by the oceanic conveyor belt and thus the dead organic matter that sank to the seafloor could be preserved and buried to create oil and natural gas. Signup and view all the answers

The PETM is our closest, but still imperfect, analogue for better understanding modern climate change. Which one of the following is the most important lesson learned from studying this past event in terms of better understanding modern climate change?

That there are natural processes in the Earth System that can cause oceans to lose oxygen (anoxia) due to global warming and that our biggest threat in the future is not warming but rather is oceanic anoxia as most of the world's food comes from the oceans. Signup and view all the answers

That the Earth has experienced many past periods of natural release of greenhouse gases — on the same time-scale as anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions — and the Earth has recovered from climate change, each time, through natural processes that are operating today. So it is likely that these processes will resolve present-day climate change within the next few decades. Which one of the following statements is not correct about the Earth's climate?

That the rate of C emissions to the atmosphere today is minimally an order of magnitude faster than any naturally driven climate change event in Earth's history. Signup and view all the answers

Which one of the following statements best describes why methane (CH4) clathrates are of scientific relevance to humans today?

Study of past climate change tells us they can melt if the deep ocean warms by a few degrees leading to anoxia (oxygen depletion) in the ocean as the CH4 oxidizes (a positive feedback). Signup and view all the answers

Different reservoirs in the Earth System are capable of naturally sequestering a lot of CO2, but sometimes at an environmental cost. Which one of the following choices best indicates what natural method(s) on land or in the sea is/are currently being used to effectively alleviate these environmental costs while increasing CO2 sequestration?

Removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through planting of new trees in existing forests (reforestation) and creating new forests (afforestation). Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Quiz Questions

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere: 417 parts per million

Climate Change Impact Minimization

Global warming limit: Minimizing the warming of the Earth's surface to ≤1.5°C since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Likely global warming in this century: Between 2.0°C and 3.0°C, based on current energy policies and fossil fuel use.
Current warming stance: Most countries are committed to reaching "net zero" (carbon neutrality) by 2045-2050.

Atmospheric CO2 Concentration

Current CO2 levels compared to the past: Higher than any time in the past 14 million years.

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Description

Test your knowledge on the current state of climate change, including CO2 concentrations, warming limits, and global warming predictions. Explore the impacts of current energy policies and the commitment of countries to achieve carbon neutrality. This quiz covers critical concepts essential for understanding climate science.