GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change - Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 Exam 1 Study Guide Thus far in this course, we have worked to understand the following aspects of global climate and climate change: What evidence do we have tha...

GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 Exam 1 Study Guide Thus far in this course, we have worked to understand the following aspects of global climate and climate change: What evidence do we have that earth’s climate is changing? Is a global climate change of a few degrees really a cause for concern? What is the difference between weather and climate? How does energy (radiation, sensible and latent) flow into, through, and out of the earth system? What factors influence the ways in which incoming solar radiation is distributed at different places, both at the top of the atmosphere and at Earth’s surface? What factors can cause Earth’s energy budget to become unbalanced? How does the composition and structure of the atmosphere affect Earth’s climate? How has the composition of the atmosphere changed due to human activities? How does the greenhouse effect create a climate that is warmer than would otherwise be possible given Earth’s proximity to the sun? Why does increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere enhance the greenhouse effect and how does this lead to a warmer atmosphere? What controls the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and, thus, amounts and spatial patterns of precipitation on Earth?? How does air pressure vary in the atmosphere, both horizontally and vertically? How does this influence wind patterns? The first exam will assess your understanding of these concepts, and will cover concepts from in- class discussions, lab assignments, and readings. It will be comprised of a mixture of true/false and multiple choice questions (modeled on those you have seen in the in-class quizzes) as well as six short answer questions drawn from the following list of potential questions. You will not be able to use any notes or other materials on this exam, so you’ll want to make sure you understand concepts well enough to write your responses without external aids. Because you are being provided the potential exam questions in advance, I will have higher expectations for accuracy and precision in your responses than I would for a regular exam and will grade accordingly. Make sure your answers are complete and accurate, and that they do not include information that is unnecessary. 1 GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 Potential Questions 1. The following statement is a key finding of the IPCC’s most recent (2022) assessment report on climate change. Describe, in detail, four independent lines of evidence that support this conclusion. 2. The figure below, taken from the IPCC 3rd Assessment Report (2001) explains how the occurrence of extreme hot weather and cold weather events is impacted by climate change. Interpret this figure in language that is appropriate for a member of the voting public, explaining exactly how the type, frequency, and magnitude of these kinds of extreme events has already changed, and will continue to change in the years ahead. 3. The figure below depicts the Arctic sea ice extent on September 17, 2012 (left) and again, five years later, on September 17, 2017 (right). Similar data were used in a ClimateDepot.com article, “Massive Arctic Ice Gain (Up 40%) Since Low Point of 2012,” asserting that global climate change is not occurring. Explain why these data fail to support this conclusion. (Note that ClimateDepot.com is run the political advocacy organization Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, which rejects the scientific consensus on climate change). 2 GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 4. The graph below illustrates the fundamental relationships between the energy intensity, wavelength, and temperature of a radiation-emitting object (in degrees Kelvin) for a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Describe these relationships and explain how these properties influence Earth’s energy balance (and, ultimately, its climate). 5. The two figures below illustrate the average insolation at the top of the atmosphere (left) and the average amount of solar radiation absorbed at the surface (right) over time. Both maps are in units of W/m2 and use the color scale displayed on the lower left. Provide an explanation for the spatial patterns that are evident in these figures, including the factors causing the spatial variation in each figure as well as why the top-of-atmosphere insolation and the surface absorption values are different. 3 GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 6. Create a diagram of Earth’s energy budget that includes the processes listed below. You do not need to include the exact energy fluxes or the relative proportions, just diagram and identify the processes themselves. Note that some individual processes fit within more than one of the following groupings. a. The four ways in which incoming solar energy is distributed upon entering the atmosphere b. The two ways in which energy is delivered to the Earth’s surface c. The three ways in which energy is released from the Earth’s surface d. The four ways in which energy is delivered to the Earth’s atmosphere e. The two ways in which energy is released from the Earth’s atmosphere f. The two ways in which energy, in the form of longwave radiation, exits the Earth system and is transmitted back to space. 7. The Galileo Movement, an Australian organization that campaigned against carbon taxes, circulated a document (written by an amateur astronomer) describing the potential role carbon dioxide in climate change. The document’s objective was to raise questions about, “whether global warming is possible and whether there is any need for a carbon tax”. The author stated, Nitrogen is just over 78%, Oxygen is just under 21% and Argon is almost 1%. CO2 is a minute trace gas at 0.038% … The vast bulk of the population have very little knowledge of science, so they find it impossible to make judgements about even basic scientific issues, let alone ones as complex as climate. This makes it easy for those with agendas to deceive us by using emotive statements rather providing real-world facts. Refute the assertion that carbon dioxide can’t cause global warming by explaining why molecules of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are able to absorb radiation at certain wavelengths while molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon do not. Then, explain how increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases affects Earth’s energy balance and inevitably leads to a warmer atmosphere. 4 GEG-125: Causes of Global Climate Change Spring 2025 8. Create a diagram that identifies the four thermal layers of the atmosphere and shows the way in which air temperature changes with increasing height in each layer. Then, write a short paragraph that explains why temperature changes as it does in the two lowest thermal layers. 5