Test your basic knowledge |

Global Warming

Subjects : literacy, science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Positive Albedo Feedback - increase in temperature melts ice and snow reduces albedo increases temperature melts ice and snow reduces albedo... ETC






2. Most of the deserts are around 30 N and 30 S - where sinking air predominates






3. O The amount of energy moving in the form of photons or other elementary particles at a certain distance from the source per unit of area per second. Area/second






4. South polar vortex - Temperatures drop below 80O Celsius in the lower stratosphere - At these temperatures the chemicals in the stratosphere freeze and form Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCS) - These increase the concentration of CFCs in turn destroyi






5. Number of days that exceed a given temperature






6. Number of days when temperatures climb above average by a fixed amount.






7. Longwave radiation - any radiation with a long wave will heat up quickly.






8. If the Earth is warmer - are we going to have the Hadley cell stronger or weaker? Hotter = heat rises which increases the circulation.






9. Descending Air dry - Convection cells are wet.






10. Absolute thresholds - Monthly maximums and minimums - Threshold departures - Percentile departure - Atmospheric Water Vapor: More water vapor in the air - warmer nights!






11. Over the past century what has happened to the Earth's temperature?






12. Unfrozen ground that is found within a mass of permafrost






13. Hydrological drought is associated with the effect of low rainfall on water levels in rivers -!reservoirs -!lakes and aquifers.






14. Wet gets _____ - dry gets ____ - Wet - 50ON (sub polar) Canada - N Europe - Russia - Tropical area- monsoon (rainforest) - Drier - Subtropics - Australia - S. Africa - Mediterranean - Caribbean - Mexico - SW US






15. 1.4 USA - 57 m total sea level equivalent






16. 78% nitrogen - 28% oxygen - Greenhouse gases: Have a more complex molecular structure and can absorb and re:radiate heat in all directions.






17. Is not an externally imposed perturbation to the climate system.






18. 1. We live in troposphere. Greenhouse gases here warm up the Earth 2. Above stratosphere. The ozone in this layer protects us.






19. Thawing permafrost weakens coastal lands. Risk of flooding in coastal wetlands. Pollution and toxins locked in the snow and ice will be released.






20. Laser radar - H V - Long time series - high accuracy - Density






21. Water vapor - 36-70% - carbon dioxide - 9-26% - methane - 4-9% - ozone - 3-7%






22. Refers to a body of freshwater - usually shallow - formed in a depression by melt water from thawing permafrost.






23. Nitrogen (N2 78%) and Oxygen (O2 21%) - Their linear 2 atom molecular structure






24. How often does El Nio occur?






25. he increase of ozone concentration in the atmosphere helps ____ our planet






26. LW - SW - 55% absorbed by surface






27. CO2 - CH4 - O3 - H2O - N2O - CFCs






28. In _______ - the inversions are less frequent and weaker in the Arctic.






29. Where do greenhouse gases warm up the Earth?






30. Is defined usually on the basis of the degree of dryness (in comparison to some 'normal' or average amount






31. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize GHG emissions - the Protocol commits them to do so.






32. 1. Altimetry survey 2. Time-variable gravity 3. Ice motion + Regional Climate Modeling






33. Due to a set of mutually reinforcing processes - climate change appears to be progressing in the arctic more quickly than in any other region on Earth.






34. CO2 GHG forcing - H2O - dominant/major GHG






35. In ________- inversion layer is more common in the Arctic






36. InSAR - +snow/-ice loss - ice dynamics - requires a lot of data.






37. High clouds are a ____ feedback; larger greenhouse warming - Clouds reflect shortwave radiation but also absorb longwave radiation






38. Atmosphere retains ____ CO2






39. They saw a massive thinning of the ice where it enters into the ocean - This is due to the pronounced melting of the ice once it is in contact with the ocean. Melt rates of 25 m/year near the grounding lines and more than 10 m/year on average.






40. Frozen +2 years - Few centimeters to 1500 m






41. A climate forcing agent formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels - biofuel - and biomass; emitted both anthropogenic:ally and naturally.






42. Climate models suggest once the sea ice cover is thinned sufficiently - a strong kick from natural variability could initiate a rapid slide towards ice-free conditions in the summer.






43. Sea ice - Continental ice sheets - Permafrost (frozen soil) - Mountain glaciers - Snow cover






44. Ice sheets have a very ____ Albedo






45. Extent will increase the warming because less energy will be reflected back to the atmosphere by the ice and more will be absorbed by the ocean.






46. The transition of a substance from the solid phase directly to the vapor phase - or vice versa - without passing through an intermediate liquid phase.






47. When inversion breaks up _______________. - Consequently - anything that breaks inversions or makes them form less often could produce major ground level warming.






48. A dome shaped cover of perennial ice and snow.






49. Just remember the general direction of the circulation - Rising northern pacific. You start in between Greenland and Europe (youngest water) - Oldest water is in the Pacific Ocean - Salty water> fresh water - Cold Water > Warm Water






50. Slow steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of Earth's stratospheric ozone.