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






2. 1. Land usage changes 2. Seasonal timing 3. Rising CO2 levels may be a factor






3. This is the total mass change - difference between input and outputs—snow accumulation-ablation.






4. When meltwater seeps through a flowing glacier - it can lubricate the base and hasten the glacier's seaward flow.






5. Arctic warms faster than other parts of the globe in response to a given increase in greenhouse gasses - More direct route to warming - In the Arctic a greater fraction of any increase in radiation absorbed by the surface goes directly into warming t






6. SMB- mass balance due to processes that affect the surface of the ice sheet. Precipitation- evapotranspiration-runoff-blowing snow etc.






7. How much is the planet really warming?






8. 20% human produced CO2 emissions. Tropical forests hold around 50% of the carbon present in vegetation on Earth.






9. Refers to the irregular warming in the Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) from the coasts of Peru and Ecuador to the equatorial central Pacific - the Southern Oscillation






10. Sea ice extent in Antarctica is rapidly reducing. Seasonal variability. People - Animals and Ice






11. How often does El Nio occur?






12. Average molecular life span is less than 10 years - Major sources: Wetlands and oceans - Raising cattle and landfills.






13. High vs low






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






15. Temperature needed to melt at depth is much lower than that needed to melt at the surface.






16. A process whereby slabs of ice at the glacier margin mechanically fracture and detach from the main ice mass -






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






18. LW - SW - 55% absorbed by surface






19. Water vapor means more water up in the clouds and less in the ground!






20. Some parts of the planet are dry because of their location: most of the deserts are around 30 N and 30 S - where sinking air predominates






21. 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






22. A mass of land ice - continental or sub-continental in extent - and thick enough to cover most of the underlying bedrock topography - If you have a warm ocean - it will melt the ice sheet. Its shape is mainly determined by the dynamics of its outward






23. Betts et al found that: if CO-2 __________ this has a physiological effect on plant transpiration increased simulated runoff by 6% b. How? i. More CO2 1. Plants pores open less 2. This reduces transpiration 3. More water in the land surface






24. The land-surface configuration that results from the melting of ground ice in a region where permafrost degrades is called Thermokarst.






25. Set up in 1988 by WMO and UNEP.






26. Arctic troposphere is thinner (8-10 km) than the tropics...The depth of the atmospheric layer is much shallower in the Arctic - It takes less energy to warm the Arctic rather than the Tropics - Same as heating an apartment vs. a house






27. A thick - floating slab of freshwater ice extending from coast to coast.






28. More common






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






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






31. Troposphere - Stratosphere (Ozone Layer) - Mesosphere - Ionosphere






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






33. Rainy on yearly average. In these regions - rising air predominates.






34. Permafrost- A frozen soil






35. Prolonged period of excessively hot weather - Which may be accompanied by high humidity.






36. 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.






37. Like weighing oneself on the scale.






38. 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.






39. Under higher pressure the melting point decreases ____ - The pressure comes from the weight of the ice shelf.






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






41. Ice flowing from the middle of Greenland to the edges and melting. 90 feet a day- speed that ice is moving.






42. Trade winds blow from East to West - Pool of warm water in the west - Meanwhile deep colder water rises up in the Eastern Pacific - The sea level is ~ 50-60 cm higher in Western Pacific (Indonesia) than in the Eastern Pacific (South America/Peru) -






43. Rain is getting harder and the rain is lasting longer since the past couple of decades and will continue for that amount.






44. 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






45. Industrial product - 300 ppb (parts per billion)






46. Less frequent and weaker






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






48. Where does the ozone protect us?






49. The depletion of stratospheric ozone layer in Antarctica in Springtime (august through October)






50. The air can hold less water vapor - Consequently - less water can be evaporated in the air - and only a small portion of energy is used in this process - Most of the energy that reaches the Arctic goes directly into warming the air