Exam 23: Global Change in the Earth System

Which geologic event is NOT suspected as a source of major climate change,and directly or indirectly,mass-extinction events?

The figure below shows changes in sea level since the last ice age ended.Based on this,if Earth were to enter another ice age similar to the last one,what would the sea level most likely do?

Nearly all biological,physical,and chemical systems on Earth are disconnected and can be effectively studied in isolation from each other.

Cyclical global change includes the formation of core,mantle,and crust from a homogenous mixture,a state to which one day Earth will return.

Looking at the predicted changes in temperature predicted for the Earth in the figure below,which hemisphere appears most likely to be warming most quickly or severely?

Global warming has caused Earth to become warmer in the last few decades than it has ever been in geologic history.

Which of the following is an important long-term (acting over spans of tens of millions of years)factor in global climate change?

Why do ocean water and sea ice have very different effects on air temperatures?

The figure below shows a variety of processes that are part of the global carbon cycle.Which of the following three chemicals besides CO₂ are shown as part of the carbon cycle?

Which of these is the longest-lasting sink for CO₂?

Looking at the last 160 years of shallow ocean temperature in the figure below approximately when do these ocean waters appeared to have started to warm up?

Which of the following processes releases CO₂ to the atmosphere?

Warmer temperatures generally mean that the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 ____________ in both ice forming and in the calcite shells grown by plankton.

Which of the following processes removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Which of these greenhouse gases has the greatest total importance in retaining radiant energy from the Earth,and thereby contributing to global warming?

With the increased amount of information that has been discovered in recent years,scientists have become increasingly certain that ____________.

The graphs of five-year running averages of hemispheric temperature in the figure below are generally similar.If you assume that most of the temperature rise has been due to increased CO₂ generated by industry that was primarily in the northern hemisphere,do the northern and southern hemispheres appear to have separate air circulation,with very little or no mixing of air between them?

What environmental phenomenon caused most industrial nations to intentionally decrease their production and use of refrigerants and other chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)in the last 20 years?

A runaway greenhouse effect is an example of what kind of feedback mechanism?

According to the figure below,approximately how much has the sea level risen since the last ice age ended,approximately 16,000 years ago?