Deck 20: Climate

Question 1

The most realistic models of atmospheric warming predict that mean global surface temperature will increase about ________ during the second half of the twenty-first century.

A) 2.5˚C
B) 3.5˚C
C) 4.5˚C
D) 5.5˚C
E) 6.5˚C

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The ________ climates are land-controlled climates, the result of broad continents in the middle latitudes.

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) E

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The ________ west coast climate is situated on the western (windward) side of continents from about 40 to 65 degrees north and south latitude.

A) Mediterranean
B) marine
C) humid
D) continental
E) subtropical

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which one of the following is NOT a component of the climate system?

A) biosphere
B) solid Earth
C) exosphere
D) cryosphere
E) hydrosphere

Question 5

The ________ sides of mountains are often wet.

A) leeward
B) sunny
C) windward
D) steep
E) southern

Question 6

The two types of dry (B) climates are desert and ________.

A) tundra
B) taiga
C) steppe
D) arid
E) highland

Question 7

Within the A group of climates, the two main types are wet tropical climates and tropical ________.

A) rain forest
B) wet and dry
C) highlands
D) lowlands
E) deltas

Question 8

Which one of the following is NOT a trace gas contributing to a future global increase in temperature?

A) nitrous oxide
B) methane
C) water vapor
D) chlorofluorocarbons

Question 9

The humid subtropical climate dominates the ________ United States.

A) central
B) southeastern
C) western
D) northeastern
E) southwestern

Question 10

Winterless climates with all months having a mean temperature above 18˚C are known as ________ climates.

A) humid tropical
B) dry
C) polar
D) humid middle-latitude

Question 11

For more than 70 years, the best-known and most used climate classification system has been the ________ classification.

A) Klingel
B) Köppen
C) Smith
D) Hutton
E) Saffir

Question 12

The two most important elements in a climatic description are temperature and ________.

A) cloud cover
B) pressure
C) wind
D) air mass type
E) precipitation

Question 13

The subarctic climate is often called the ________ climate.

A) taiga
B) polar
C) highland
D) arctic
E) tundra

Question 14

Which climate group has precipitation as its primary criterion?

A) D group
B) A group
C) C group
D) E group
E) B group

Question 15

The most luxuriant vegetation found in any climatic realm is the ________.

A) tundra
B) mid-latitude forest
C) taiga
D) tropical rain forest
E) savannah

Question 16

The name ________ climate is often used as a synonym for the dry-summer subtropical climate.

A) Australian
B) Indian
C) Mediterranean
D) African
E) European

Question 17

In a climatological sense, dryness is a function of both annual rainfall and ________.

A) altitude
B) solar radiation
C) wind direction
D) slope
E) evaporation

Question 18

Almost ________ of Australia is desert.

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 30%
D) 40%
E) 50%

Question 19

The Köppen climate classification recognizes ________ principal climate groups.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six

Question 20

The climate in which temperatures average 25˚C or more each month and total precipitation for the year is high is the ________ climate.

A) marine west coast
B) humid subtropics
C) humid continental
D) wet tropics
E) highland

Question 21

Earth's low-latitude deserts and steppes coincide with the ________ pressure belts.

A) subtropical high
B) equatorial low
C) subpolar low
D) polar high
E) both A and C

Question 22

Word Analysis. Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.
A. carbon dioxide B. ozone C. nitrous oxide D. methane

Question 23

The combustion of ________ has added great quantities of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

A) fossil fuels
B) wood
C) paper
D) oxygen
E) none of the above

Question 24

Climates where evaporation exceeds precipitation are called ________ climates.

A) humid tropical
B) dry
C) humid middle-latitude
D) polar
E) highland

Question 25

Köppen believed that the distribution of ________ was an excellent expression of the totality of climate.

A) solar energy
B) sedimentary rocks
C) ocean basins
D) tsunami
E) natural vegetation

Question 26

Earth's middle-latitude deserts exist principally because of their positions in the deep interiors of large landmasses, far removed from the oceans.

Question 27

The largest stretch of continuous forests on Earth coincides with a subarctic climate.

Question 28

The two main types of A climates are wet tropical climates and tropical wet and dry climates.

Question 29

The dry-summer subtropical climate is the only humid climate that has a strong winter rainfall maximum.

Question 30

Af and Am climates form a discontinuous belt astride the ________.

A) Tropic of Capricorn
B) equator
C) Tropic of Cancer
D) Arctic Circle
E) Prime Meridian

Question 31

Word Analysis. Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.
A. lithosphere B. atmosphere C. hydrosphere D. biosphere

Question 32

Word Analysis. Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.
A. desert B. steppe C. subarctic D. rain shadow

Question 33

The Köppen classification has been the best known and most used climate classification system for more than 70 years.

Question 34

The magnitude of a temperature increase due to greenhouse warming will probably be smallest in the ________.

A) polar regions
B) lower middle-latitudes
C) higher middle-latitudes
D) subtropics
E) tropics

Question 35

The ________ climate is located on the eastern sides of continents, in the 25- to 40-degree latitude range.

A) dry-summer subtropical
B) humid continental
C) humid subtropical
D) Mediterranean
E) marine west coast

Question 36

The terms variety and changeability best describe mountain climates.

Question 37

The leeward sides of mountains are typically dry and are often arid enough to be referred to as ________.

A) rain shadow deserts
B) steppes
C) a Mediterranean climate
D) taigas
E) tundras

Question 38

Compared to places at lower elevations, highland climates are usually cooler and ________.

A) less changeable
B) wetter
C) sunny
D) dryer
E) none of the above

Question 39

The windward sides of mountains are often wet.

Question 40

The largest area of marine west coast climate is located in ________.

A) South America
B) Asia
C) Europe
D) North America
E) Australia

Question 41

Köppen believed that the distribution of solar radiation was an excellent expression of the totality of climate.

Question 42

The tundra climate is a treeless climate found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.

Question 43

The largest area of Cfb climate is located in Europe.

Question 44

Annual temperature ranges are high throughout a humid continental climate.

Question 45

The southeastern United States is a good example of a humid subtropical climate.

Question 46

Four of the major climate groups are defined on the basis of temperature characteristics.

Question 47

Wintertime precipitation in ________ and ________ climates is chiefly associated with the passage of fronts connected with traveling middle-latitude cyclones.

Question 48

As a tool for presenting the general pattern of climates, the ________ classification has been the best known and most used system for more than 70 years.

Question 49

The five parts of the climate system are the ________, ________, ________, ________, and ________.

Question 50

Af and Am climates form a discontinuous belt astride the ________.

Question 51

Positive feedback mechanisms produce results that are opposite of the initial change and tend to offset it.

Question 52

A savanna is a tropical grassland with scattered drought-tolerant trees.

Question 53

What are the three variables used in the Köppen system to establish the boundary between dry and humid climates?

Question 54

As a result of global warming, a significant melting of glaciers is expected during the next century.

Question 55

The hydrosphere refers to the snow and ice that exist at Earth's surface.

Question 56

Altitude and precipitation are the two most important elements in a climatic description.

Question 57

Winterless climates with all months having a mean temperature above 18°C are called ________ climates.

Question 58

The climate system involves only Earth's atmosphere and solid surface.

Question 59

Since the mid-nineteenth century there has been an increase of more than ________ percent in the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.

Question 60

A semiarid climate represents a transition zone that surrounds a desert and separates it from the bordering humid climates.

Question 61

Earth's low-latitude deserts and steppes coincide with the ________ pressure belts.

Question 62

Tropical wet and dry climates are located ________ of the wet tropics and ________ of the tropical deserts.

Question 63

The lowest recorded temperature in North America was ________ at Snag Yukon, Canada, in February 1947.

Question 64

Compared to nearby places at lower elevations, sites with ________ climates are cooler and usually wetter.

Question 65

Extending from Norway to the Pacific coast of Russia is a great expanse of ________ climate, often referred to as the taiga climate.

Question 66

The boundaries of the Köppen climates are largely based on the limits of certain ________ associations.

Question 67

Köppen believed that the distribution of natural ________ was an excellent expression of the totality of climate.

Question 68

Climatic zones are often based on different types of vegetation that result from the prevailing climatic conditions. Considering such zones, what are some of the potential problems when using fossil plant assemblages to interpret ancient climates? What are some of the factors (geological or otherwise), that would influence your conclusions?

Question 69

The two types of dry climates are ________ or desert and ________ or steppe.

Question 70

Atmospheric carbon dioxide is transparent to incoming ________-wavelength solar radiation, but it is not transparent to some of the ________-wavelength outgoing terrestrial radiation.

Question 71

Which climate is situated on the western (windward) side of continents, from about 40 to 65 degrees north and south latitude?

Question 72

The two types of polar climates are the ________ climate (ET) and the ________ climate (EF).

Question 73

________ climate is summer-less with the average temperature of the warmest month below 10˚C.

Question 74

The ________ climate is also referred to as a Mediterranean climate.

Question 75

The two most important elements in a climatic description are ________ and ________.

Question 76

________ climates are those in which the average temperature of the coldest month is below -3˚C and the warmest monthly mean exceeds 10˚C.

Question 77

List the three trace gases that, along with carbon dioxide, are contributing to a future global increase in temperature.

Question 78

The most studied and well-documented urban climatic effect is the ________.

Question 79

________ is often described as being an aggregate of weather.

Question 80

The Köppen climate classification system uses mean monthly and annual values of ________ and ________.