Deck 23: Global Change in the Earth System

Question 1

Which of the following types of global change is reversible?

A)orogenic uplift
B)melting and crystallization of sedimentary rock to form igneous rock
C)evolution of life on Earth
D)flooding of the continents due to global warming

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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?

A)CO (carbon monoxide),C (graphite or diamond),and CO₃ (carbon trioxide)
B)CH₄ (methane),O₃ (ozone),and C (graphite or diamond)
C)CH₄ (methane),HCO₃- (bicarbonate),and CaCO₃ (calcite)
D)CO (carbon monoxide),CO₃ (carbon trioxide),and CaCO₃ (calcite)

Answer 2

C

Question 3

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

Answer 3

False

Question 4

How are bicarbonate and carbon dioxide related to one another?

A)carbon dioxide (CO₂)forms when bicarbonate minerals break down
B)carbon dioxide forms when bicarbonate migrates from a gaseous state in the atmosphere into soils
C)bicarbonate forms when CO₂ molecules enter into water
D)Bicarbonate and CO₂ are the same thing.

Question 5

Based on the last approximately 130 years of solar energy reaching the top of Earth's atmosphere in the figure below,do you think the solar energy reaching Earth's atmosphere should rise or fall in the next 10 years?

A)rise
B)fall

Question 6

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

A)respiration (breathing)of animals
B)burning of coal and other fossil fuels
C)volcanism
D)photosynthesis

Question 7

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

Question 8

Change within the Earth system is unidirectional and cannot be reversed.

Question 9

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

A)decrease in albedo due to soot from volcanic eruptions
B)variation in Milankovitch orbital parameters
C)variation in the abundance of sunspots
D)atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide

Question 10

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

A)positive
B)negative

Question 11

In this chapter,"sedimentary sequences" refers to variations ____________ within stratigraphic sequences.

A)in fossil content
B)in the coarseness of clastic sediments/sedimentary rocks (e.g. ,proportion of sands/sandstones vs.muds/mudstones [such as shales])
C)due to or related to changes in sea level

Question 12

The figure below shows the transmission,absorption,and reflection of radiation from various sources.In which layer (of the three layers labeled A,B,and C on the figure)do greenhouse gasses accumulate?

A)layer A
B)layer B
C)layer C

Question 13

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

A)plant tissues and cellulose (the "woody" parts of plants)
B)the atmosphere
C)air bubbles within glacial ice
D)limestones

Question 14

How much CO₂ is pulled out of the atmosphere each year by various life forms?

A)about 63 million cubic yards,measured at STP (standard temperature and pressure)
B)about 63 billion molecules
C)about 63 thousand tons,when measured at STP (standard temperature and pressure)
D)about 63 billion tons

Question 15

Pollen species CANNOT be used to interpret ancient environments because most species inhabit all environments.

Question 16

The presence of liquid water on Earth's surface is ____________.

A)not surprising because many other bodies in the Solar System have liquid water
B)unique in the Solar System,but is an inherent feature of Earth that would be found regardless of the Earth-Sun distance
C)unique in the Solar System;liquid water would not have developed had Earth been much closer to or much farther from the Sun

Question 17

Which of the following processes releases CO₂ to the atmosphere?

A)photosynthesis
B)weathering of silicate rocks
C)volcanism
D)burial of organic matter

Question 18

Stratigraphic studies have found evidence of numerous cycles of sea level rise and fall after the Precambrian.These cycles often have a sandstone at the base,grade up into coal,and are called ____________.

A)geotherms
B)sedithems
C)bathycycles
D)cyclothems

Question 19

The hydrologic cycle includes which of these?

A)changes in the storage of H₂O within glaciers
B)increased fluxes of methane (CH₄)into the atmosphere
C)changes in the net storage of H₂O within the bodies and tissues of all living things
D)A and B are both correct.

Question 20

A biogeochemical cycle means the ____________.

A)movement of biogeochem minerals over time through the rock cycle
B)exchange of chemicals among magmatic and solid-phase systems
C)transitioning and residence of specific chemicals among living and nonliving systems
D)A and B are both correct.

Question 21

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?

A)the northern hemisphere
B)the southern hemisphere
C)The northern and southern hemispheres appear to be warming equally.

Question 22

Tectonic uplift and resultant chemical weathering ____________ CO₂ to/from the atmosphere.

A)remove
B)add
C)have no net effect on

Question 23

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

Question 24

A crater in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula is about the right age to be a result of an impact that brought about the extinction of numerous species at the end of the ____________ Period.

A)Silurian
B)Jurassic
C)Cretaceous
D)Tertiary

Question 25

The factors that affect Earth's long-term climate are different from those that affect climate on shorter time scales.

Question 26

Some plankton make shells of calcite/aragonite,that is,CaCO₃.They do this metabolically by combining calcium (Ca²⁺)ions and bicarbonate (HCO₃-)ions that are both dissolved in water around them.When such plankton dies,their shells sink downward to become sediment of the ocean floor.Under some conditions in the ocean or sediment,the CaCO₃ shells may dissolve,locally enriching the pore waters or deep-ocean waters in HCO₃-.Portions of this total process could be considered belonging to each of the following cycles,EXCEPT for the ____________.

A)carbon cycle
B)biogeochemical cycle
C)methane cycle
D)calcium cycle

Question 27

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?

A)rise about 120 m
B)rise about 20 m
C)fall about 20 m
D)fall about 120 m

Question 28

Albedo is the tendency of a surface to reflect solar energy instead of absorb it.Over the last 20 years the amount of the Arctic Ocean that has ice on it has decreased each summer,thereby exposing more and more of the Arctic Ocean to the atmosphere each summer.Would this cause the total absorbtion of heat in the Arctic to increase or decrease?

A)increase
B)decrease

Question 29

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?

A)1880
B)1910
C)1940
D)1990

Question 30

The last ice age ended approximately 16,000 years ago.The warmest global temperatures since then occurred in the ____________.

A)period of human-induced global warming,that is,very recently
B)Younger Dryas,approximately 13,000 years ago
C)Little Ice Age,approximately 400 years ago
D)Holocene Maximum,approximately 6,000 years ago.

Question 31

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

A)Ocean water reflects solar energy much more effectively than sea ice.
B)Ocean water absorbs solar energy much more effectively than sea ice.

Question 32

The formation of oil shale deposits,coals,and limestones has what overall effect on CO₂ in the Earth's atmosphere?

A)increases the total CO₂ in the atmosphere
B)decreases the total CO₂ in the atmosphere
C)The formation of oil shale deposits,coals,and limestones has very little effect.

Question 33

Ice cores from continental glaciers provide geologists opportunities to study past atmospheric conditions such as air temperature and greenhouse gas content.The reliable record available from coring ice in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets gives information back to approximately ____________.

A)65 million years ago
B)5 million years ago
C)700,000 years ago
D)150,000 years ago

Question 34

Oxygen-18 and oxygen-16 are useful in studying the geologic past,including gathering information about past climate,because ____________.

A)ozone formation and decay depends upon the ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16
B)both water and calcite contain oxygen
C)ice and plankton skeletons are often found in layers that geologists can age-date
D)B and C are both correct.

Question 35

Many cultures and religions refer to tremendous,ancient floods witnessed by early humans.Geologists believe which modern sea might have filled very rapidly with ocean water when global sea level (rising after the last ice age)overtopped a small "land bridge" or "natural dam," and provided the basis for many of the references to such tremendous floods?

A)Black Sea
B)Red Sea
C)Dead Sea
D)Caspian Sea

Question 36

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

A)CO₂ (carbon dioxide)
B)O₃ (ozone)
C)CH₄ (methane)
D)H₂O (water)

Question 37

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.

A)decreases
B)does not change
C)increases

Question 38

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

A)massive eruption of flood basalts
B)eruption of supervolcanoes
C)impact of asteroids
D)very large earthquakes

Question 39

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

A)Earth's climate is not warming to any significant degree
B)Earth's climate is warming due to variation in solar output;human inputs of atmospheric greenhouse gasses have not had a significant influence
C)Earth's climate is warming,and human inputs of atmospheric greenhouse gasses are most likely responsible

Question 40

During most of the Mesozoic,Earth was ____________.

A)about as warm as present
B)cooler than present
C)warmer than present

Question 41

Which three features on the figure below are best considered carbon (e.g. ,CO₂)sinks?

A)A,B,and C
B)A,B,and D
C)A,D,and E
D)C,D,and E

Question 42

How much has atmospheric CO₂ increased in approximately the last 50 years,according to the record for Hawaii's Mauna Loa observatory,in the figure below?

A)from about 220 to 320 ppm (parts per million)
B)from about 360 to 400 ppm
C)from about 320 to 400 ppm
D)from about 220 to 400 ppm

Question 43

Natural carbon "sinks" (processes that take CO₂ from the atmosphere,such as the chemical weathering of rocks,the growth of vegetation,and the solution of atmospheric CO₂ into the oceans)appear to have generally matched the production of CO₂ until ____________.

A)the end of the last ice age,approximately 16,000 years ago
B)the Little Ice Age,approximately 400 years ago
C)approximately 1900
D)the Eocene,approximately 50 million years ago

Question 44

In the last few decades,global warming has been most strongly affecting the climate and wildlife of ____________ regions.

A)equatorial
B)temperate
C)polar
D)deep-sea

Question 45

Which two features on the figure below are sources of CO₂ and hence probable contributors to global warming?

A)A and B
B)A and F
C)C and D
D)B and F

Question 46

The hole in the ozone layer has been brought about by anthropogenic emissions of ____________.

A)carbon dioxide
B)methane
C)chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
D)A and C are both correct.

Question 47

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?

A)yes
B)no

Question 48

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

A)110 meters
B)60 meters
C)20 meters
D)15 meters

Question 49

A blogger writes that global warming is not real,noting that his or her city had its coldest ever-recorded temperature last winter.Which statement(s)about his or her blog is/are correct?

A)He or she is correct,and global warming is not occurring.
B)He or she is confusing weather with climate.
C)He or she does not realize that global warming is an average,with a few areas locally cooler,even though the average of all measuring stations is becoming warmer.
D)B and C are both correct.

Question 50

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)the decrease in Arctic Sea ice cover
B)the decrease in plankton fecundity in tropical and subtropical waters
C)the increase in hurricane,typhoon,and tropical cyclone intensity and/or number
D)the decrease in atmospheric ozone over the Antarctic