Deck 19: Global Change in the Earth System

Question 1

Toxic chemicals dumped into a river are an example of ________.

A) greenhouse gases
B) smog
C) ozone
D) pollution

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Sedimentary sequences bounded by unconformities that developed during widespread regression indicate that sea level is an example of _______ global change

A) exothermic
B) cyclical
C) external
D) undirectional

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The accumulation of water into the Earth's oceans has been a(n)__________.

A) static condition
B) Earth system
C) unidirectional change
D) cyclic change

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following processes releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

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

Question 5

Which of the following represents a unidirectional change in the nature of the Earth?

A) differentiation of the layers of the Earth
B) the supercontinent cycle
C) the movement of water from one reservoir to another
D) the rise and fall of global sea levels

Question 6

Evolution of species and mass extinction events are biological examples of ________ global change.

A) exothermic
B) cyclical
C) external
D) undirectional

Question 7

The figure below shows parts of the global carbon cycle.Where would nonliving processes of the carbon cycle be most likely to occur?

A) weathering
B) sedimentation
C) metamorphism
D) soil

Question 8

Plate tectonics has caused many unidirectional changes over the Earth's history.Which of the following best describes why plate tectonics still continues to occur on our planet?

A) An internal heat source has kept the asthenosphere weak enough to flow.
B) Solar radiation warms the atmosphere and hydrosphere.
C) Meteorite impacts add heat and mass to our planet.
D) The magnetic field created by the Earth's core moves lithospheric plates.

Question 9

Which of these is the longest-lasting sink for carbon dioxide?

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

Question 10

Repeated episodes of supercontinent formation and breakup are an example of _________ change.

A) catastrophic,unidirectional
B) gradual,unidirectional
C) catastrophic,cyclic
D) gradual,cyclic

Question 11

How are bicarbonate (HCO₃^-)and carbon dioxide (CO₂)related to one another?

A) Bicarbonate forms plant tissues when carbon dioxide is used in photosynthesis.
B) CO₂ forms when bicarbonate is burned as a fossil fuel.
C) Bicarbonate forms when CO₂ molecules dissolve in water.
D) Bicarbonate and carbon dioxide are the same thing.

Question 12

Changes that occur ________ are called ________ changes.

A) repeatedly; cyclic
B) gradually; unidirectional
C) slowly; cyclic
D) quickly; unidirectional

Question 13

A biogeochemical cycle refers to the ________.

A) long-term movement of biogeochemical minerals through the rock cycle
B) exchange of chemicals among magmatic and solid-phase systems
C) the passage of chemicals among living and nonliving systems
D) exchange of chemicals between landmasses and the oceans

Question 14

What is the main reason that the Earth has a hydrosphere dominated by liquid water?

A) heat stored in the crust from early in the formation of the Earth
B) internal heating from magnetism
C) solar heating from the Sun
D) internal heating from radioactivity

Question 15

Which of the following best explains how the carbon cycle plays a role in climate change?

A) The carbon cycle influences the amount of moisture in the atmosphere,which influences climate.
B) The amount of carbon dissolved in seawater influences ocean temperatures,and thus climate.
C) Changes in the carbon cycle affect the amounts of greenhouse gases,which influence climate.
D) Carbon in the ozone layer reflects sunlight,which influences climate.

Question 16

How would a time in the Earth's supercontinent cycle when there was much formation of oil shale deposits,coals,and limestones affect the carbon dioxide (CO₂)concentration in the Earth's atmosphere?

A) There would be an increase in the total CO₂ in the atmosphere.
B) There would be a decrease in the total CO₂ in the atmosphere.
C) The formation of limestones decreases total CO₂,while the formation of oil shale and coal increases total CO₂.
D) The formation of oil shale deposits,coals,and limestones has very little effect on carbon dioxide

Question 17

How has the transport of sediment been modified by human activities?

A) Mountains erode more slowly when the atmosphere holds more CO₂.
B) Human extract sediments from rivers for building materials.
C) Human activities only move coarse-grained sediments.
D) More sediment is now moved by humans than by rivers.

Question 18

As an example of a cyclical global change,supercontinents ________ in the Earth's history.

A) have formed and broken up several times
B) occurred only during the Phanerozoic Eon
C) occurred only during the Archean Eon
D) are an exclusively Cenozoic development

Question 19

The end of intense bombardment of the Earth's surface by asteroids was an example of a__________ change.

A) catastrophic
B) gradual
C) unidirectional
D) cyclic

Question 20

Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

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

Question 21

How are pollen species used to interpret ancient environments?

A) Each plant species is found in many different climates.
B) Different plant species live in different climates.
C) The ratio of oxygen isotopes can be measured in pollen.
D) Specific plant species directly track the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere.

Question 22

Global albedo was _______ during times of cooler global climate when there was more land surface covered by ice.

A) heavier
B) higher
C) lower
D) cooler

Question 23

Milankovitch cycles describe variation in the Earth's ________.

A) sea level
B) orbit and tilt
C) atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations
D) cosmic-ray flux

Question 24

At what point are record-setting weather conditions considered climate change?

A) when there are new weather records set every day
B) when those record-setting conditions become normal for a region
C) after two consecutive years of record-setting weather
D) if the record-setting weather occurs on two or more continents

Question 25

What percentage of Europe and the United States retains the ecosystems that covered the landscapes before human activity?

A) nearly 95 percent
B) approximately 50 percent
C) nearly 25 percent
D) less than 5 percent

Question 26

Which of the following best describes the Earth's climate history?

A) The Earth's climate has remained consistent with time.
B) Most of the Earth's climate history has been significantly colder than it is currently.
C) Most of the Earth's climate history has been significantly warmer than it is currently.
D) Climate on the Earth has varied between icehouse and greenhouse periods throughout the Earth's history.

Question 27

During most of the Mesozoic Era,the Earth was ________.

A) about as warm as present
B) cooler than present
C) warmer than present
D) experiencing wild temperature fluctuations

Question 28

How are greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane different from other atmospheric gases like nitrogen and oxygen?

A) Greenhouse gases absorb most of the solar energy from the Sun and reradiate it,whereas other atmospheric gases reflect it.
B) Greenhouse gases are more efficient at absorbing thermal energy and reradiating it than the other atmospheric gases.
C) Greenhouse gases block all thermal energy from leaving the atmosphere,like a greenhouse.
D) Greenhouse gases are part of biogeochemical cycles; other gases do not interact with living organisms.

Question 29

The primary cause of global warming since the Industrial Revolution is understood to be ________.

A) chemical reactions in the atmosphere that are driven by solar heat
B) increased burning of fossil fuels
C) increased levels of atmospheric pollution
D) depletion of the ozone layer

Question 30

The warmest global temperatures since the last Ice Age occurred in the ________.

A) recent period of human-induced global warming
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

Glacial ice cores provide a record of past temperatures based on

A) oxygen isotopes in the ice's water molecules.
B) the ancient temperature still preserved in the ice.
C) the thickness of ice layers.
D) the microfossils trapped in the ice.

Question 32

Carbon sinks have generally matched the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere until ________.

A) the end of the last ice age,approximately 16,000 years ago
B) the Little Ice Age,approximately 400 years ago
C) the onset of intensive industry and fossil fuel burning by humans,around the year 1850
D) the Eocene Epoch,approximately 50 million years ago

Question 33

Which of the following gases has the greatest total importance in retaining heat energy in the Earth's atmosphere?

A) CO₂ (carbon dioxide)
B) O₃ (ozone)
C) NO₂ (nitrous oxide)
D) H₂O (water)

Question 34

The ratio of oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 isotopes in plankton fossils in deep-sea sediments can be used to determine ________.

A) past carbon dioxide concentrations
B) past temperatures
C) the age of the fossils
D) water depth

Question 35

What distinguishes weather from climate?

A) Weather is based on observations; climate is predicted by models.
B) Weather is the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere; climate is the range of likely conditions based on many years.
C) Weather is the local conditions of the atmosphere; climate is the average of conditions across the whole globe.
D) Weather and climate are essentially the same thing.

Question 36

Which greenhouse gases play the most significant role in influencing changes in global atmospheric temperature?

A) carbon dioxide and ozone
B) nitrogen dioxide and ozone
C) nitrogen dioxide and methane
D) carbon dioxide and methane

Question 37

How are carbon dioxide (CO₂)levels in the atmosphere affected by tectonic uplift of rocks and their resultant chemical weathering?

A) CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere.
B) CO₂ is added to the atmosphere.
C) CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere by uplift,but returned to the atmosphere by chemical weathering.
D) They have no net effect on CO₂.

Question 38

Based on the graph below,global temperatures during the Holocene

A) have varied significantly.
B) have been declining since the Little Ice Age.
C) have been steadily increasing since the last Ice Age.
D) have been essentially constant.

Question 39

The greenhouse effect is caused by ________.

A) the oceans,which absorb heat from the Sun
B) anthropogenic gases,which absorb heat from the Sun
C) atmospheric gases,which trap heat radiated from the Earth's surface
D) solar energy reflected back into space by clouds

Question 40

The amount of solar energy reflected by a surface is known as ________.

A) albedo
B) radiation
C) the reflection coefficient
D) the absorption coefficient

Question 41

Compare and contrast unidirectional change with cyclic change.Include an example of each in your answer.

Question 42

In the inset in the figure below,why is there a seasonal variation in carbon dioxide (CO₂)concentrations?

A) CO₂ concentrations rise and fall as photosynthesis decreases and increases.
B) CO₂ concentrations rise and fall in conjunction with power plant emissions.
C) CO₂ concentrations rise and fall with variations in solar radiation.
D) The measurements were made in different places at different times of year.

Question 43

Models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that by the year 2100,the average annual temperature will have increased in some parts of the world by as much as ________.

A) 1°C
B) 2°C
C) 4°C
D) 8°C

Question 44

Based on the figure below,how does the change in global temperature since the Industrial Revolution compare with temperature change in the past thousand years?

A) The temperature has increased,and at a very fast rate.
B) The temperature has increased at rates similar to other temperature changes.
C) The temperature has decreased at a very fast rate.
D) There has been little temperature change since the Industrial Revolution.

Question 45

With the increased data collected in recent years,scientists have become increasingly certain that the Earth's climate is ________.

A) not warming because carbon dioxide levels are decreasing
B) not warming because the Sun's activity is at a minimum
C) warming solely as a result of increased solar output
D) warming as a result of human inputs of atmospheric greenhouse gases

Question 46

Describe the likelihood and possible impacts of future amounts of sea level rise.

Question 47

How has the Earth's climate changed in the past? What are some natural causes of long-term climate change? Short-term climate change?

Question 48

Provide an example of a positive feedback process as it relates to global climate change.

Question 49

According to the figure below,how much has atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂)increased in parts per million (ppm)in approximately the last 50 years?

A) from about 310 to 320 ppm
B) from about 360 to 400 ppm
C) from about 320 to 400 ppm
D) from about 380 to 400 ppm

Question 50

How does our modern concentration of atmospheric CO₂ compare with CO₂ during the past 800,000 years of Earth's history?

A) Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been constant for the past 800,000 years.
B) It is lower today than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
C) It is greater today than at any time in the past 800,000 years.
D) There is too much variability in atmospheric CO₂ to describe any trends through time.

Question 51

The reliable paleoclimate record from the Antarctic and Greenland ice cores provides information back to approximately ________ years ago.

A) 65 million
B) 5 million
C) 800,000
D) 150,000

Question 52

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 53

The figure below shows changes in sea level since the last ice age ended.Based on this,if the 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 54

When did Vikings establish settlements in Iceland and Greenland?

A) during the Last Glacial Maximum 25,000 years ago
B) during the Holocene Maximum 6000 years ago
C) during the Little Ice Age 300 years ago
D) during the Medieval Warm Period about 1000 years ago

Question 55

The graph below is the Keeling Curve,a record of carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa beginning in 1958.What can be learned from this graph? What do the two lines (black and grey)tell us?

Question 56

Identify five probable outcomes of global climate change.

Question 57

Discuss three lines of evidence that global climate change is currently taking place.

Question 58

Describe one way humans have impacted the Earth System.

Question 59

What is a biogeochemical cycle? Provide an example.

Question 60

What role do greenhouse gases play in the Earth's climate? If there were no greenhouse gases on the Earth,what would the climate be like?