Exam 16: Earths Changing Climate

Assume that you have 100 years of continuous temperature records from your local weather service office.Discuss some of the difficulties you might have trying to determine whether average temperatures have increased during this period.

Everything else being equal,a gradual increase in global CO₂ would most likely bring about

It is now known that,overall,clouds

A high concentration of oxygen 16 found in the ice caves of Antarctica and Greenland would indicate ____ at the time the ice was formed.

During the next 100 years,the greatest surface warming is project to be in the

Describe some of the techniques used to infer past climates.About how far into the past are these different methods able to reconstruct past climatic conditions?

Discuss the changes that occur in the earth's orbit and orientation of the earth in its orbit.Over what time scales do these different changes occur?

All atmospheric aerosols are injected directly into the earth's atmosphere by either natural or human-made sources.

Which of the conditions below would most likely produce warming at the earth's surface?

Does deforestation act to increase or decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations?

In addition to carbon dioxide,what other gases may contribute to the problem of global warming? Why might global warming lead to an increase in global cloudiness? What possible effects would increased cloudiness have on global warming?

During the Little Ice Age,

The "year without a summer" (1816)may have been caused by

What are some of the possible consequences of global warming?

Studies reveal that during colder glacial periods,CO₂ levels ____ during warmer interglacial periods.

Which theory explains how glacial material can be observed today near sea level at the equator,even though sea level glaciers probably never existed there?

Which of the following is not true?

What are meant by the terms positive and negative feedback mechanisms? Give an example of a process that would be considered a positive feedback mechanism during a period of warming on the earth.Can you think of a negative feedback mechanism?

Describe the role of clouds in climate change.

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been increasing steadily since the beginning of the industrial revolution and may double by the middle of the next century.Why is this of concern?