Geograghy – Decoding the Weather Machine

Geograghy
Decoding the Weather Machine
 
Discover how Earth’s intricate climate system is changing.
 
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/decoding-the-weather-machine
 
see the video and the all answers will be in viedeo
 
QUESTION 1
 
Concerns about climate change have emerged based on scientific research that identified over 26,000 independent lines of evidence that the planet is warming. Which of the following is NOT cited as evidence of climate change in the first few minutes of the video?
 
 
 
a. Length and intensity of heatwaves has increased.
 
 
 
b. Plants and trees are flowering earlier in the year.
 
 
 
c. Birds are migrating to higher latitudes.
 
 
 
d. Glaciers are melting.
 
 
 
e. All of the above are mentioned.
 
QUESTION 2
 
Earth’s climate has changed naturally in the past, as evidenced by the boulder placed in Central Park by a continental glacier. The scientific evidence says that today’s climate change is caused by:
 
 
 
a. Change in volcanic eruptions
 
 
 
b. Changes in solar output
 
 
 
c. Milankovitch cycles
 
 
 
d. Burning of fossil fuels
 
QUESTION 3
 
Joseph Fourier conducted experiments to understand Earth’s energy balance and infrared radiation in which year?
 
 
 
a. 1824
 
 
 
b. 1724
 
 
 
c. 1924
 
 
 
d. 2004
 
QUESTION 4
 
John Tyndall discovered that ________ is a “heat-trapping gas” in 1859.
 
 
 
a. oxygen
 
 
 
b. hydrogen
 
 
 
c. carbon dioxide
 
 
 
d. nitrogen
 
QUESTION 5
 
The work of Fourier and Tyndall set the scientific foundation for the understanding of:
 
 
 
a. the ozone cycle
 
 
 
b. the greenhouse effect
 
 
 
c. thermohaline circulation
 
 
 
d. albedo
 
QUESTION 6
 
In the 1950s, when Dave Keeling first began to measure levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide above Hawaii at Mauna Loa, the first few months of readings caused him to think that the equipment was malfunctioning.
 
Describe the results that caused this confusion. Write 2-3 sentences.
 
QUESTION 7
 
Was there an equipment malfunction? Explain the new discovery that this event revealed. Write 2-3 sentences.
 
QUESTION 8
 
How many years of data do ice core samples from Antarctica reveal?
 
 
 
a. 800,000
 
 
 
b. 8,000,000
 
 
 
c. 800
 
 
 
d. 8,000
 
QUESTION 9
 
Considering the composition of gases in the atmosphere, do the last 60 years of ice core data confirm the data from the Keeling curve?
 
  Yes    No
 
QUESTION 10
 
Scientists who compare oxygen-16 and oxygen-18 levels incorporated into clamshells in order to determine past temperature patterns are examining:
 
 
 
a. the saffir-simpson scale
 
 
 
b. dendrochronology
 
 
 
c. isotopes
 
 
 
d. gyres
 
QUESTION 11
 
Describe the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and temperature, as indicated in the scientific record over millions of years:
 
QUESTION 12
 
Natural sources that add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere include all of the following, EXCEPT:
 
 
 
a. volcanoes
 
 
 
b. decay of forests
 
 
 
c. forest fires
 
 
 
d. photosynthesis
 
QUESTION 13
 
Air contains carbon atoms with different numbers of neutrons. Ralph Keeling and other scientists have tested carbon dioxide from atmospheric samples to identify the source of the additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What is the source?
 
 
 
a. volcanoes
 
 
 
b. forest fires
 
 
 
c. photosynthesis
 
 
 
d. combustion of fossil fuels
 
QUESTION 14
 
In 1-2 sentences, explain the difference between weather and climate.
 
QUESTION 15
 
Scientists can calculate how much carbon dioxide humans are putting into the air, and we can measure how much carbon dioxide is currently in the atmosphere. Do these numbers match?
 
 
 
Yes    No
 
QUESTION 16
 
Trees and vegetation sequester carbon dioxide. Trees are absorbing ___________ of the extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
 
 
 
a. 5%
 
 
 
b. 10%
 
 
 
c. 25%
 
 
 
d. 50%
 
QUESTION 17
 
Oceans are absorbing ___________ of the extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
 
 
 
a. 5%
 
 
 
b. 10%
 
 
 
c. 25%
 
 
 
d. 50%
 
QUESTION 18
 
“The water in the ocean circulates. At the surface, it is warmer, but in the deep ocean, the water is very cold and has not been exposed to the atmosphere for hundreds of years. It is in the Southern Ocean that this deep cold water rises to the surface.” This is describing the:
 
 
 
a. El Nino effect
 
 
 
b. theory of biogeography
 
 
 
c. thermohaline circulation
 
 
 
d. cyclogenesis
 
QUESTION 19
 
The Argo floats reveal that over the last 30 years, the ocean has heated up by an average of one-half degree Fahrenheit. This is enough to heat the lower atmosphere by:
 
 
 
a. One-half degree Fahrenheit
 
 
 
b. 2 degrees Fahrenheit
 
 
 
c. 5 degrees Fahrenheit
 
 
 
d. 20 degrees Fahrenheit
 
QUESTION 20
 
At the Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland: what is “calving”?
 
Write 1-2 sentences.
 
QUESTION 21
 
Scientists are monitoring the movement and ice loss from glaciers. At Greenland, which of the following describes the pattern of ice loss that was recently confirmed? Mark all that are correct.
 
 
 
a. Warmer water is destabilizing glaciers from below.
 
 
 
b. About half of ice loss occurs through calving.
 
 
 
c. Warmer air is melting the glaciers.
 
 
 
d. Ice loss through calving occurs much more quickly than ice loss from melting.
 
QUESTION 22
 
Why do scientists care about ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica? Explain in 2-3 sentences.
 
QUESTION 23
 
List two places in the world that are already dealing with sea level rise that is connected to climate change.
 
QUESTION 24
 
List the four major physical components that are represented in a climate model.
 
 
 
QUESTION 25
 
n terms of climate change, society faces three options for the future: mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. Give an example to illustrate the meaning of each of these terms.
 
Write 2-3 sentences to explain each example.
 
QUESTION 26
 
Give three examples of innovations that can transform society’s reliance on fossil fuels to renewable, carbon-free sources of energy.
 
 
 
 
 
QUESTION 27
 
What is carbon capture?
 
QUESTION 28
 
What is meant by “negative emissions”?
 
QUESTION 29
 
What is “no-till” agriculture, and how is this related to carbon dioxide?