Q&A Hero

Q: Compare the greenhouse effect on Earth to that on planetary bodies such as the Moon and Venus.

Q: Explain how the greenhouse effect works and how it warms the atmosphere.

Q: Is the greenhouse effect a completely bad thing for the planet? Why or why not?

Q: Compare and contrast fossil pollen, tree-growth rings, and corals as three proxies for determining paleoclimate.

Q: How does air pressure change with elevation in the atmosphere? Why does air pressure change with elevation in the atmosphere?

Q: How can the ratios of oxygen isotopes be used to indicate past climate change? What marine substance can be tested for its oxygen ratios?

Q: How do weather and climate differ?

Q: Match the paleoclimate proxies to the information they can provide about the past climate. A) Provide information about past temperature B) Provide periods of plentiful rain and drought C) Trapped gases provide info about the atmosphere D) Provide vegetation patterns for a location 1. Tree Rings 2. Pollen 3. Ice Cores 4. Corals

Q: Match the layer of the atmosphere with the correct description. A) The layer of the atmosphere with the greatest amount of air molecules. Temperatures decrease from bottom to top B) The second layer of the atmosphere where temperatures gradually increase from bottom to top C) The third layer of the atmosphere where the coldest temperatures are found D) The outermost layer of the atmosphere where temperatures are extremely high due to solar radiation 1. Stratosphere 2. Troposphere 3. Mesosphere 4. Thermosphere

Q: How does the residence time of aerosols in the atmosphere compare to that of greenhouse gases?

Q: Which will have a greater impact on global temperatures: volcanic ash or volcanic gases? Why?

Q: How can the changing location of continents affect climate change?

Q: Why is the Earth heated primarily by radiation from the Earth's surface?

Q: How can historical records be used to analyze past climates?

Q: Small sea level rise on a shore with a gentle slope will cause a substantial shift in shoreline location.

Q: Dust storms can carry enough dust into the atmosphere to create aerosols.

Q: Increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere results in increased global temperatures.

Q: The concentration of methane in the atmosphere has been shown to be increasing for the last 1,000 years, indicating that humans are not responsible for its generation.

Q: Computer models are not infallible at predicting climate change because they use simplified versions of the Earth to create the model.

Q: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is a 90-99% probability that increases in global temperatures are due to the increase in human-generated greenhouse gases.

Q: The sun emits slightly more solar radiation during a period of high sunspot activity.

Q: Nearly all the energy that drives the Earth's climate comes from the Sun.

Q: Water vapor is a greenhouse gas.

Q: Nitrogen makes up the largest percentage of the atmosphere.

Q: Trapped air in glaciers record atmospheric composition through time.

Q: Ice cores taken from glaciers show higher concentrations of 18O in the ice deposited during colder climates.

Q: Changes that occur in one part of the climate system are isolated and will have no part on the remainder of the system.

Q: The climate system involves energy and moisture exchanges between five Earth spheres: biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.

Q: Climate is the state of the atmosphere at a given time in a given place over a short period of time.

Q: Which coastline will be more significantly impacted by sea level change: the Pacific Coast or the Atlantic Coast? A) The Pacific Coast there are more people living there B) The Atlantic Coast it has a gently sloping shoreline C) The Pacific Coast it has a steeply sloping shoreline D) The Atlantic Coast there are more buildings along the shoreline

Q: How will increasing atmospheric CO2 affect the properties of seawater? A) Seawater will have higher salinity B) Seawater will have lower density C) Seawater will have higher surface tension D) Seawater will have lower pH

Q: Sea level rise is a combination of ________ and ________ as the climate becomes warmer. A) freezing ice; increasing salinity B) evaporation; sublimation C) melting ice; thermal expansion D) plate tectonics; mountain uplift

Q: Why would increasing acidity of the ocean be a problem? A) Acid would dissolve calcium carbonate shells or sea organisms B) Acid will increase the rate of seafloor spreading C) Acid decreases the stability of basaltic rocks on the ocean floor D) Acid would be evaporated and create clouds that precipitate acid rain

Q: What will be produced when carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater? A) Calcium carbonate B) Sulfuric acid C) Carbonic acid D) Sodium chloride

Q: According to research, how high has sea level risen since 1870? A) 7 cm B) 10 cm C) 1 cm D) 25 cm

Q: What effect will black carbon deposits have on glacial ice? A) Black carbon will insulate the ice, preserving it B) Black carbon will slow the rate of melting C) Black carbon will absorb more heat, increasing melting D) Black carbon has no effect on glacial ice

Q: What is the source of black carbon aerosols? A) Petroleum B) Soot C) Bacteria D) Mineral deposits

Q: Which process has been largely responsible for increasing the amount of CO2 in the last 200 years? A) Increasing cattle ranching worldwide B) Disintegration of petroleum-based plastics C) Use of industrial fertilizers D) Burning of fossil fuels

Q: How will melting permafrost in polar regions lead to a positive feedback loop that will continue to warm the climate, which will allow for more permafrost to melt? A) Buried CFCs will be released from contaminants in frozen vegetation B) Methane will be released as the vegetation thaws C) Nitrous oxide will be trapped in the meltwater generated and pulled out of the atmosphere D) Carbon dioxide is sequestered in the water infiltrating the landscape

Q: Temperature increases in polar regions are going to be ________ the global average. A) lower than B) greater than C) equal to

Q: How can agriculture be responsible for increasing the amount of methane in the atmosphere? A) Crops like corn and soybeans add methane to the atmosphere B) Methane is emitted by bacteria in the gut of agricultural animals, such as cattle and sheep C) Overtilling the land will cause the soil to break down and release greenhouse gases D) Fumes from liquid fertilizer are opening holes in the ozone

Q: If CFCs have not been widely used since the late 20th century, why are they considered a major greenhouse gas in the 21st century? A) Although they have been banned, they are being use illegally B) CFCs are released by a number of natural processes, such as volcanoes C) Greenhouse gases such as methane will break down into CFCs D) CFCs can stay in the atmosphere for decades

Q: What substance is responsible for the increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere? A) Coolants in refrigerators B) Fertilizers C) Fossil fuels D) Nuclear waste

Q: Which of the following trace gases is not natural to the atmosphere and is purely the result of human activities? A) Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) B) Nitrous oxide C) Krypton D) Methane

Q: Which of the following trace gases does not contribute to climate change? A) CFCs B) Nitrous oxide C) Krypton D) Methane

Q: What was the approximate increase in global temperature during the 20th century? A) 0.5C B) 0.8C C) 1.0C D) 1.5C

Q: How will seasonal changes affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere? A) There will be less CO2 in the atmosphere in winter than in summer B) The levels of CO2 are constant no matter the season C) There will be more CO2 in the atmosphere in winter than in summer

Q: Which of the following scenarios could result in the exposure of the feature in this image? A) Rising sea level floods this part of the shoreline. B) Longshore currents deposit sand. C) Rip currents remove beach deposits. D) Tectonic activity raises the landscape.

Q: This feature is evidence of a(n) ________ coastline. A) divergent B) emergent C) submergent D) convergent

Q: What coastal erosion feature is visible in this image? A) Sea stack B) Estuary C) Wave-cut platform D) Sea arch

Q: What coastal erosion stabilizers are visible in this image? A) Headlands B) Jetties C) Breakwaters D) Groins

Q: This image contains a spit, which is identified by an arrow. (The arrow is only for identification purposes.) Using the shape of the spit, from which direction is the longshore current coming? Assume for our purposes that the top of the figure is north. A) From west to east B) From north to south C) From north to west D) From south to east

Q: What erosional features, marked A and B, are visible in this figure? A) Feature A is a headland and B is a sea cave. B) Feature A is a spit and B is a Baymouth bar. C) Feature A is a stack and B is a sea arch. D) Feature A is a wave-cut bench and B is a spit.

Q: In the previous question, you had to indicate where deposition and erosion were taking place in this image. Why would deposition or erosion occur at the areas you indicated? A) Erosion occurs where there is low water velocity and deposition occurs where there is high water velocity. B) Erosion results from circular orbital motion whereas deposition occurs from the waves feeling bottom. C) Erosion occurs where the water is shallow and deposition occurs where the water is deep. D) Erosion occurs where there is high water velocity and deposition occurs where there is low water velocity.

Q: Which areas on this image will be dominated by deposition and which will be dominated by erosion? A) Beaches will be dominated by erosion and the headland will be dominated by deposition. B) Both the beaches and the headland will be dominated by deposition. C) Beaches will be dominated by deposition and the headland will be dominated by erosion. D) Both the beaches and the headland will be dominated by erosion.

Q: What process is illustrated by the arrows in this image? A) Longshore current B) Rip current C) Wave refraction D) Beach nourishment

Q: What kind of wave motion is visible in this image? A) Circular orbital motion B) Breaking wave C) Rip current D) Longshore current

Q: What kind of wave motion is visible in this image? A) Circular orbital motion B) Breaking wave C) Rip current D) Longshore current

Q: Identify the parts of the wave labeled in this image. (Parts occur multiple times.) A) Trough B) Crest 1. A 2. B

Q: Identify the three missing terms from the diagram of the coastal area in this image. A) Dunes B) Foreshore C) Coast 1. A 2. B 3. C

Q: How does the rotation of the earth give coastlines a high tide and a low tide?

Q: How would coastline composition (rocky versus sandy) differ from the coastline of the Pacific Northwest and that of the Carolinas?

Q: Rivers in the Pacific Northwest are heavily managed by the construction of dams and reservoirs in order to produce hydroelectric power and, in some areas, for irrigation. However, the construction of interior dams can have serious consequences for the coastal erosion of beaches and rocky bluffs along the Pacific Coast. How can the construction of these dams lead to the erosion of a rocky coastal bluff?

Q: Explain how the construction of a hard stabilization feature (i.e., groin) will force the deposition of sediment on a coastline.

Q: What are three ways barrier islands can form?

Q: What combination of incoming waves and backwash will result in a longshore drift? Explain.

Q: Explain why waves will begin to curl and fall over as they approach shore.

Q: Match the type of tide/tidal pattern with the correct definition. A) Two high tides of roughly the same height and two low tides of roughly the same height each day B) Highest high tides and lowest low tides of the month C) Two high tides and two low tides each day, but with different high tide levels and different low tide levels D) Single high and single low tide every day E) Highest low tides and lowest high tides of the month 1. Neap tide 2. Spring tide 3. Diurnal tidal pattern 4. Mixed tidal pattern 5. Semidiurnal tidal pattern

Q: Using the choices provided, identify the erosional features and the depositional features. (Note: Answers will be used more than once.) A) Erosional B) Depositional 1. Sea arch 2. Barrier island 3. Marine terrace 4. Spit

Q: Match the shoreline feature with the correct definition. A) An isolated rock column left behind after the collapse of a sea arch B) Ridge of sand that connects the mainland to an island C) Elongated ridge of sand projecting out into a bay D) Bench created by waves crashing into a cliff E) A sandbar that completely crosses a bay 1. Sea stack 2. Tombolo 3. Wave-cut platform 4. Spit 5. Baymouth bar

Q: Match the wave characteristics with the correct definition. A) The vertical distance between the trough and the crest B) The time it takes for one full wave to pass a given point C) The horizontal distance between successive crests 1. Wave height 2. Wavelength 3. Wave Period

Q: Match the coastal term to the correct definition. A) Boundary that marks the seaward edge of the coast B) Area of ocean-related features from the water inland C) Between low-tide mark and where waves break at low tide D) Area from lowest tide level to highest elevation affected by storm waves 1. Shore 2. Coast 3. Nearshore 4. Coastline

Q: What is the difference between the eye and eye wall of a hurricane?

Q: Most hurricanes form poleward of 20 latitude.

Q: Barrier islands are more common along the Atlantic Coast than the Pacific Coast.

Q: Hard stabilization methods of protecting beaches from erosion are ultimately only a form of temporary protection.

Q: If a shoreline remains stable over time, an irregular coast will be transformed into a smoother, straighter coast.

Q: Rip currents are the result of tidal variations.

Q: A large wave generated by an earthquake off the coast of Chile can travel across the Pacific Ocean to reach the shores of Alaska.

Q: Black sand beaches in Hawaii were created by the erosion and deposition of coral.