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87 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the IPCC?
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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a group created by WMO and UNEP to study climate)
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What greenhouse gas is the most predominate?
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Carbon Dioxide
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What is the "atmosphere"?
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The layer of gases that surround Earth
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What is the hydrosphere?
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The ocean and all other bodies of water on Earth
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What is the cryosphere?
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The area on the planet that is covered by snow and ice
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What is the biosphere?
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The areas on the planet that are inhabited with life.
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What 2 factors complicate the study of global temperature prediction?
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1. Earth is dynamic and complex.
2. Human behavior is unpredictable. |
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What are the "highways" for transport of global heat?
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The ocean currents
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Oceans store more heat than the atmosphere because
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Ocean water is more dense and has a higher heat capacity
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The proportion of radiation reflected away from a surface is referred to as the
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albedo
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The average albedo of the Earth is estimated as
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.31
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The range for the albedo on Earth is generally
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.1-.9
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Which type of surface tends to have a low albedo?
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A dark surface
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How do phytoplankton affect the climate on Earth?
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They consume carbon dioxide
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What is a carbon dioxide "sink"?
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A process that uses carbon dioxide (such as photosynthesis)
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What is the function of the station at Cape Grim, Tasmania?
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Measure the concentration of atmospheric chemicals at regular intervals
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What is the function of the station at Mauna Loa, Hawaii?
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Monitor carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere
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In what atmospheric level do stratus and cumulus clouds form?
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the troposphere
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In what atmospheric level do cirrus clouds form?
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Lower stratosphere
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In what atmospheric level does ozone form?
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Stratosphere
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What is the approximate distance from the earth to the sun?
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150 million km.
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What is the approximate radius of our solar system?
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1 x 10 to the 13th power
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What is the timeframe for the paleozoic era?
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570-245 mya
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What is the timeframe for the Mezozoic era?
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245-66 mya
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What is the timeframe for the cenozoic era?
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66 mya - present
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For which historical period are the best climate records available?
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the last 10,000 years (Holocene)
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What isotopes (used to determine climate) are found in ice sheets?
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Heavy hydrogen and heavy oxygen
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In order for ice core records to effectively render climate data, they must include which period of time?
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the Holocene
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Which two regions on Earth have preduced the best records for climate study?
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Antarctica and Greenland
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What timeframe is represented by the Vostok ice cores?
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4 cycles of 400,000 years
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When did the last intergalacial period occur?
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100,000 years ago - the Eemian
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What climatic pattern governs the Eemian intergalacial period?
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extreme warmth
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What climatic pattern governs the Holocene period?
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a slight rise in temperature followed by a plateau
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What was the warming period of the Holocene called?
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the Medieval Warm Period
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Wha was the cooling period of the holocene called?
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the Little Ice Age
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What kind of plant thrives in dry, cold climtes?
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grassy steppes
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What kind of plant thrives in warm wet climates?
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Trees
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What kind of tree favors a colder climate?
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evergreens
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What kind of tree favors a warmer climate?
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deciduous
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What is an anoxic condition?
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a condition that does not freely supply oxygen
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Which plant structure have proven to be an effective climate "track"?
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pollen
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What are packrat "middens"?
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collected materials cached b packrats
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What are the "amberates"?
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caches preserved in crystal urine by packrats
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Why are tree rings important to climatology?
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They show timescales as short as seasons
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What is cross-dating?
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Correlating tree rings from living trees to dead trees
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Who is credited for establishing tree-ring records?
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Andrew Ellicott Douglass
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What climatic condition is represented in tree-ring data?
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precipitation amounts
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The years from 1645-1715 in climate studies are referred to as
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Maunder Minimum
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What was the Younger Dryas?
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the cold snap that occured at the beginning of the Holocene
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What is the Milankovitch cycle?
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The study of the effect of Earth's motions on its climate
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How much of the Suns energy actually reaches the Earth?
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less than one two-billionth
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how much of the Earth's heat is generated by solar radiation?
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99.9%
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What are the two major motions of the Earth?
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Rotation and revolution
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What does the rotation of the Earth refer to?
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Earth's spinning on its axis which produce day and night
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What does the revolution of the Earth refer to?
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Earth's movement (orbit) around the Sun
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The rate that the Earth is traveling around the Sun is
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113,000 kph (70,000 mph)
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What is meant by perihelion?
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The position of Earth's orbit when it is closest to the Sun
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What is meant by aphelion?
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the position fo Earth's orbit when it is furthest away from the Sun
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What causes the seasons on Earth?
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the angle of the sun above Earth's horizon
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For an observer in the northern hemisphere, the angle of the Sun is greater during which season?
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Summer
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For an observer in the southern hemisphere, the angle of the Sun is much less during which season?
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Winter
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What is the typical angle of Earth's axis of motion?
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23 1/2 degrees
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What is meant by Earth's plane of the ecliptic?
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Earths plane of orbit around the Sun
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What is meant by the Earth's axis?
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an imaginary line through the poles around which Earth rotates
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What would happen to the weather if the Earth had no inclination of axis?
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There would be no seasonal changes
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When the angle of the Sun above the horizon is 0 degrees, what is the equivalent number of atmospheres through which sunlight must pass?
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45
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When the angle of the Sun above the horizon is 30 degrees, what is the equivalent number of atmospheres through which sunlight must pass?
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2.00
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When the angle of the Sun above the horizon is 60 degrees, what is the equivalent number of atmospheres through which sunlight must pass?
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1.15
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When the angle of the Sun above the horizon is 90 degrees, what is the equivalent number of atmospheres through which sunlight must pass?
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1.00
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When does the summer solstice occur?
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June 21-22
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When does the winter solstice occur?
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December 21-22
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When does the spring equinox occur?
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March 21-22
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When does the autumnal equinox occur?
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September 22-23
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The region located at 23 1/2 N is referred to as
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Tropic of Cancer
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The region located at 23 1/2 S is referred to as
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Tropic of Capricorn
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The region located at 0 degrees is referred to as
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The equator
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What months are included as spring in the Northern Hemisphere?
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March, April, May
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What months are included as summer in the Northern Hemisphere?
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June, July, August
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What months are included as autumn in the Northern Hemisphere?
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September, October, November
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What months are included as winter in the Northern Hemisphere?
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December, January, February
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What hapens during the equinoxes?
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12 hours of day and 12 hours of night
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Energy is defined as
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The ability to do work
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List the five forms of energy.
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heat, chemical, nuclear, radiant, gravitational
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What are the two types of energy?
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Kinetic and potential
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How is kinetic engery defined/
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Energy of motion
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What are the two forms of atmospheric kinetic energy?
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Heat energy and radiant energy
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What is the definition of potential energy?
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Energy due to position
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