Climate
What is the difference between climate change and global warming?
Global warming only describes the overall increase in average temperatures on the planet. Climate change describes the changes to overall climate like precipitation trends, temperatures, wind and water currents, etc.
What is it called when a bunch of glacial till piles up along the sides or toe of a glacier?
Moraine
Stratosphere
Is underground or surface mining more dangerous for miners?
Underground
Which renewable is the fastest growing in the US?
Solar
What are greenhouse gases? Give an example.
They are gases that trap heat within the atmosphere. CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxides, PFCs, HFCs, etc.
What is the area of the glacier that is melting faster than it accumulates called?
The zone of ablation
What is the ozone molecule formula?
O3
Which fossil fuels are considered petroleum?
All coal, oil, and natural gas are petroleum.
What is it called when you put a bunch of solar arrays together to collect lots of solar power, often done by big energy companies?
Solar Farm
What is radiative forcing?
It is a measure of how much a substance changes the temperature by absorbing or reflecting solar radiation (whether it increases or decreases it).
If a glacier carves a rounded bowl shape high in the mountains it is called what?
A cirque
Compare and contrast weather and climate
Weather is local and short term, climate is larger scale and longer time periods (30+ years). Both involve the temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, etc. observed on our planet.
What is the final type of coal to form which is often called black coal?
Anthracite
What are some common complaints/concerns with wind energy (list at least 3)?
NIMB, Flashing Lights, Noise, Bird Kills, Deforestation/Forest Fragmentation,
What are proxy indicators and how are they used? Give an example.
They tell us about past climates so we can study how climate has changed through the past. Ice cores, tree rings, rock layers, etc.
When an ice sheet glacier moves over land it may form asymmetrical hills of till under it, sometimes referred to as whale hills. Their technical name is...?
Drumlins
What is the full name of CFC?
Chlorofluorocarbon
Compare and contrast conventional and unconventional wells.
Both are used to extract oil and natural gas. Conventional goes straight down like a straw in a juicebox. Unconventional turns horizontal part way down and is often combined with fracking in low permeability rocks.
Compare and contrast renewable and non-renewable energies. Give an example of each.
Renewable energy replenishes within a human lifespan (wind, water, solar, trees) while non-renewable energy takes longer than a human lifespan to renew (coal, oil, gas, they DO renew eventually though!).
Explain Milankovitch Cycles. What are the three components?
How Earth's orbit around the sun changes through time which change climate patterns over long time periods. Eccentricity, Obliquity, Precession
Compare and contrast U-shaped and V-shaped valleys. How did they form?
V-shaped = River carved valleys
U-shaped = Glacial carved valleys
The measure of humidity as % per total possible at that temperature is called the...
Relative Humidity
Name three different hazards/environmental impacts associated with fossil fuels.
Subsidence, AMD, Deforestation/Forest Fragmentation, Oil Spills, Methane Release, Injection Well Side Effects, Climate Change
What is alternative energy? Provide an example.
Anything that isn't fossil fuels. All renewables are alternative, but not all alternatives are renewable. Nuclear energy is alternative but non-renewable!