Atmosphere & Greenhouse Gases
100: Name the gas that is the primary driver of recent global warming due to human activities.
100: Carbon dioxide (CO2).
100: List one observable change that scientists cite as evidence that the climate is warming.
100: Examples: rising global average temperatures, melting glaciers, earlier spring snowmelt, sea level rise.
100: Give one example of a human activity that increases atmospheric CO2.
100: Burning coal, oil, gas for energy; deforestation.
100: Define weather in one sentence.
100: Weather = short-term conditions of the atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, wind) at a specific place/time.
100: Identify the process by which plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
100: Photosynthesis.
This factor describes how far north or south a place is from the equator and strongly affects its average temperature.
Latitude
200: Explain how the greenhouse effect warms Earth's surface.
200: Greenhouse gases trap outgoing infrared radiation; incoming shortwave solar radiation passes through, warms the surface, surface emits infrared, which greenhouse gases absorb and re‑emit, warming surface and lower atmosphere.
200: Explain how tree rings or ice cores can provide evidence of past climate conditions.
200: Tree rings: width varies with growth conditions (temperature/precipitation); ice cores: trapped air bubbles record past atmospheric composition and isotopic ratios indicate past temperature.
200: Name one individual-level action and one policy-level action that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
200: Individual: reduce car use, conserve energy, use public transit; Policy: carbon pricing, renewable energy mandates.
200: Define climate in one sentence.
200: Climate = long-term average of weather patterns (typically 30-year averages) for a region.
200: Explain how burning fossil fuels affects the carbon cycle.
200: Burning fossil fuels transfers carbon from long-term geological reservoirs into the atmosphere, increasing atmospheric CO2 and perturbing the carbon cycle.
These global-moving streams of seawater redistribute heat around Earth and can make coastal climates warmer or cooler depending on their temperature. What are they called?
Ocean currents.
300: Identify two greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide and state one major human source for each.
300: Examples: Methane (CH4) — sources: agriculture (livestock), fossil fuel extraction; Nitrous oxide (N2O) — sources: fertilizer use, industrial processes.
300: Describe how sea level measurements and coastal observations together support the conclusion that sea level is rising.
300: Tide gauges and satellite altimetry show rising mean sea level; thermal expansion of warming water and melting glaciers/ice sheets add water.
300: Explain how planting trees can help reduce atmospheric CO2 and one limitation of relying only on planting trees.
300: Trees absorb CO2 via photosynthesis and store carbon in biomass; limitation: land and time required, permanence (fires), saturation of sinks.
300: Explain why a single cold winter does not disprove global warming.
300: Weather is short-term variability; climate is long-term trend—one cold event is within natural variability and does not negate a long-term warming trend.
300: Describe how ocean uptake of CO2 changes ocean chemistry and one consequence for marine life.
300: CO2 dissolves forming carbonic acid, lowering pH (ocean acidification), which can reduce calcification in shell-forming organisms like corals and some plankton.
As altitude increases on a mountain, temperature usually does this. (Answer with one word: increase or decrease)
Decrease
400: Describe how increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations affect the balance of incoming and outgoing energy for Earth.
400: More greenhouse gases increase net incoming energy (less outgoing thermal IR), causing energy imbalance and warming until a new equilibrium is reached.
400: Interpret why an increase in average global temperature can lead to both stronger storms and longer droughts in different regions.
400: Warmer atmosphere holds more moisture (can intensify storms) while shifting circulation patterns can reduce precipitation in some regions, increasing drought frequency/duration.
400: Describe a technological solution for reducing emissions from electricity generation and one potential trade-off or challenge for implementing it at scale.
400: Example: wind or solar power — challenge: intermittency, storage needs, grid upgrades, resource/materials for deployment.
400: Describe how climate models differ from weather forecasts in purpose and timescale.
400: Weather forecasts predict specific conditions days ahead using high-resolution initial conditions; climate models simulate statistical properties over decades including forcings and feedbacks.
400: Explain the concept of carbon sinks and provide two examples.
400: Carbon sinks: forests (biomass), oceans (dissolved inorganic carbon), soils, peatlands.
A nearby warm ocean current will most likely cause what change to a coastal area's winters compared to an inland area at the same latitude?
Winters will be milder (warmer) and have less extreme cold.
500: Explain how scientists use multiple lines of evidence (e.g., instrumental records, proxy data, models) to attribute recent warming to human activities.
500: Scientists compare observed changes to models with and without human forcings; consistency across proxies, instrumental records, and physical understanding supports attribution to humans.
500: Evaluate the difference between mitigation and adaptation, and give one example of each in the context of coastal communities.
500: Mitigation = actions to reduce causes (e.g., cut emissions); Adaptation = adjust to impacts (e.g., build sea walls). Coastal mitigation example: reduce local emissions; adaptation example: elevate homes or implement managed retreat.
500: Given an area that experienced more frequent heavy rainfall and also longer dry periods over several decades, explain how both trends can be consistent with changes in climate.
500: Increased atmospheric energy can intensify the hydrologic cycle: more intense precipitation events in some places, but shifts in circulation can create longer dry spells elsewhere.
500: Using energy budget ideas, explain how changes in Earth's energy balance lead to long-term temperature change and show how increasing greenhouse gases alter that balance.
500: Earth's energy balance: incoming solar shortwave ≈ outgoing longwave IR; increased greenhouse gases reduce outgoing IR to space at given temperatures, so net energy gain warms the planet until outgoing equals incoming again at higher temperatures.
Coastal regions often have milder temperatures than inland areas. Name two climate factors that combine to produce this moderation.
Proximity to large bodies of water (maritime influence) and ocean currents (or: high heat capacity of water and wind patterns bringing maritime air).