Oceans: Sea Level Rise
Places that are most vulnerable to sea level rise are experiencing [subsidence; uplift] and have [shallow; steep] coastlines.
subsidence; shallow
Tropical Pacific Convection is typically located over the [Warm/Cold] Sea Surface Temperatures (SST)
Warm, convection needs warm surface temperatures, and this follows with convection from ENSO.
True or False. Melting sea ice contributes to sea level rise.
False, the density of sea ice is only 90% as dense as the water. the melting sea ice only fills in the displaced volume held by the sea ice.
New York was on the edge of an ice sheet during the last ice age. So, you can infer that New York is currently experiencing [uplift; subsidence], which is [increasing; decreasing] the local effects of sea level rise.
subsidence; increasing
During which ENSO phase is Peru likely to receive an increase in offshore fish populations? What physical phenomena is responsible for this?
La Nina. Upwelling from cool deep water with high nutrient concentrations.
Is multi-year sea ice more likely to be found in the Arctic or Antarctic?
Arctic
What is the difference between absolute sea level and relative sea level?
Absolute: refers to the height of the ocean
surface relative to a fixed, unmoving reference point
(e.g. the center of the Earth )
Relative: both absolute rise AND the movement of the land (uplifting or sinking)
Anomalously warm sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific are characteristic of a(n) [El Niño; La Niña; neutral] phase of ENSO. This pattern is associated with trade winds that are [stronger than; weaker than; the same as] normal.
El Niño; weaker than
Suppose the sum of melting and calving rates on an ice sheet is higher than the rate of snowfall accumulation. Is this ice sheet in positive, neutral, or negative mass balance?
negative
The rate of global sea level rise is currently [constant; increasing; decreasing] primarily because of [thermal expansion of seawater; melting of glaciers and ice sheets; changes in land water storage].
increasing; melting of glaciers and ice sheets
It is very likely that ENSO rainfall variability will [stay the same; decrease; increase] as the climate warms.
increase
Mountain glaciers store much less water than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, but contribute a similar amount to sea level rise. Why?
smaller and exist at warmer temperatures, so a small increase can lead to a lot of melt
If Greenland's ice sheet collapses, Miami's sea level rise will be [more than; less than; the same as] if West Antarctica's ice sheet collapses. This is because of [gravitational changes; glacial isostatic adjustment; changes in ocean circulation].
less than; gravitational changes. Why?
Ice sheets attract water because of their gravitational pull! As their mass decreases, they have less gravitational pull. This makes water
move away. The local sea level goes down. Higher than average rise on the other side of the Earth. Day 23, slide 11-13 figures.
During which ENSO phase is the PNW likely to receive a higher ration of rain to snow?
El Nino. Temperatures during El Nino are often too warm to support much of the snow accumulation that would otherwise occur.
The Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets lose mass in different ways. What are these mechanisms?
Greenland = surface melt
West Antarctica = subglacial melting of ice shelves