Chapter 19 – Reading Questions
1. What – specifically – does the term “global warming” refer to?
2. Explain how the greenhouse effect works (you may draw a diagram):
3. Do all greenhouse gases have the same warming effect on the Earth system? Explain.
4. Complete the following chart regarding the natural and anthropogenic sources of greenhouse
gases:
Natural Sources
Methane
Water Vapor
Nitrous Oxide
Anthropogenic Sources
Carbon
Dioxide
5. Complete the following chart regarding the contribution of various events/processes to global
warming:
Which GHG(s) Produced, and how?
Overall contribution to warming?
Volcanic Eruptions
Decomposition
Use of Fossil Fuels
Agricultural Practices
Deforestation
Landfills
Industrial Processes
6. Approximately how much have global average surface temperatures risen since 1880?
7. How can scientists use foraminifera to gain insight in to past climate conditions?
8. Explain the process of ice coring and how it can be used to gather information on climate
history.
9. What is the range of estimates among the most common models for expected global average
surface temperature increase by the year 2100? How does this compare with the change since
1880?
10. As global warming continues, which regions of Earth will experience the greatest rise in
temperatures?
11. Why are warming oceans expected to produce more frequent and more intense storms?
12. Why are disease-carrying vectors such as mosquitoes and parasites expected to increase their
ranges as a result of global warming?
13. What is the significance of the melting permafrost in the Arctic/Canada/Alaska?
14. Which areas of the world are most likely to be severely impacted by rising seas levels?
15. Why are ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melting faster than originally anticipated?
16. Approximately what percentage of the total gases in the atmosphere are GHGs?
17. The following chart shows CO2 levels by year. What explains the “annual cycle” of rising GHGs
during fall/winter and falling GHGs during spring/summer?
18. What did the Kyoto Protocol attempt to achieve, and why has it not been very successful?
19. Explain how carbon capture/sequestration works to reduce global warming.
Chapter 19 Vocabulary List
Change that occurs in the chemical, biological, and physical properties of the planet.
Global change
Changes in the climate of Earth; an aspect of global change.
Global climate change
Global warming
The warming of the oceans, landmasses, and atmosphere of Earth; an aspect of
global climate change.
Solar radiation
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse warming
potential
Foraminifera
Ice coring
Climate feedbacks
An estimate of how much a molecule of any compound can contribute to global
warming over a period of 100 years relative to a molecule of CO2.
Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases from all
industrialized countries to 5.2 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012.
Carbon
An approach to stabilizing greenhouse gases by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
capture/sequestration