CHAPTER 9
THE CLIMATE RECORD: PALEOCLIMATES
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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The standardized, reliable instrument-based climate record began in the
a. 1450s.
b. 1710s.
*c. 1870s.
d. 1920s.
e. 1950s.
2. A proxy climate data source:
a. historical documents
b. tree growth rings
c. pollen profiles
d. deep-sea sediment cores
*e. All of the above are correct.
3. Paleoclimatology examines __________ climates.
*a. past
b. current
c. future
4. Dendroclimatology examines
a. historical documents.
*b. tree growth rings.
c. pollen profiles.
d. deep-sea sediment cores.
e. All of the above are correct.
5. One tree growth ring corresponds to one
a. day.
*b. year.
c. decade.
d. century.
6. The tree-growth index is low in a __________ growing season.
*a. stressful
b. favorable
7. Scientists have examined sediment cores containing pollen to examine climate over the past
*a. 15,000 years.
b. 50,000 years.
c. 150,000 years.
c. 15 million years.
d. 50 million years.
8. Oxygen isotope analysis confirms the __________ change behavior of climate.
a. gradual
*b. abrupt
9. During an interglacial climate, the ratio of 16O to 18O __________ in deep-sea sediment cores.
a. decreases
*b. increases
10. A calcite deposit in a limestone cave or cavern yielding high-resolution climate records:
a. pollen
b. varve
*c. speleothem
d. iceberg
e. algae
11. Analysis of a speleothem can provide records of past
a. temperature.
b. rainfall.
*c. Both of the above are correct.
d. None of the above is correct.
12. A coral reef is
a. built by carbonate seeking colonial animals.
b. sometimes so large that it is visible from space.
c. bound together by layers of calcareous algae.
*d. All of the above are correct.
e. Only a and c are correct.
13. Most coral reefs are located in the
*a. tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans.
b. North and South Atlantic Ocean.
c. North Pacific Ocean.
d. Arctic Ocean.
e. Gulf of Mexico.
14. Corals can be damaged by
a. large fluctuations in sea-surface temperature.
b. prolonged exposure to high and low temperatures.
c. sediment runoff and water pollution.
*d. All of the above are correct.
e. None of the above is correct.
15. The limit of climate data provided by corals is up to about
a. 40 years.
*b. 400 years.
c. 4000 years.
d. 40,000 years.
e. 40 million years.
16. To yield climate data from hundreds of thousands of years ago, a scientist could analyze a(n)
a. speleothem.
b. coral.
c. ice core.
d. All of the above are correct.
*e. Only a and c are correct.
17. As temperature falls, comparatively __________ 18O is found in ice cores.
a. less
*b. more
8
18. Cooling and crystallization of hot molten magna produces
*a. igneous rock.
b. sedimentary rock.
c. metamorphic rock.
19. Compacted and cemented fragments of rock and mineral grains, partially decomposed plant
and animal remains and/or minerals precipitated from solution compose
a. igneous rock.
*b. sedimentary rock.
c. metamorphic rock.
20. Marble is an example of
a. igneous rock.
b. sedimentary rock.
*c. metamorphic rock.
21. When magna spews onto Earth’s surface, it is referred to as
*a. lava.
b. sedimentary rock.
c. a varve.
d. speleothem.
e. coral polyps.
22. Layers of rock salt found in sedimentary rock indicate a __________ climate.
a. warm, wet
*b. warm, dry
c. cold, wet
d. cold, dry
23. Most of the bedrock composing Earth’s surface is
*a. igneous rock.
b. sedimentary rock.
c. metamorphic rock.
24. What provides a high-resolution record of the annual mass budget of a glacier?
a. lava
b. metamorphic rock
*c. a varve
d. speleothem
e. coral polyps
25. Plate tectonics was an important control of climate
a. over the past 100 years.
b. over the past 1000 years.
c. during the Ice Age.
*d. during the hundreds of millions of years that constitute geologic time.
e. None of the above is correct.
26. An interval of extreme climate fluctuation occurred about __________ years ago.
a. 570
b. 5700
c. 57,000
d. 570,000
*e. 570 million
27. Four of the five major mass extinctions over the past 550 million years were linked to
a. chemical and circulation changes in the ocean.
b. global warming due to an enhanced greenhouse effect.
*c. Both of the above are correct.
d. None of the above is correct.
28. The Mesozoic Era was characterized by a generally
*a. warm Earth free of glacial ice sheets.
b. cold Earth with considerable glacial ice coverage.
29. We are currently in the __________ Era, characterized by great fluctuations in climate.
a. Paleozoic
b. Mesozoic
*c. Cenozoic
30. The Pleistocene Ice Age began about __________ years ago.
a. 1700
b. 170,000
*c. 1.7 million
d. 1.7 billion
e. 17 trillion
31. Pangaea formed during the
*a. Paleozoic Era.
b. Mesozoic Era.
c. Cenozoic Era.
32. Enhanced weathering of bedrock in mountain ranges __________ the amount of atmospheric
carbon dioxide, thereby __________ the natural greenhouse effect.
*a. decreases.....weakening
b. decreases…..strengthening
c. increases……weakening
d. increases…..strengthening
33. During the past two million years, plate tectonics __________ been a major factor in climate
change.
a. has
*b. has not
34. During the past two million years, the formation of huge glacial ice sheets __________ been
a major factor in climate change.
*a. has
b. has not
35. Why were geologists initially reluctant to accept glacial theory?
a. they had never observed them or their impacts in the field
b. expeditions did not discover that Greenland’s glaciers formed an ice sheet until 1852
c. the size of Antarctica’s ice sheets was not determined until the late 19th century
*d. All of the above are correct.
e. None of the above is correct.
36. Which is NOT one of the four glacial stages of the Pleistocene Epoch?
a. Nebraskan
b. Kansan
*c. Texan
d. Illinoian
e. Wisconsinan
37. Analysis of deep-sea sediment cores reveals perhaps __________ major glacial ice advances
and recessions during the Pleistocene.
a. 2
b. 4-5
*c. 12-15
d. 100
e. 12,000
38. CLIMAP discovered that __________ latitudes have the greatest sensitivity to climate
change.
a. low
b. middle
*c. high
39. What is the largest reservoir of freshwater on Earth?
a. rivers
b. lakes
*c. glacial ice
d. groundwater
e. oceans
40. Which type of glacier typically produces meltwater and has a shorter life expectancy?
*a. temperate glacier
b. polar glacier
41. What factor causes ablation?
a. melting
b. sublimation
c. wind erosion of snow
*d. All of the above are correct.
e. Only a and b are correct.
42. An interglacial climate favors a __________ mass balance.
a. positive
b. neutral
*c. negative
43. The model eustatic sea-level curve is __________ degrees out of phase with the glacial ice
volume curve.
a. 0
b. 90
*c. 180
44. The Great Lakes formed during the
*a. Pleistocene Ice Age.
b. Holocene Epoch.
c. Medieval Warm Period.
d. Little Ice Age.
e. None of the above is correct.
45. The fertile soils of the United States grain belt developed from
a. outwash.
*b. loess.
c. ground moraines.
d. All of the above are correct.
e. None of the above is correct.
46. The Younger Dryas was a relatively __________ episode from __________ years ago.
a. warm…..11,000 to 10,000
b. warm…..1100 to 1000
*c. cool…..11,000 to 10,000
d. cool…..1100 to 1000
47. A long-term decline in rainfall in North Africa beginning in the mid-__________ caused the
formation of the Sahara desert.
*a. Holocene
b. Pleistocene
c. Pliocene
d. Miocene
48. Our present interglacial, the Holocene Epoch, began 10,500 years ago when glacial ice
withdrew from
a. California
b. Kansas
*c. the Great Lakes region
d. the Southeast
e. the Appalachian Mountains
49. Norse settlements in Greenland developed during the
*a. Medieval Warm Period.
b. Little Ice Age.
c. mid-Holocene.
d. late Pleistocene.
e. None of the above is correct.
50. The unstable climate of the __________ contributed to political unrest in Europe, but also
coincided with the Renaissance.
a. Medieval Warm Period
*b. Little Ice Age
c. mid-Holocene
d. late Pleistocene