Introduction
Why do you think climate change will impact developing nations the most?
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating weather phenomenon that caused much damage to
New Orleans. Some climatologists believe that hurricanes will increase as a result of
climate change. How might this increased hurricane activity impact developing nations?
Why did Hurricane Katrina devastate New Orleans?
What are some of the factors that influence climate?
What is climate change?
Describe the greenhouse effect.
Are all parts of the earth warming and experiencing droughts?
Examine the graph with the words “models show that humans are responsible for most
climate change”. Explain what the graphs mean.
What is happening to sea ice extent?
Why is sea extent a good indicator of climate change?
Examine slide entitled ‘Changes in temperature, sea level and snow cover”. What is
happening to global average temperatures? How does this explain the rise in sea level
shown in panel 2 and the decreasing snow cover shown in panel 3?
What do experts predict will happen to temperatures in the US?
Is southern California presently in a drought?
Why would increasing sea level have a greater impact on the eastern US in comparison to
the west coast?
How does climate change impact health, agriculture, forest, water resources, coastal
areas, and species and natural areas?
What are some of the vulnerabilities of developing nations to climate change?
Atmosphere & Surface currents
What drives the ocean surface currents/
How do convection cells develop?
Air in a low pressure area moves: clockwise or counterclockwise? In a high pressure
area?
In a non-rotating earth what would be the wind pattern developed?
In slide 7, how are those high pressure areas and low pressure areas related to slide #6.
What is the ITCZ?
Why does the ITCZ vary with the seasons?
How does the varying of the ITCZ zone impact the sub-Saharan countries?
How is the movement of the ITCZ zone related to the monsoons in India?
Explain the Coriolis Effect or why things are deflected to the right in the Northern
Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Cold water currents are usually found on this side of the oceans (eastern or western?
Warm water currents are usually found on this side of the oceans (eastern or western?
How do surface currents help regulate our climate? Can you give an example?
Which current run along the margin of California?
What is Ekman transport?
How does Ekman transport influence upwelling and downwelling?
Regarding El Nino; (ANSWER T OR F)
1. Warm water moves across the Pacific and piles up on the western margin of S &
N. America
2. The thermocline is shallower
3. Upwelling increases
4. The atmospheric circulation completely reversed to form one circulation cell
moving air in the opposite direction.
5. The trade winds are stronger
6. El Nino impacts on fishing, droughts, corals, disease are only in the Pacific
Region
7. Less disease is associated with El Nino in Peru
8. In Peru, upwelling stops and the fishing industry collapses during El Nino.
How does the Pacific Decadal Oscillation differ from El Nino?
Heat & Currents
Why is it warmer at the poles than at the equator?
What happens to solar radiation as it enters the atmosphere? (How much is reflected,
absorbed, etc)
Heat is transferred to the poles through these two processes.
What is salinity?
Is organic matter a salt?
In 1000 grams of seawater, how many of those grams are salts?
These are the two most abundant salts.
Where did the cations and anions that form the salts come from?
Why does ice float?
Do salinities increase or decrease in regions of the oceans where ice is forming?
Which two factors control the salinity of ocean water? Explain.
How does salinity vary with latitude (e.g. 0 degrees latitude, 10-40 degrees latitude, 6090 degrees latitude)?
Explain in detail why the oceans are stratified and how thermohaline circulation
develops.
Towards the polar region the salinity of the ocean water is less than that of waters in
areas of the middle waters. Yet the polar waters are denser. Why?
Why is the Pacific Ocean not as well stratified as the Atlantic?
Refer to the slide about the Atlantic and Deep Water Circulation. Explain the connection
between surface currents and deep ocean currents?
How does the connection between surface and deep ocean currents impact the climate?
What is the thermocline?
What is the halocline?
Quiz2 Questions
Greenhouse Gases
What are the three most about gases in the
atmosphere?
What are the major greenhouse gases? Which is the most abundant?
Greenhouse gases constitute what percentage of the atmospheric gases?
In the slide labeled What are Greenhouse Gases, explain which wavelengths sunlight pass
through atmosphere, which are radiated back, and how they are trapped by greenhouse
gases?
List the greenhouse gases by abundance
How does a greenhouse work?
What happens to sunlight once it enters Earth’s atmosphere?
Explain the statement that not all greenhouse gases are bad?
In the slide entitle Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector, list the top four sectors
contribution greenhouse gases. Which sectors contribute the most carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide?
Which are the three major household greenhouse contributors?
Summarize the carbon cycle.
Which is the most potent greenhouse gas and what are its sources?
What is ozone and what are its sources?
What it the origin of nitrogen dioxide? Why does it at times lead to death and low
oxygen in the oceans?
What are CFCs and their sources?
Examine the slide on Glacial-Interglacial Ice Core data, how do present day values of
carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide compare with past levels?
Describe the change in CO2 concentrations from pre-industrial days to present day.
Look at the CO2 graph, why does it zigzag upwards?
What is the relationship between CO2 and population? Explain why this relationship.
What are the sources of CO2?
What are the anthropogenic causes?
Paleoclimate
Why do we need to worry about present day climate change is the Earth has gone through
previous periods of warming and cooling?
What are 3 methods we use to determine past climate?
How are ice cores used to figure out past climate? Explain how gas is trapped in ice
using slide 7.
What role do oceans play in climate change during warm period?
How far back does the ice core record extend?
Define dendrochronology
T/F Dry years are represented by wide tree rings.
How do tree rings form?
What are some limitations in using ice cores and tree rings for paleoclimate?
What is an isotope?
Which is the most abundant oxygen isotope? Which is least abundant?
We measure the isotope ratios in which type of materials?
Explain slide 22
Natural Causes of Climate Change
Which factors are responsible for most past climate change?
Which gases are produced by volcanoes?
Explain the role of sulfur dioxide in generating acid, aerosols, and in the destruction of
ozone.
What is the difference in characteristics between non-explosive and explosive volcanoes?
Name at least two volcanoes in Washington, Oregon, and California.
List the top 4 volcanic gases.
Explain slide 11.
What is the significance of the Mount Pinatubo Eruption?
How is the El Chichon eruption different from the Mount Pinatubo eruption? Use Slide
16 to explain.
What does slide 17 suggest about the relationship of volcanic eruptions and global
temperatures?
Explain the relationship between tree rings and eruptions.
What is the importance of the Deccan Trap and the Siberian Trap to climate change?
Explain the Milankovitch theory and how changes in 1) earth’s orbit 2) precession 3)
obliquity impact the amount of solar radiation hitting the surface of the earth.
How do sun spots influence the amount of solar radiation hitting the earth’s surface?
THE SECTIONS BELOW ARE NOT PART OF QUIZ 2
Carbon Capture and Storage
What is one problem associate with capturing CO2?
Where are we thinking of storing CO2?
What is Enhanced Oil Recovery and how does it help store carbon and cut the cost for
storing carbon?
What are some of the environmental effects of CCS?
What are the 3 methods for removing CO2 from energy producing plants?
Explain Geological storage and some problems that may arise.
Explain ocean storage and associated problems.
Explain mineral storage.
What are some other methods for storing carbon? Explain
Explain how ocean seeding might help reduce CO2.
What are synthetic trees and how might they help in controlling CO2?
Drought
What is drought?
Why do developing countries suffer the most because of droughts? Use slide 5 to help
explain.
Where are the projected drought areas located. Use slide 6.
Which parts of Africa are projected to suffer the most from droughts. Use slide 7
Do the same for Asia.
Explain what is happening in South Africa in terms of the impacts of droughts and how
disease, civil war, and international policies make it difficult for this countries to cope.
How much of the national income of Africa is from agriculture? What percent of the
population are farmers?
What is the difference between mitigating climate change and adapting to climate
change?
How is NERICA a case study in adaptation?
Why are aquifers being depleted in Yemen?
Which strategies is Yemen using to adapt?