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Which of the following is not part of the climate system? |
gyrosphere |
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Which of the following is a part of the earth system that could be significantly impacted by climate and climate change? |
deposition of sedimentary rocks |
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Temperature and precipitation are the most important elements in describing a climate because ________. |
they are the elements that have the greatest impact on humans |
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The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn were identified by the ancient Greeks as the ________. |
boundaries between the moderate and hot areas on earth |
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The Köppen classification system for climate is widely used because _______. |
it uses easily obtained data, and the system is relatively unambiguous |
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Of the 5 major groups in the Köppen classification system, which letter below indicates the classification that is based primarily on precipitation? |
B |
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Winterless climates with all months having a mean temperature above 18°C are known as ________ climates. |
humid tropical |
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For more than 70 years, the best-known and most used climate classification system has been the ________ classification. |
Köppen |
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Climates where evaporation exceeds precipitation are called ________ climates. |
dry |
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Köppen believed that the distribution of ________ was an excellent expression of the totality of climate. |
natural vegetation |
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The wet tropics are limited to areas ________. |
below 1000 meters of elevation |
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Why do humid tropical regions have only small variations in temperature throughout the year? |
The location of this climate region is limited to an area where the solar radiation does not vary sugnificantly |
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The major difference between a wet tropical region and a tropical wet and dry region is ________. |
precipitation |
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The difference in vegetation between different humid tropical (A) regions is that ________. |
wet tropical regions have rain forests, and tropical wet and dry regions have grasslands |
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The climate in which temperatures average 25°C or more each month and total precipitation for the year is high is the ________ climate. |
wet tropics |
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The most luxuriant vegetation found in any climatic realm is the ________. |
tropical rain forest |
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Af and Am climates form a discontinuous belt astride the ________. |
equator |
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A dry climate is defined as ________. |
one were the evaporation exceeds the precipitation |
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Which of the following is not used to establish the boundary between dry and humid climates in the Köppen system? |
average annual evaporation |
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Low latitude dry climates are found primarily ________. |
near the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn |
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Almost ________ of Australia is desert. |
40% |
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The low latitude dry regions coincide with ________. |
the subtropical high pressure belts |
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Low latitude dry regions tend to ________. |
be cloud free |
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Mid-latitude deserts and steppes form because ________. |
they are in the interiors of continents |
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In a climatological sense, dryness is a function of both annual rainfall and ________. |
evaporation |
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The two types of dry (B) climates are desert and ________. |
steppe |
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The ________ sides of mountains are often wet. |
windward |
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The leeward sides of mountains are typically dry and arid enough to be referred to as _____. |
rain shadow deserts |
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Coastal Alaska and Norway are in the ________ group of climates. |
humid middle-latitude, mild winters |
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The humid subtropical climate dominates the ________ United States. |
southeastern |
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The western U.S. climate is different from the western European climate because ________. |
the western U.S. has mountains near the coast and Europe does not |
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Humid middle-latitude climates with mild winters tend to have less precipitation in the summer than during the rest of the year because ________. |
oceanic subtropical highs migrate poleward during the summer. |
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The name ________ climate is often used as a synonym for the dry-summer subtropical climate. |
Mediterranean |
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The ________ west coast climate is situated on the western (windward) side of continents from about 40 to 65 degrees north and south latitude. |
marine |
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Why are humid middle-latitude climates with severe winters not found in the Southern Hemisphere? |
the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by oceans |
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The subarctic climate is often referred to as ________. |
the taiga climate |
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The ________ climate is located on the eastern sides of continents, in the 25- to 40-degree latitude range. |
humid subtropical |
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The ________ climates are land-controlled climates, the result of broad continents in the middle latitudes. |
D |
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Polar climates get most of their precipitation in the ________. |
summer |
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Polar regions receive nearly continuous sunlight in the summer months so why doesn’t the mean temperature during those months get above 10°C? |
the sun is too low in the sky to be a effective heat source |
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Where are Polar Climates most well developed? |
Antarctica and Greenland |
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Compared to places at lower elevations, highland climates are usually cooler and ________. |
wetter |
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Highland climates usually experience ________ compared to the adjacent lowlands. |
similar patterns of change |
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Which of the following might not be considered a natural cause of climate change? |
changes in atmospheric ozone |
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Carbon dioxide is an important influence on climate because ________. |
it passes incoming short wavelength solar radiation, but it absorbs some longer wavelength outgoing earth radiation |
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Any change in the air’s ________ content could alter temperatures in the lower atmosphere. |
carbon dioxide |
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Seasonal variations in CO2 recorded at Mauna Loa Observatory are related to ________. |
vegetation |
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In the past approximately 100 years, global temperatures have ________. |
increased by nearly 1°C |
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Which of the following is not a trace gas? |
C2N |
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Climate-feedback mechanisms ________. |
complicate climate models |
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If sea ice melts, this would affect the climate by ________. |
increasing the amount of solar energy absorbed at the surface |
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General circulation models are based on the fundamental laws of physics and chemistry, and they are designed to ________. |
model climate behavior over decades |
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The combustion of ________ has added great quantities of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. |
fossil fuels |
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How do aerosols influence climate? |
they reflect solar radiation back into space |
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The overall effect of aerosols is to ________. |
cool the planet |
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Aerosols are ________ in terms of global change due to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. |
a negative feedback mechanism |
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The magnitude of a temperature increase due to greenhouse warming will probably be smallest in the ________. |
tropics |
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Records indicate that sea level has ________ since 1870. |
risen by 25 centimeters |
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Sea level change will have its greatest impact on coastal areas that are ________. |
passive continental margins like the eastern U.S. and southern India |
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Sea level change is ________. |
accelerating |
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Climate models indicate that ________ is(are) one of the strongest indications of global warming. |
loss of sea ice in the Arctic |
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Global warming appears to be thawing the permafrost as indicated by ________. |
disappearing lakes in the Arctic |
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