Shared Flashcard Set

Details

ICE AGE
An Inconvenient Truth video
47
Geology
Undergraduate 2
12/03/2007

Additional Geology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What happened 18 months after Apollo astronauts photographed the first "earth rise"?
Definition
Environmental movement begun
Term
What is one of the common myths concerning the environment?
Definition
Humans have no impact on the environment
Term
Which part of the earth is most vulnerable to human impact (as thin as varnish on a globe)?
Definition
Atmosphere
Term
What type of radiation is trapped in the earth's atmosphere by greenhouse gases?
Definition
Infrared
Term
Who was Roger Revelle (what did he do)?
Definition
1st person to propose measuring CO2 in atmosphere
Term
What location did Charles David Keeling chose to measure CO2 in the atmosphere?
Definition
Middle of Pacific
Term
Why do CO2 levels go up and down each year?
Definition

Spring/summer - produces leaves that breathe in CO2

fall/winter - leaves die and give off CO2

Term
During what season does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rise?
Definition
Fall/winter
Term
What year did Keeling begin to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Definition
1958
Term
According to Lonnie Thompson, when will glacier ice disappear from Mt. Kilimanjaro?
Definition
Within the decade
Term
When will the glaciers completely disappear from Glacial National Park in Montana?
Definition
15 years
Term
What % of people in the world get their water from glaciers in the Himalaya Mountains?
Definition
40%
Term
How does Lonnie Thompson determine how much CO2 was in the atmosphere in the past?
Definition
Ice cores
Term
How does Lonnie Thompson determine what the temperature was like in the past?
Definition
O16:O18 ratios in the ice
Term

How far back in time can we trace CO2 levels in Antartica ice?

 

Definition

800,000

 

Term
Did CO2 levels ever rise above 300 ppm (until the 20th century)?
Definition
Nope
Term
According to Al Gore, is global warming an ethical problem?
Definition
Yes
Term
How many of the hottest years on record have occurred within the last 14 years?
Definition
11
Term
What is "presently" the hottest year on record?
Definition
2005
Term
What happens as oceans get warmer?
Definition
Stronger storms
Term
In what year did we set the all-time record for named storms? (26 tropical storms/hurricanes)
Definition
2004
Term
In 2005, how much rain fell in India in a 24 hour period?
Definition
37 inches
Term
What impact has global warming had on Lake Chad in Africa?
Definition
Dried up to almost nothing
Term
Two areas of the glob are particularly sensitive to global warming (canaries) - name one.
Definition
Arctic
Term
What causes forests of "drunken trees"?
Definition
Trees put their roots down in perma frost, it melts, then the trees go every which way
Term
Why will global warming have a negative impact on the Alaska pipeline?
Definition
Built on frozen ground
Term
When will the ice covering the Arctic Ocean completely disappear?
Definition
next 50-70 years
Term
where is global warming the greatest?
Definition
Arctic ice cap
Term
Why are polar bears beginning to drown?
Definition
Long swim to find ice (over 60 miles)
Term
What drives the "ocean conveyer belt"?
Definition
Temperature and salt
Term
What happened when this ocean conveyer belt shut down near the end of the Ice Age?
Definition
Europe went into another ice age
Term
What country is producing the greatest amount of CO2 pollution?
Definition

United States

Term
How is global warming having a negative impact on breeding among some birds?
Definition
Food sources are peaking much earlier than chick hatchings
Term
How is global warming killing pine trees?
Definition
Pine beatles are killing them, because they aren't dying, because it's not cold enough
Term

How is global warming affecting human health (what tropical diseases are spreading)?

Definition
SARS, ebola, tuberculosis, west nile, avian flu
Term
How is global warming affecting species diversity?
Definition
They're dying
Term
2 areas of the globe are particularly sensitive to global warming (canaries) - name another.
Definition
Anartica
Term
What happened to the Larson Ice Shelf in Antarctic in 2002?
Definition

Disappeared in 31 days

Term
How much would sea level rise if the ice on either West Antarctica or Greenland melted?
Definition
20 feet
Term
What country will soon be producing as much CO2 pollution as the U.S.?
Definition
China
Term
It took 10,000 years to reach 2 billion people; how long to reach 9 billion?
Definition
1 human lifetime
Term
Where does 30% of CO2 pollution come from?
Definition
Forests burning
Term
Old habits + Old technologies result in?
Definition
Predictable consequences
Term

Is there really a disagreement among scientists concerning CO2 and global warming?

Definition
No
Term
Is the problem of global warming really too big for us to do anything about it?
Definition
No
Term
What is the one thing we lack to resolve the problem of global warming?
Definition
Political will
Term
What 2 nations have not ratified the Kyoto Accord on global warming?
Definition
United States and Australia
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