Climate exam. Multiple Choice Questions. Social Sciences.

QUESTION 
The best records of sea level change over the last 18,000 years come from
a) dating fossil corals
b) tree ring thickness
c) satellite measurements of sea surface height  
d) tide gauges
e) moraine records of melting glaciers
QUESTION 2

Ice core records of temperature from Greenland and Antarctica over the last approximately 100,000 years show 
a) no coherent (similar) patterns at all 
b) nearly identical trends in temperature
c) trends in temperature that are frequently the opposite of one another
QUESTION 3
Evidence for abrupt climate change in the Northern Hemisphere over the last ~100,000 years is found in 
a)  ice core records from Greenland 
b) sediments in the eastern Pacific Ocean off of California 
c) a) and b)
d) none of the above
QUESTION 4

Why is it hard to determine whether or not climate change affected human evolution? 
a)  humans didn’t evolve until 2000 years ago
b)  the human fossil record is sparse (i.e., there are relatively few fossils of humans)
c) ‘ climate hasn’t changed much during the existence of humans
d) climate records for this time are sparse (i.e., there are relatively few records of past climate during the interval of interest)
e) all of the above are correct
QUESTION 5
Today, states like Utah and Nevada are largely deserts. However, during the Last Glacial Maximum those states were wetter because 
a)  there was more moisture in the atmosphere for precipitation
b) runoff (melting ice) from the southern edge of the large ice sheet over North America provided a new source of fresh water to the region 
c)  the large ice sheet over North America caused a shift in the jet stream, and the moisture it carries fell over those states 
d) sea level was higher which provided more water to those areas 
e)  all of the above
QUESTION 6
Which of the following is the least likely mechanism for the increase in sea level over the last century?
a) melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice 
b) thermal expansion of water
c)  increased sea floor spreading rates 
d) melting of mountain glaciers
QUESTION 7
There is very little scientific consensus about modem global warming -  True .-  False
QUESTION 8 
Ocean acidification
a)  is caused by chemical weathering dissolving continental rocks
b) is caused by waste running into the ocean by industries that use acid
c) is caused by organisms creating shells/skeletons out of calcium carbonate 
d)  is caused by dissolving atmospheric carbon dioxide into sea water
QUESTION 9
Scientists are confident that climate change over the last 100-150 years is largely driven by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere because 
a) tectonic forcing is too slow 
b)  orbital forcing is too slow and should currently be making the planet colder
c)  the bipolar see-saw should cause opposite trends between the hemispheres, and that’s not what we observe 
d)  there are no clear century-long global climate oscillations during the last 8000 years 
e)  all of the above
QUESTION 10
Most of what we know about how sensitive global climate is to changes in greenhouse gas concentration comes from 
a)  the paieoclimate record
b)  global climate models
c)  analysis of climate data from the last 15 years
d) a) and b)
e)  a), b), and c)
QUESTION 11
Knowing how cold the tropics were during the Last Glacial Maximum is important because that tells us 
a) where ice sheets were in the past
b) how thick the ice sheets were over North America and Europe 
c)  how far loess travels during ice ages
d)  how sensitive climate is to changing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere 
e)  none of the above
QUESTION 12
QUESTION 13
Humans have very likely stopped the next ice age through greenhouse gas emissions. For North America and Europe, is stopping that ice age a good thing or a bad thina? Justify your answer. (4 points)
QUESTION 14
During the Medieval Climate Anomaly (formerly the Medieval Warm Period)
a)  some parts of the world got warmer 
b)  some parts of the world got colder
c) some parts of the world didn't change temperature much at all 
d) all of the above
QUESTION 15
People who do not believe that humans are Impacting climate argue that even though atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased by more than 35% since the start of the Industrial Revolution (early-1700s), global temperature has not warmed much (1-4 PC), and thus climate is not sensitive to greenhouse gas changes. Provide two reasons why this Is a poor argument. (4 points) 
QUESTION 16
Which of the following statements is the least-correct/most-wrong?
a) Climate change makes extreme weather events more likely to occur
b)  Climate change causes extreme weather events to occur in the first place
c) Climate changes increses the severity if weather events
 QUESTION 17
In order of size from largest to smallest amount, where does CO2 produced by humans go?
a) biosphere, atmosphere, ocean
b) ocean, atmosphere, biosphere
c)  atmosphere, biosphere, ocean
d) biosphere, ocean, atmosphere
e) atmosphere, ocean, biosphere
QUESTION 18
Brown clouds (clouds made from carbon aerosols) ________________________________the Earth’s surface, and _____________________the lower atmospher
a) cool,warm
b) havenoeffect on, have no effect on
c) warm, warm
d) cool, cool
e) warm,cool
QUESTION 19
Over the next century, which part of the planet Is projected to heat up the most?
a) the tropics
b) mid - latitude Southern Hemisphere
c) Antarctica
d) the Arctic
QUESTION 20
Humans may have started influencing climate as far back as 8,000-9,000 years ago through 
a) the initial use of coal and charcoal for making metal tools during the Iron Age
b) agriculture
c) changing the Earth’s albedo by building small villages and towns
d) all of the abouve
QUESTION 21
Earth hasn’t notably warmed since the late-1990s.
- True- False
QUESTION 22
There ie demonstrable proof that any CO2 llmlta/regulatlons will ham. the eoonomy. 
- True 
-  False
QUESTION 23
By the end of this century, global sea level is predicted to rise by about
a) 2 to 3 feet
b) 6 to 9 feet
c) 15 to 20 feet
d) 8 to 16 inches
QUESTION 24
Why Is the statement “Nature emits more C02 than humans do misleading when talking about climate change over the last -150 yearn?
QUESTION 25
a) an interval of rapid climate change during the deglaciation when climate abruptly warmed for about 1000 years 3 
b)  an interval of rapid climate change during the deglaciation when climate abruptly cooled for about 1000 years
c) an interval of peak warmth that occurred 6000 years ago after the big ice sheets over North American and Europe had melted 
d) an interval of deep cooling that occurred 6000 years ago after the big ice sheets over North America and Europe had melted
QUESTION 26
Mammoths most likely first evolved on which continent? 
a) North America 
b) South America
c) Asia 
d) Africa 
e)  Europe
QUESTION 27
The Medieval Warm Period is a good analogy for modem climate change because most of the planet warmed during the Medieval Warm Period.
- True 
- False
QUESTION 28
By the end of this century,
a) the tropics are predicted to get warmer, and high latitudes are predicted to get colder
b) the tropics are predicted to get drier, and high latitudes are predicted to get cooler 
c)  the tropics are predicted to get cooler, and high latitudes are predicted to get wetter 
d) the tropics are predicted to get drier, and high latitudes are predicted to get wetter
QUESTION 29
Which of the following is something that humans produce but doesn’t significantly affect climate?
a) ozone in the lower atmosphere
b)  carbon aerosols 
c) sulfate aerosols 
d)  methane
QUESTION 30
The multiple abrupt warmings observed in paleoclimate records over the last approximately 100,000 years occur 
a) with greater intensity during ice ages
b)  with greater intensity during interglacials (periods between major ice ages)
c)  with the same intensity during both ice ages and interglacials
QUESTION 31
Our ancestor’s first use of stone tools implies a significant change in 
a) diet 
b) strength
c) ability to travel longer distances 
d) all of the above
e) none of the above
QUESTION 32
Which of the following is probably not a forcing mechanism for climate change on time scales of a few thousand years? 
a) consistent large volcanic eruptions 
b) solar intensity variability 
c)  ice sheet dynamics/instability 
d)  the bipolar see-saw
QUESTION 33
Over the last 50 years, Arctic (Northern Hemisphere) sea ice has 
a)  increased in area
b)  experienced surprisingly little change in area 
c)  decreased in area
QUESTION 34
When the ocean's “conveyor belt” circulation is weak, the North Atlantic is unusually 
a)  warm, cold
b)  cold, cold
c)  cold, warm
d)  warm, warm
QUESTION 35
If we completely stopped all CO2 emissions today, Earth would 
a) experience rapid cooling due to the weakened greenhouse effect 
b) continue to warm for through at least the end of this century 
c ) experience a change in Milankovitch cycles 
d) none of the above