During a period when the earth's orbital tilt is at a minimum, which would probably not be true?
a. there should be less seasonal variation between summer and winter
b. more snow would probably fall during the winter in polar regions
c. there would be a lesser likelihood of glaciers at high latitudes
d. there would be less seasonal variations at middle latitudes
Question 2Plate tectonics explains certain climatic changes by showing that these changes may be relatedto:a.
mountain building
b. the amount of CO2 and H2O released into the atmosphere
c. the paths taken by ocean currents
d. the position of the continents
e. all of the above
Question 3Which theory explains how glacial material can be observed today near sea level at the equator,
even though sea level glaciers probably never existed there?
a. Milankovitch theory
b. Theory of plate tectonics
c. Volcanic dust theory
d. Maunder theory
Question 4A positive feedback mechanism:a.
acts to reinforce an initial change
b. acts to weaken or oppose an initial change
c. will cause a positive change
d. will cause a negative change
Question 5If the earth were in a warming trend, which of the processes below would most likely act as a
negative feedback mechanism?
a. increasing the water vapor content of the air
b. increasing the snow cover around the earth
c. decreasing the amount of cloud cover around the globe
d. increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
Question 6If the earth were in a cooling trend, which process below would most likely act as a positive
feedback mechanism?
a. increasing the snow cover around the earth
b. increasing the water vapor content of the air
c. decreasing the amount of cloud cover around the globe
d. increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
Question 7Over the past 100 years or so, it appears that average global temperatures have:a.
increased slightly
b. fluctuated widely but shown no overall change
c. decreased slightly
d. remained constant