This is just for the part of the final on the material that's been
covered in
class since the second midterm. About half the questions on the
final will be on
this material. To study for the other questions, consult the
two previous study
guides.
Be prepared to:
describe the positive feedbacks between surface winds on the equator,
the
east-west thermocline slope, equatorial upwelling, equatorial sea surface
temperature, pressure and rainfall in El Nino.
explain the origin of the word 'El Nino'
describe some of the long range 'teleconnections' associated with El Nino
describe how El Nino shows up in satellite ocean color imagery
describe some ways in which El Nino impacts marine life
describe the chemical reactions that give rise to the ozone layer and
make it
highly effective in protecting life on Earth from the harmful effects
of solar
ultraviolet radiation
explain why and how CFC's threaten the ozone layer, including the role
of polar
stratospheric clouds
explain why the ozone hole occurs primarily in the Antarctic, rather
than
symmetrically in both the Arctic and Antarctic
speculate on the future of the ozone hole
list the important greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere and their
primary
sources
explain why gases like methane, nitrous oxide and CFC's need to be taken
into
account as greenhouse gases even though there is far less of them in
the
atmosphere than carbon dioxide
explain why water vapor tends to be regarded differently by scientists
than the
other greenhouse gases: i.e., it's treated as a source of feedback
rather than as
a by-product of human activities
describe the role of the oceans and the land biosphere in taking up
part of the
carbon that humans are putting into the atmosphere
demonstrate some awareness of how much atmospheric concentrations are
likely to
rise and how long it will take them to return to present levels after
the burning
of fossil fuels stops
summarize and critique the scientific arguments in support of and against
the
seriousness of the global warming issue
describe some of the expected impacts of global warming and how they arise
explain why greenhouse warming is proving to be a much more difficult
problem for
the nations of the world to deal with than the ozone hole issue has
been
define
ENSO
acid rain
CFC
polar stratospheric clouds
catalytic chemical reaction
IPCC
Kyoto protocol
greenhouse gas