- describe the wind driven ocean circulation and the thermohaline circulation
- explain how the ocean circulations help to keep northern Europe warm
during winter
- explain how the wind driven circulation controls the distribution
of nutrients
- describe the conditions under which strong coastal upwelling is observed
- describe the conditions under which strong equatorial upwelling is
observed
- describe the conditions under which bottom water is formed
-explain why the marine biosphere tends to be concentrated very close
to the
surface of the ocean
- explain how salinity of sea water is affected by precipitation and
evaporation
- list the major carbon reservoirs in the earth system
- explain how the vertical distribution of salinity influences where
oceanic
convection can and cannot occur
- list and describe the major elements of the cryosphere
- define and give an example of residence time in a reservoir like
the ones in the carbon cycle
- describe and differentiate between the short and long term organic
carbon
cycles, the inorganic carbon cycle and the carbonate
silicate cycle
- define and describe the role of processes such as photosynthesis,
weathering, limestone
formation, and the burning of fossil fuels in moving
carbon between the major reservoirs
- describe the biological pump and how it operates
- contrast the composition of the earth's early (pre-life) atmosphere
with the
present composition of the atmosphere
- contrast the present composition of the earth's atmosphere with that
of the
other nearby planets in the solar system and explain
why it is so different
- summarize our current understanding of the events that led to the
buildup of
oxygen in the earth's atmosphere, including the
oxidation of iron and other metals
in the earth's crust; cite some of the evidence
in support of this view
- list and briefly describe the more important external influences
on the earth's
climate over its 4.6 billion year history and for
each one, know roughly the range
of time scales on which it operates
- be prepared to cite specific examples of the roles of how solar
variability, plate tectonics, the biosphere, and
the ocean circulation are
believed to have contributed to or influenced climate
variability
- list and briefly describe the more important climate feedbacks; to
know whether
each one are believed to be positive or negative
and why. You won't be
responsible for the 'hypotheses' in the Feedbacks
section in Chapter 11
- summarize what sediment cores ice cores tell us about the history
of the ice ages
- summarize the major elements of the Milankovitch theory of the ice
ages
- list and describe some of the kinds of evidence that is used to infer
what
climate was like on each of the time scales considered
in class
- describe the feedbacks between the atmosphere and the equatorial Pacific
ocean
that give rise to El Nino and describe how El Nino
affects the climate of the
tropical Pacific and the Pacific Northwest
Be able to define the following terms and relate them to climate
and/or
atmospheric composition:
- K-T mass extinction, Pleistocene, Holocene, Younger Dryas, Medieval
Warm Period,
Little Ice Age
- ice age, glacial, interglacial, moraine, loess
- eccentricity, obliquity, precession
- photosynthesis, respiration, oxidation, metamorphosis (of limestone)
weathering
- biosphere, biomass, primary productivity
- organic carbon vs. inorganic carbon
In answering the following questions, cite observational evidence:
How do we know that:
the age of the earth is roughly 4 billion years?
life on earth dates back almost 4 billion years?
the earth has been bombarded by many meteors and small asteroids during its history?
oxygen levels in the atmosphere started rising roughly 2 billion years ago?
the amount of oxygen released by photosynthesis over the lifetime of
the earth is
much larger than the amount currently residing in the atmosphere?
the continents are drifting? or the Atlantic is widening?
the Cretacious period, ~70 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed
the earth was
a relatively warm period in the earth's history?
an asteroid hit the earth around 65 million years ago?
a series of major ice ages (the so called Pleistocene epoch) began 1-2 million years ago?
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were ~30% lower during the major
glaciations than during interglacials?
global sea level was more than meters lower during the peak of the last
ice age
than it is today?
the most recent ice age ended 10-15 thousand years ago?
European and North Atlantic climate suffered a relapse into near ice
age conditions
(know as the Younger Dryas event) ~10,000 years ago. This event
set in and ended abruptly
during the Holocene period 5,000-9000 years before present, life was
abundant in
what is now the Sahara Desert?
the climate of North Africa was more moist 2,000 years ago than it is today?
the climate of northern Europe was warmer 1000 years ago than it is today?
present atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are far higher than
at any time
in the past 300,000 years?
water that was at the surface of the North Atlantic a decade ago is
now flowing
southward along the ocean floor?
the equatorial Pacific experiences upwelling whenever the wind blows from the east?
there exists a 'biological pump' in the world ocean that plays an important
role
in transporting organic carbon downward?
In answering the following questions, cite the theoretical ideas
that the
inferences are based on:
Why do scientists believe that:
the luminosity of the sun has increased by ~30% over the lifetime of the earth?
the temperature of the Earth has always remained well below 100 C?
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are have decreased over the
lifetime of
the Earth?
oxygen levels in the atmosphere have remained between 13 and 35% during
the past
360 million years?
the burning of fossil fuels does not pose a serious threat in terms
of the loss of
atmospheric oxygen?
the climate system is capable of undergoing sudden climatic changes?
the melting of Arctic sea ice wouldn't impact global sea level as much
as the
melting of an equivalent amount of ice from the Greenland ice sheet?
the upper limit that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations could
reach as a
consequence of the burning of fossil fuels is roughly a factor of 6
relative to
present concentrations?
the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn contain much more hydrogen than the Earth's atmosphere?
water is largely absent on Venus
the atmosphere of Venus is much more massive than that of the Earth
and it
consists mostly of carbon dioxide?
Mars and Venus have no ozone layers?
continental drift was not an important factor in accounting for the
ups and downs
in global temperature during the past million years?
continental drift and orbital changes are not likely to be important
factors in
producing climate change during the 21st century?
layers of limestone sediments are largely restricted to the shallow
waters of the
continental shelves?
large volcanic eruptions are observed to produce global cooling that
typically
persists for a year or two?
the sunspot cycle produces stronger effects in the earth's upper atmosphere
than
it does at the earth's surface?
the marine biosphere is concentrated near the ocean surface?
a sudden influx of fresh water into the far North Atlantic could shut
down the
thermohaline circulation?
the climate of northern Europe is remarkably warm, considering its high
latitude?
Define and discuss the significance of: