Umbc Ges 110 Exam 1

Front 1

Conservation laws include conservation of energy, mass and momentum - stating that these quantities cannot be destroyed, forming the basis for modeling and understanding the Earth system.

Back 1

TRUE

Front 2

In natural systems such as the Earth governed by dynamic equilibrium, positive feedbacks are important for maintaining system stability, restoring the system after perturbations or external/internal changes.

Back 2

FALSE - positive feedback loops increase the effect of a change, e.g. ice sheets & albedo

Front 3

The slightly ellipsoidal shape of the Earth arises from Earth's rapid spin, which causes the polar regions to bulge and the equator to flatten.

Back 3

FALSE - the poles flatten, and the equator bulges.

Front 4

The geoid approximates the Earth's true shape, which is essentially the ellipsoid modified for gravity anomalies (local accumulations/deficits of crustal mass) which in turn cause the sea level surface to undulate slightly.

Back 4

TRUE

Front 5

The greatest topographic variation between the highest mountain and the deepest ocean trench on Earth is about 20km.

Back 5

TRUE - Mt. Everest (8.9km) - Mariana Trench (-10.9km) = 19.8km

Front 6

Earth is structured according to layers of increasing density, from outside to inside, with the exception of Earth's innermost core, which is liquid as opposed to solid metal.

Back 6

FALSE - the inner core is solid

Front 7

The continent of North America is bisected North-South by two distinct mountain ranges, while Eurasia is cut East-West by a more or less single, massive mountain chain.

Back 7

TRUE

Front 8

The equator, Prime Meridian and the Sun's terminator are three examples of Great Circles on Earth.

Back 8

TRUE

Front 9

GPS satellites rely on a constellation of at least two satellite distance spheres in order to locate a receiver in 3D coordinates on or near the Earth's surface.

Back 9

FALSE - they need at least 3

Front 10

You are flying on a plane from California to Japan, nonstop. As you approach the International Dateline, your watch says it is 6pm February 13. The instant you cross the dateline, you need to repeat the calendar day.

Back 10

FALSE - when you travel West to East, you lose a day

Front 11

Earth derives energy from two sources: geothermal energy created from within, from radiodecay (spontaneous fission) of certain elements, and from without, from fusion (creating of heavier elements) in the Sun's core.

Back 11

TRUE

Front 12

We add a leap second exactly every four years, in February, to account for the fact that Earth's rate of spin is gradually increasing, relative to exact Cesium timekeeping clocks.

Back 12

FALSE - every four years, we add a leap DAY b/c Earth takes 365.25 days to travel around the Sun

Front 13

The difference in orbital variation between Earth's aphelion and perihelion is about 3% of the average Earth-Sun distance, accounting for Earth's seasons.

Back 13

FALSE

Front 14

Earth's orbital inclination is about 23 degrees and exerts only a minor effect on control of the seasons.

Back 14

FALSE

Front 15

Seasonal variations in insolation are most pronounced in the low latitudes, i.e. the tropical belt.

Back 15

FALSE - seasonal variations are most pronounced in the midlatitudes

Front 16

The Antarctic Circle is significant in that length of daylight is 24 hours on or about June 21 (solstice)

Back 16

FALSE - on June 21, the Antarctic Circle spends 24 hours in darkness

Front 17

Length of daylight and the solar elevation angle (altitude) work in the same sense during the summer solstice, maximizing the total amount of radiation received at midlatitudes over the course of a day.

Back 17

TRUE - solstice = longest day of year, longest time period to absorb shortwave radiation from Sun

Front 18

Because of perihelion, the southern hemisphere, during its summer, receives more solar radiation than the northern hemisphere, slightly accentuating the intensity of summer there.

Back 18

TRUE

Front 19

Aphelion occurs on or around Jan 3, while perihelion occurs on July 4.

Back 19

FALSE - opposite (aphelion ~ July 4, perihelion ~ Jan 3)

Front 20

UMBC is 5 time zones west of the Prime Meridian. Thus, 11pm at Greenwich, England corresponds to 6pm on July 15.

Back 20

FALSE - approx. 7pm

Front 21

Shortwave radiation involves terrestrial emission of infrared from Earth, while the Sun emits primarily at the longwave spectrum centered on blue light.

Back 21

FALSE - shortwave is from the Sun, while longwave is fron the Earth

Front 22

Conduction involves the movement of heat by fluid flows, including rising warm (low density) air and sinking cold (high density) ocean water.

Back 22

FALSE - this describes convection, not conduction

Front 23

Latent heat release results from phase changes of water, including condensation and freezing

Back 23

TRUE

Front 24

Indirect radiation accounts for the blue of skylight, while aerosols in the atmosphere create the vivid reds of a sunset.

Back 24

TRUE

Front 25

Downwelling radiation, causing Earth's natural greenhouse effect, has effectively warmed the surface and lower atmosphere by approximately 33 deg C.

Back 25

TRUE

Front 26

The net radiation at Earth's surface is positive, meaning that the surface must give off heat to the overlying atmosphere in the form of convective currents (sensible and latent heat).

Back 26

TRUE

Front 27

On an annual basis, global radiation is out of balance with respect to latitude, leading to large heat transfers from equator to pole, by both the atmosphere and oceans.

Back 27

TRUE

Front 28

Nitrogen in the atmosphere, of all the atmospheric gases, has the longest residence time.

Back 28

FALSE - Argon

Front 29

Earth's oxygen concentration, over the course of planetary history, has ranged from effectively 0% to 35%.

Back 29

TRUE - in the beginning of Earth's history, there was no oxygen

Front 30

Atmospheric CO2 has risen from 280 ppm pre-industrial age to 400ppm as of 2015.

Back 30

TRUE - thanks to the industrial revolution

Front 31

The annual variation of CO2 of 2-4ppm (measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, HI) reflects the release of carbon into the atmosphere during northern hemisphere spring and its rapid uptake by the biosphere during the fall months.

Back 31

FALSE - CO2 decreases during springtime

Front 32

During the past 4+ billion years, carbon in the atmosphere (in the form of CO2) has slowly shifted into carbonate rock (calcium carbonate) of the deep sea floor - where most of Earth's carbon is now found.

Back 32

TRUE

Front 33

Ozone forms naturally at about 20-30 km altitude but is selectively destroyed by CFCs during the austral (southern hemisphere) spring, over Antarctica

Back 33

TRUE

Front 34

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas released from the guts of ruminants and wet rice cultivation, has risen only slowly because the molecule is rapidly oxidized to a form that cannot absorb infrared radiation.

Back 34

TRUE

Front 35

Aerosols, also known as particulates, consist of microscopic liquids and solids suspended in air currents, but do not include any form of precipitating cloud water

Back 35

TRUE

Front 36

In the troposphere, air temperature decreases on average from about 15 C at the surface to -60 C at the tropopause, around 15 km.

Back 36

TRUE

Front 37

The stratosphere experiences increasing temperature with altitude because of the presence of ozone, which selectively absorbs the Sun's UV radiation.

Back 37

TRUE

Front 38

The troposphere is considered to be water vapor poor, ozone rich and characterized by a strong temperature inversion - whereas the stratosphere is rich in vapor, deficient in ozone and features a strongly negative lapse rate (change in temperature with altitude)

Back 38

FALSE - other way around

Front 39

Meteor trails are characteristic of the mesosphere, while aurorae form in the very high thermosphere.

Back 39

TRUE

Front 40

An unstable atmosphere is one in which the air is heated strongly from below, causing thermals to rise convectively (cumulus clouds, thunderstorms) and disperse the excess heat upwards.

Back 40

TRUE

Front 41

A stable atmosphere is characterized by shallow layer clouds and trapped pollutant (haze, smog) layers near the surface.

Back 41

TRUE

Front 42

One way of assessing atmospheric stability is to compare the rate at which temperature decreases inside a rising bubble of air (a fixed rate) with the environmental lapse rate of temperature at specific levels.

Back 42

TRUE

Front 43

Earth's latitude is a strong, primary control of surface temperature, due to the variation of insolation with the cosine of latitude.

Back 43

TRUE

Front 44

You drive to the top of a mountain that is 1 km tall. Assuming no appreciable change of temperature due to diurnal effects, and a surface temperature of 30 C at the base, you would expect a temperature of approximately 23 C at the top.

Back 44

TRUE - change in temperature with rising altitude is -6.5 degrees C per 1 km

Front 45

Oceans exert a pronounced maritime effect on the climate of coastal locations, meaning the seasonal extremes are more pronounced along the coasts than far inland.

Back 45

FALSE - seasonal extremes are less pronounced in coastal areas

Front 46

Two cities - San Francisco and St. Louis - lie on roughly the same parallel and sit close to sea level. Assuming no variation in insolation on any given day, one would expect to see the greatest diurnal and seasonal contrast in temperature at San Francisco.

Back 46

FALSE - seasonal extremes are less pronounced in coastal areas

Front 47

On a clear day in January, the Sun begins to warm the surface at Baltimore. At noon, a cold front passes through, and strong cold air advection begins to drop the afternoon temperature. As a result, the day's high temperature may have actually occurred during the early morning hours.

Back 47

TRUE

Front 48

The deepest borehole drilled into Earth's crust - which failed to reach the upper mantle - is located in Russia.

Back 48

TRUE

Front 49

The Trieste was the first manned submersible to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 1960.

Back 49

TRUE

Front 50

The first ever ascent to the top of Mt. Everest was achieved in 1953 by a British explorer and a Nepalese Sherpa.

Back 50

TRUE - explorer was named Hilary and that's why the part of Everest before the summit is called the "Hilary Step."