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Earth Science
Q:
Discuss the similarities and differences of cloud-albedo forcing and cloud-greenhouse forcing.
Q:
Follow the flow of energy from the Sun, into Earth's atmosphere and to the surface, and back out into space.
Q:
What have recent studies shown regarding the relationship between cirrus clouds generated by aircraft and the Earth-atmosphere energy balance?
Q:
What is Rayleigh scatter? What is mie scatter? How does scattering contribute to the color of the sky.
Q:
Describe the different methods of heat transfer.
Q:
What does "albedo" mean? Discuss the albedo of different surfaces including several not explicitly discussed in the textbook.
Q:
Describe the energy pathways of insolation as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Q:
Though oceans cover 70% of the Earth, scientists still have limited knowledge of the ocean's role in the Earth-atmosphere heat balance.
Q:
Aerosols and other particulates can have been a cooling and warming effect on the climate.
Q:
Continued urbanization will likely worsen the heat-island effects in the coming years.
Q:
Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on recond in 1979.
Q:
Relative to expenditures of NET R, LE refers to the heat transferred back and forth between air and surface through convection.
Q:
Rooftop photovoltaic electrical general remains far more expensive than power line construction to rural areas.
Q:
Government support and subsidies for solar energy could make it more cost competitive with other energy sources.
Q:
In developing countries, there is a pressing need for decentralized energy sources to aid in everyday needs such as cooking and heating water.
Q:
The energy received in just 35 minutes at the surface of the United States exceeds the amount of energy derived from the burning of fossil fuels in a year.
Q:
The average building in the United States does not receive enough solar energy required to heat the inside of the building.
Q:
The climate of a large urban area doesn't typically differ from the climate of nearby rural areas.
Q:
As water changes states from liquid to vapor, energy is absorbed.
Q:
NET R refers to the balance of all radiationboth shortwave and longwave.
Q:
In the Northern Hemisphere, the coldest time of the year occurs in December at the time of the winter solstice.
Q:
The daily temperature curve exhibits a lag of about three hours relative to the insolation curve.
Q:
While energy budgets vary latitudinal, they are fairly constant at specific locations throughout the year. For instance, the energy budget at 32 does not vary throughout the day or year.
Q:
The greenhouse effect refers to the differential transmissivity properties of atmospheric constituents.
Q:
In equatorial and tropic regions, energy surpluses prevail, whereas energy deficits prevail at higher latitudes.
Q:
Between the tropics, low angle of insolation, variable day lengths, and high seasonal variations create an energy deficit.
Q:
Latent heat transfer and convection are examples of nonradiative energy transfer from the Earth's surface.
Q:
High altitude cirrus clouds can act as insulators, absorbing terrestrial longwave radiation.
Q:
Low, thick stratus clouds have little effect on the Earth's climate.
Q:
Clouds, depending on cloud type, altitude, and thickness, can either heat or cool the Earth.
Q:
A greenhouse is an imperfect analogy for how the Earth's atmosphere behaves because longwave radiation is not trapped in the same way it is in a greenhouse.
Q:
Latitudinal energy imbalances drive global circulation patterns.
Q:
On a cloudy day, primarily shorter wavelengths of light (e.g. blues and violets) are scattered.
Q:
The rougher a surface, the higher its albedo.
Q:
Insolation is the source of energy that is ultimately responsible for heating the atmosphere and driving weather phenomena.
Q:
The principle of Rayleigh scatter states that atmospheric particles larger than the wavelength of light account for the differential scattering of shorter wavelengths of light.
Q:
Global dimming is the general term used to describe decreased insolation during periods of less solar activity.
Q:
Absorption is the assimilation of radiation and its conversion from one form to another.
Q:
Heat energy flows from objects that are warmer to those that are cooler.
Q:
Earth's blue sky is a result of diffuse reflection called scattering.
Q:
The Moon has an average albedo similar to asphalt and black top.
Q:
The greater the albedo of a surface, the less it is heated by insolation.
Q:
High latitudes have a higher albedo in winter than do low latitudes.
Q:
Energy that is reflected from Earth's surface plays a substantial role in heating the atmosphere.
Q:
Refraction is responsible for rainbows and mirages.
Q:
The reflective quality of a surface is called its albedo and is expressed as a percentage.
Q:
Which of the following is not responsible for the urban heating effect?A) Heat generated by homes, vehicles, and factories.B) Increase in human-made materials that conduct more energy than natural surfaces.C) Increased albedo of urban environments relative to that of natural landscapes.D) The concentration of people, machines and heat generating devices adds more heat to the environment.E) Increased air pollution that absorbs and reradiates heat to surface.
Q:
Which of the following related to the promise of solar energy is incorrect?
A) The Earth receives 100,000 terawatts of solar energy per hour.
B) The energy produced by fossil fuels in the U.S. in a year is equivalent to 35 minutes of insolation.
C) The technology for solar energy is not yet available for widespread use.
D) Periods of cloudiness and night are current drawbacks to available solar technology.
Q:
Over the oceans, the highest annual values for latent heat of evaporation (LE) occur
A) near the poles.
B) over the subtropics.
C) in the tropics.
D) in the midlatitudes.
Q:
Which of these cities experiences (on average) the highest annual net radiation (NET R)?
A) Salvador, Brazil
B) Montreal, Canada
C) Edinburgh, Scotland
D) Barrow, Alaska
Q:
Which of the following combinations of NET R terms would be associated with a hot, dry climate? (LE = latent heat of evaporation; H= sensible heat; G=ground heating and cooling)
A) LE large; H small; G large
B) LE small; H large; G large
C) LE small; H small; G small
D) LE large; H small; G small
Q:
The time of maximum daily temperature occurs
A) at the same time that maximum insolation occurs, because that is when maximum energy is available for heating the air.
B) before the time of maximum insolation, because the residual heat energy left over in the atmosphere from the previous day adds to the energy supplied by insolation.
C) before the time of maximum insolation occurs, because the thermosphere transfers heat energy to the surface during the early morning hours as the D and E layers in the ionosphere become active.
D) after the time of maximum insolation, because an energy surplus accumulates in the atmosphere while the Sun is still high in the sky and reaches a peak in mid-afternoon.
E) after the time of maximum insolation, because the ground starts to reflect heat energy in the late afternoon, and this creates an energy surplus.
Q:
A(n) ________ is trapped airborne pollution that can raise temperatures by absorbing insolation and reradiating heat to the surface.
A) urban heat island (UHI)
B) "cool" roof
C) urban canyon effect
D) dust dome
Q:
Solar cookers could replace ________ as an affordable source of energy in rural villages in third world countries.
A) natural gas
B) nuclear power
C) fusion power
D) fire wood
Q:
Which of the following is not a strategy used planners and architects to mitigate against the effects of the urban heat island?
A) planting of urban forests (parks and open spaces)
B) using dark covered asphalt
C) designing rooftop gardens ("green" roofs)
D) using lighter-colored materials on roofs and other surfaces
Q:
Which of the following is not true of solar energy?
A) The United States receives as much energy in 35 minutes of insolation as we produce by burning fossil fuels in the United States in a year.
B) It can provide both heat and electricity.
C) Photovoltaic capacity has not increased in recent years.
D) Experimental photovoltaic cells have broken the 40% efficiency barrier.
Q:
Following the urban heat island profile from rural areas to a typical downtown urban area, which of the following is true?
A) Commercial and urban residential areas have the highest late afternoon temperatures.
B) Large urban parks do not mitigate against the urban heat island.
C) On average, urban areas are 1 to 3C higher than nearby rural areas.
D) The temperature variations between urban and rural environments are negligible.
Q:
Which of the following is not associated with urban environments?
A) higher relative humidity than that in surrounding rural areas
B) greatly increased condensation nuclei relative to surrounding rural areas
C) increased precipitation relative to surrounding rural areas
D) lower annual mean wind speeds relative to surrounding rural areas
Q:
Which of the following is true regarding anthropogenic heat production in cities?
A) It can contribute 250 percent more heat energy in winter than is contributed by insolation.
B) It contributes little heat energy relative to that arriving from insolation.
C) It is too small to be considered a relevant part of the energy budget.
D) The production of this heat energy contributes very little to air pollution.
Q:
Which of the following is false?
A) Urbanized surfaces tend to be sealed.
B) Urban surfaces have lower albedos and higher NET R values.
C) The amount of Human-produced heat is not significant in New York City.
D) A city responds much as a desert surface during and after a rainstorm.
Q:
On land, the highest annual values for latent heat of evaporation (LE) occur
A) near the poles.
B) over the subtropics.
C) in the tropics.
D) in the midlatitudes.
Q:
When water evaporates, the energy that was used to evaporate the water
A) is stored as sensible heat in the evaporated water.
B) is stored as latent heat in the evaporated water.
C) is transferred to the air by advection when the water evaporates.
D) is conducted into the underlying layer of water.
Q:
The highest annual values for net radiation (NET R) occur
A) near the equator.
B) along the Tropic of Cancer.
C) in the midlatitudes.
D) north of the equator in the Arabian sea.
Q:
When water evaporates from a surface, which of the following occurs?
A) Energy is stored within the water.
B) Energy is released to the surface.
C) The surface is warmed.
D) Heat is transferred back and forth between the air and surface.
Q:
Sensible heat transfer (H) refers to energy transfer between the air and the surface by
A) turbulent eddies, convection, and conduction.
B) evaporation of water.
C) reflection of insolation.
D) ground heating.
Q:
Longwave radiation (+ LW) arriving at the Earth's surface
A) comes primarily from infrared energy emitted by the atmosphere.
B) comes directly from the Sun.
C) comes from diffuse solar radiation.
D) comes from UV radiation reflected from the bottoms of clouds.
Q:
Which of the following would be true for the net radiation balance in a midlatitude location?
A) Net R is constant throughout the year.
B) There is a surplus of Net R during the summer and a deficit during the winter.
C) There is a deficit of Net R during the summer and a surplus during the winter.
D) The season at which surpluses and deficits occur varies from one year to the next.
Q:
NET R values are positive
A) during the night when +LW is at a maximum.
B) after dusk due to a lag effect of outgoing infrared radiation.
C) during daylight hours, peaking just after noon with the peak of insolation.
D) during the daylight hours, peaking just after sunrise.
Q:
In the surface energy budget, the term - SW represents
A) heat.
B) incoming energy.
C) surface albedo.
D) NET R.
Q:
Net radiation (NET R) refers to
A) the net energy expended for ground heating and cooling.
B) the balance of all radiation incoming and outgoing at Earth's surface.
C) the amount of insolation coming into the surface.
D) the amount of insolation not absorbed at the surface.
Q:
The relationship between the insolation curve and the air temperature curve on a graph of daily surface energy
A) exhibits a lag of several hours between the plotted lines.
B) shows little or no relationship between the two variables.
C) shows that peak temperatures occur near noon, whereas peak insolation receipt is at 3:00 or 4:00 P.M.
D) coincide at noon.
Q:
On the average, which of the following is true regarding the distribution of shortwave and longwave energy at Earth's surface by latitude?
A) The equatorial zone is a region of net deficits.
B) The polar regions are areas of net surpluses.
C) The distribution shows an imbalance of net radiation from equator to poles.
D) More energy is lost than is gained in the equatorial regions.
Q:
Differential transmissivity of shortwave insolation and longwave terrestrial radiation by various atmospheric gases is better known as the
A) global dimming.
B) greenhouse effect.
C) cloud-albedo forcing.
D) global warming.
Q:
If the amount of low, thick stratus cloud cover increases, the Earth's climates would likely ________ due to increased ________.
A) cool; absorption
B) cool; reflectivity
C) warm; absorption
D) warm; reflectivity
Q:
The relationship between insolation and air temperature through the course of day shows
A) air temperature reaches a maximum at noon when insolation also reaches a maximum.
B) air temperature reaches a maximum afternoon, whereas insolution reaches a maximum at noon.
C) air temperature maximum and minimums are not related to insolation.
D) air temperature reaches a minimum at midnight when there is no insolation.
Q:
Which of the following is true relative to the Earth-atmosphere radiation system?
A) Averaged over a year, Earth's surface has an energy budget.
B) Averaged over a year, Earth's surface has an energy deficit.
C) Averaged over a year, Earth's atmosphere has an energy budget.
D) The Earth's energy is never in balance because surface surpluses are greater than atmosphere deficits.
Q:
The analogy of a greenhouse is
A) completely unrelated to our Earth-atmosphere system, and should never have been used to describe global warming.
B) exactly how the Earth-atmosphere system operates.
C) a useful, but inaccurate model since atmospheric gases do not trap, but absorb heat.
D) while it incorrectly describes shortwave energy transmission, it perfectly encapsulates how longwave terrestrial radiation is trapped.
Q:
Which of the following is true of differences in latitudinal energy?
A) There is an energy balance between energy gains and losses around 36 latitude.
B) There is year-round energy deficit at the Tropic of Capricorn.
C) The equator has an energy balance in the summer, but a deficit in the winter.
D) Energy imbalances betweens the tropics and the poles are negligible.
Q:
Which of the following is not a reason for the energy deficit in the polar regions?
A) little seasonal variability
B) low sun angle
C) high albedo due to snow and ice
D) up to six months without insolation
Q:
Which of the following is not a reason for the energy surplus between the tropics?
A) high insolation
B) indirect solar radiation
C) consistent daylength
D) little seasonal variations