What are some of the effects that will occur as a result of global warming? What will be an ideal response?
Carbon dioxide is being produced at a greater rate than it can be absorbed by the ocean. Earth
is absorbing more energy from the Sun than it is emitting into space. There has been a 5°C
rise in global temperature since the end of the last ice age; most of this increase has occurred
only in the last 200 years. The year 2010 was the warmest on record; the hottest recorded
years have all occurred since 1998. The ocean is warming too. Observations suggest that
about 90% of the excess heating of Earth’s surface since the 1950s is stored in the ocean.
Though the measured temperature increase is small, water has a very high heat capacity.
Floating polar ice is also melting rapidly. When reflective ice is replaced by dark ocean
water, more sunlight will be absorbed. Increasing warmth has caused the ocean to expand and
sea level to rise. The accelerated melting of the land-based Greenland and Antarctic ice caps
is also adding water to the ocean. Sea level is projected to rise another 60 centimeters (2 feet)
by the year 2100. Other effects include melting permafrost, which could increase the
greenhouse effect due to high rates of organic matter decomposition, and changes in
precipitation and storm patterns.
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The following grains are among the world's major food crops except
a. Wheat b. Soybean c. Rice d. Corn e. wheat and corn are major food crops, but not soybeans or rice
Transform boundaries are most closely associated with reverse thrust faults
a. True b. False
Winds blowing out of the north toward the south in the southern hemisphere will appear to ________
A) be deflected toward the east B) be deflected toward the west C) circulate counterclockwise D) circulate clockwise E) travel in a straight line
The most important extinction threats for most species are anthropogenic environmental pollutants and over-harvesting via hunting and fishing.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)