What processes contribute to increasing carbon dioxide and methane in Earth's atmosphere?
What will be an ideal response?
Carbon dioxide is increasing mostly because of the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels consist of carbon or compounds where carbon and hydrogen are bound together. When burned, the bonds between carbon atoms or between carbon and hydrogen atoms are broken, and then the carbon bonds with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. Most of the historic methane increase is attributed to agricultural activities such as the decay of organic matter in rice paddies and the digestion of cows and sheep.
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Which of the following defines Earth's radiative equilibrium temperature?
A. the average temperature Earth must maintain to prevent the oceans from freezing solid B. the temperature at which solar radiation and infrared radiation are absorbed at equal rates C. the temperature at which the Earth radiates energy at maximum intensity D. the temperature at which rates of evaporation and condensation on the Earth are in balance
General Circulation Models (GCM) differ from Weather Forecasting Models (WFM) in all of the following ways except GCM
A) emphasize feedbacks between all the earth sphere not just the atmosphere. B) use spatial analysis techniques that interpolate the data to a three-dimensional grid. C) have larger grid spacings for data analysis compared to WFM D) Use longer time step between data interactions.
Gravity is:
A) a force. B) an acceleration. C) an attraction between any two masses. D) all of the above
________ air masses are colder than continental polar air masses
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).