Unit 7 Problem Set (Exam 2)

1. Which of the following is identified as a primary observable sign of climate change?
a. Decreased frequency of hurricanes
b. Increased number of cold days
c. Heat waves doubling in the U.S. between 1949–1995
d. Global cooling in the last 50 years
e. Decreasing ocean temperatures

C

2. Oceans absorb approximately what percentage of excess heat from global warming?
a. 10%
b. 25%
c. 50%
d. 90%
e. 99%

D

3. Between 2001 and 2020, the chance of an Atlantic hurricane rapidly intensifying to Category 3+ in 24 hours
increased to:
a. 1%
b. 3%
c. 5%
d. 8%
e. 12%

D

4. How much sea level rise would occur if Antarctica completely melted?
a. 6 meters (20 feet)
b. 20 meters (65 feet)
c. 40 meters (130 feet)
d. 70 meters (265 feet)
e. 100 meters (330 feet)

D

5. Greenland’s ice melt could contribute approximately how much sea level rise?
a. 2 meters (6 feet)
b. 4 meters (13 feet)
c. 6 meters (20 feet)
d. 10 meters (33 feet)
e. 20 meters (66 feet)

C

The Trift Glacier in Switzerland retreated by how much between 2006 and 2015?
a. 100 m (0.06 miles)
b. 500 m (0.3 miles)
c. 1.17 km (0.7 miles)
d. 5 km (3.1 miles)
e. 10 km (6.2 miles)

C

Sea-level rise over the last 50 years has averaged approximately:
a. 1 mm/year
b. 2–3.3 mm/year
c. 5–6 mm/year
d. 10 mm/year
e. 15 mm/year

B

Which of the following is NOT listed as a consequence of sea-level rise?
a. Coastal erosion
b. Increased rainfall
c. Loss of freshwater due to saltwater intrusion
d. Flooding of low-lying areas
e. Destruction of coastal habitats

B

What major issue arises from reduced western U.S. snowpack?
a. Excess hydropower
b. Lower risk of drought
c. Less available water
d. Decreased agricultural production
e. Both C and D

E

Climate change causes allergy seasons to become
a. Shorter and weaker
b. Longer and stronger
c. Unchanged
d. Irregular but shorter
e. Dependent only on latitude

B

Geoengineering refers to
a. Any large-scale construction project
b. Intentional alteration of Earth’s climate
c. Urban redesign to reduce pollution
d. Mining processes that change topography
e. Natural carbon sequestration

B

Which geoengineering method involves reflecting sunlight away from Earth?
a. CO₂ Capture
b. Underground injection
c. Ocean fertilization
d. Ionizing atmospheric particles
e. Solar Radiation Management

E

A major risk of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) is:
a. Increased greenhouse gas emissions
b. More evaporation and rainfall
c. Ocean acidification
d. Melting ice caps
e. Severe droughts in monsoon-dependent regions

E

Far-Orbit Reflectors would require:
a. Hundreds of mirrors the size of a car
b. Tens of trillions of silicon disks
c. Solar balloons
d. Airborne flares
e. Painted deserts

B

Stratospheric sulfate aerosols pose which additional risk?
a. Increased methane emissions
b. Ocean warming
c. Ozone depletion
d. Ice sheet expansion
e. Volcanic eruptions

C

Cloud whitening primarily works by:
a. Thickening the ozone layer
b. Removing CO₂
c. Making cloud droplets smaller to increase albedo
d. Heating marine air masses
e. Injecting methane into clouds

C

What is a limitation of cloud whitening?
a. Requires continuous replenishment
b. No effect on sunlight
c. Particles persist for decades
d. Causes severe ozone holes
e. Is the most expensive option

A

Reflective surfaces, such as white roofs, aim to
a. Absorb less CO₂
b. Reduce local temperatures by increasing albedo
c. Convert sunlight into electricity
d. Trap heat in urban centers
e. Thicken cloud formation

B

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) typically removes CO₂ from
a. Seawater
b. Household emissions
c. Power plant exhaust
d. Volcanoes
e. Motor vehicles

C

Amines (RH2, R2NH, R3N) used in CO₂ capture function because they
a. Absorb CO₂ to form bicarbonate species
b. Oxidize CO₂
c. Reduce CO₂
d. Polymerize CO₂
e. Convert CO₂ directly into solid carbon

A

A challenge of amine-based capture is
a. Very low energy use
b. Solvent degradation
c. Inability to regenerate amines
d. Cannot capture more than 30% of CO₂
e. Incompatibility with H₂O

B

Oxycombustion burns fuel using
a. Nitrogen
b. Air
c. Pure oxygen
d. Helium
e. CO₂

C

A drawback of oxycombustion is
a. Extremely low flame temperatures
b. Difficulty separating CO₂ afterward
c. Very high flame temperatures (~3500°C)
d. Incompatibility with fossil fuels
e. No way to recycle gases

C

Producing pure oxygen for oxycombustion requires:
a. Cryogenic separation
b. Acid digestion
c. Electroplating
d. Radiation
e. Photosynthesis

A

Deep-ocean disposal of CO₂ can form:
a. Ozone
b. CO₂ ice sheets
c. Clathrate hydrates
d. Methane crystals
e. Carbonate rocks

C

A major ecological concern of deep-ocean CO₂ disposal is:
a. Loss of ozone
b. Increased salinity
c. Creation of acidic rain
d. Coral bleaching due to heat
e. Marine life destruction at injection sites

E

Underground injection sites include:
a. Coral reefs
b. Glaciers
c. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs
d. Tundra peatlands
e. Volcanic calderas

C

Which underground storage method displaces methane that can be captured and used as fuel?
a. Saline aquifers
b. Coal seams
c. Basalt formations
d. Glacial tills
e. Permafros

B

Norway’s Sleipner Project stores CO₂ in
a. Coal beds
b. Permafrost cavities
c. Saline aquifers under the North Sea
d. Ice cores
e. Basalt columns

C

Using reversible capture of CO2 with amines is able to recover ____ of CO2.
a. 10%
b. 30%
c. 50%
d. 75%
e. 95%

E

Ocean acidification results from which of the following reactions occurring in the ocean?
a. CO₂ + H₂O → H₂CO₃
b. SO₂ + H₂O → H₂SO₄
c. NO₂ + H₂O → HNO₃
d. CH₄ + O₂ → CO₂
e. O₃ + UV → O₂

A

Which method has the longest storage duration?
a. Amines
b. Oxycombustion
c. Ocean disposal
d. Underground injection
e. SRM

D

Which method’s primary challenge is that it is "energy intensive"?
a. Underground injection
b. Ocean disposal
c. Oxycombustion
d. Chemical capture with amines
e. Cloud whitening

D

Which SRM method could delay Antarctic ozone recovery?
a. Stratospheric sulfate aerosol injection
b. Oxycombustion
c. Cloud whitening
d. Reflective deserts
e. Space-based reflectors

A

A major advantage of space-based reflectors is:
a. Very low cost
b. Rapid cooling once deployed
c. Simple maintenance
d. No orbital decay
e. No need for sunlight

B