A large volcanic eruption sends sulfur gases high into the stratosphere, where they form a haze of tiny droplets. Average surface temperatures around the world fall slightly over the next two years and then recover. Which explanation fits?
Question 2
Which cause of climate change acts over tens to hundreds of thousands of years?
Question 3
In a climate model, each 1 degree Celsius of surface warming adds water vapor that traps an extra 2.0 watts per square meter of infrared energy. It also adds low, bright clouds that reflect away an extra 1.2 watts per square meter of sunlight. Taken together, what do these two responses do for each degree of warming?
Question 4
In a model of the Arctic in summer, 300 watts per square meter of sunlight reaches the surface. Sea ice reflects 60% of it, and open ocean reflects 6%. When a patch of sea ice melts to open ocean, by how much does the sunlight absorbed by that patch increase?
Question 5
A model planet absorbs 240 watts per square meter of sunlight and gives off 240 watts per square meter of infrared energy to space, so its temperature is steady. Greenhouse gases are added, and the infrared energy escaping to space drops to 236 watts per square meter. Which sequence does the model predict?
Question 6
Over tens of thousands of years, the tilt of Earth's axis slowly changes. Which change would most favor the growth of large ice sheets near 65 degrees north?
Question 7
For about a year, the trade winds over the tropical Pacific Ocean weaken, and a large pool of warm surface water spreads east toward South America. Which change is most likely during that year?
Question 8
Use the reference tables. Earth is now closest to the Sun (about 147.1 million km) in early January and farthest (about 152.1 million km) in early July. Over thousands of years the direction of the axis slowly shifts. In a model of a future time when Earth is closest to the Sun in early July, with the tilt and the orbit's shape unchanged, how do the seasons change?
Question 9
Model data by decade (invented for this question)
Decade
Solar energy at top of atmosphere (watts per square meter)
Temperature anomaly (degrees Celsius)
Decade 1
1361.2
0.2
Decade 2
1361.1
0.4
Decade 3
1361
0.6
Decade 4
1360.9
0.8
A class compares two model data sets for four decades: the average solar energy reaching the top of the atmosphere and the global average surface temperature anomaly (table). Which conclusion is best supported?
Question 10
Use the reference tables. The station model for Albany shows the number 196 in the sea-level pressure position. What is the sea-level pressure at Albany?
Question 11
Use the reference tables. On a station model, the wind shaft extends from the circle toward the northwest and carries one long feather and one short feather. Which wind does it show?
Question 12
Binghamton station readings
Time
Temperature (degrees F)
Dew point (degrees F)
Pressure (mb)
Wind from
8 a.m.
62
58
1006.4
S
11 a.m.
66
60
1004.1
SW
2 p.m.
68
62
1002
SW
5 p.m.
55
41
1005.8
NW
8 p.m.
50
35
1009.3
NW
A weather station in Binghamton records the data in the table one day. Which statement best describes the front that passed the station?
Question 13
In Syracuse, high thin clouds slowly give way to lower, thicker gray clouds over a day, followed by many hours of light, steady rain. Afterward the wind turns from the southeast to the southwest and the air feels warmer and more humid. Which weather event explains this sequence?
Question 14
Which description matches the surface air around a low-pressure center over New York?
Question 15
Albany station readings
Time
Temperature (degrees F)
Dew point (degrees F)
Wind from
Pressure (mb)
Weather
Monday 6 p.m.
38
33
E
1012.0
Light rain
Monday midnight
40
37
E
1008.5
Rain
Tuesday 6 a.m.
56
54
SW
1006.0
Cloudy
Tuesday noon
64
58
SW
1004.2
Cloudy
Tuesday 6 p.m.
49
33
NW
1009.8
Clearing
A warm front and then a cold front passed Albany. At which readings in the table was Albany in the warm air between the two fronts?
Question 16
All winter, cold, dry air from Canada blowing across Lake Erie brings heavy snow to Buffalo, at the lake's east end. Late in the winter, the snowfall stops even though the same kind of cold air keeps arriving. Which change best explains this?
Question 17
A low-pressure center lies over the ocean south of Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere. Which describes the surface wind at a ship due east of the low's center?
Question 18
Use the reference tables. A low-pressure center is over Chicago on Monday morning. Where is it most likely to be on Tuesday morning?
Question 19
On a weather map, Station A reads 1004 mb and Station B, 400 km away, reads 1020 mb. Station C reads 1004 mb and Station D, 200 km away, reads 1016 mb. Between which pair of stations are the winds likely to be stronger, and why?
Question 20
Use the reference tables. The wind belt model shows rising air near the equator at the ITCZ. Why is the air rising there, and what weather does it bring?
Question 21
A model data set gives a region's average temperature anomaly as 0.30 degrees Celsius in 1985 and 1.10 degrees Celsius in 2025. What is the average rate of warming?
Question 22
Temperature anomaly by year (town study, invented)
Year
Anomaly (degrees Celsius)
1995
0.42
2005
0.61
2015
0.83
2025
1.02
A town's climate study gives its average temperature anomaly each decade (table). If warming continues at the average rate from 1995 to 2025, what anomaly does the study forecast for 2055?
Question 23
Four climate models are run with the same future emissions. They project global warming by 2100 of 1.8, 2.4, 2.9 and 3.6 degrees Celsius. Which forecast is best supported by these results?
Question 24
A tide gauge at a Long Island harbor records that mean sea level rose 96 mm between 1990 and 2020. What was the average rate of rise?
Question 25
A climate model projects that an ice cap held 120 cubic kilometers of ice in 2020 and will lose 10% of the ice it holds at the start of each decade. How much ice does the model project for 2040?
Question 26
A climate model forecasts that average summer temperatures on the high peaks of the Adirondacks will rise by about 2 degrees Celsius over the next century. Which change in the biosphere does this forecast most directly predict?
Question 27
Sea level at a tide gauge (invented record)
Year
Rise since 1960 (mm)
1960
0
1990
54
2020
150
A tide gauge record gives the rise in sea level since 1960 (table). A planner forecasts a rise of 54 mm from 2020 to 2050, because that is how much sea level rose from 1960 to 1990. Which response is best supported by the data?
Question 28
On a July afternoon, a line of strong thunderstorms forms over western New York along a front. Which pair of air masses most likely meets along this front?
Question clusters
Two days of weather in BuffaloQuestion cluster · 5 credits
A student copies five station models for Buffalo from surface weather maps over two days and writes down the readings (table). The pressure column gives the three digits printed on each station model. A front crossed Buffalo during this time.
Buffalo station readings
Time
Temperature (degrees F)
Dew point (degrees F)
Pressure code on station model
Wind from
Weather
Day 1, noon
58
52
062
S
Cloudy
Day 1, 6 p.m.
61
56
041
SW
Cloudy
Day 1, midnight
63
58
028
SW
Thunderstorm
Day 2, 6 a.m.
44
30
079
NW
Clearing
Day 2, noon
40
24
113
NW
Clear
mb
(b) Between which two readings did the front pass Buffalo? [1]
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0 words · a sentence
Forecasting winters in the AdirondacksQuestion cluster · 4 credits
A science class studies the average winter (December to February) temperature at a weather station in the Adirondacks, using the station's averages for four years a decade apart (table). The class then compares its own forecast with the 2050 output of three climate models run for the region with the same future emissions: −3.6, −3.1 and −2.5 degrees Celsius. All the numbers are invented for this study.
Average winter temperature at the station
Year
Average winter temperature (degrees Celsius)
1990
−6.2
2000
−5.8
2010
−5.3
2020
−4.7
degrees Celsius per decade
(b) If the trend continues at the same rate, what winter temperature does the class forecast for 2050? [1]
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0 words · a sentence
A cooler world after an eruptionQuestion cluster · 4 credits
A large tropical volcano erupts and sends sulfur gases about 25 km up into the stratosphere, where they form a thin haze of tiny droplets that spreads around the globe. A model gives the global average surface temperature anomaly for the years around the eruption, compared with the years before it (table, invented values).
Global average surface temperature anomaly
Year
Anomaly (degrees Celsius)
Year before
0.00
Eruption year
−0.05
Year 1 after
−0.40
Year 2 after
−0.30
Year 3 after
−0.10
Year 4 after
0.00
degrees Celsius
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0 words · a sentence
(d) Which cause of climate change could bring a cooling that lasts for tens of thousands of years? [1]