CLIMATE SCIENCE 3

1.

1 point

Which component of a strengthening greenhouse effect will have the greater influence on surface temperature change?

Thickening of the troposphere

Equatorial storminess

The increase in back-radiation from the atmosphere to the surface

The decrease in longwave radiation at the tropopause

2.

1 point

What is projected to happen over this century to the atmospheric fraction of fossil fuel carbon emissions (the fraction that stays in the atmosphere)?

It will increase for all four RCP emission scenarios

We'll be lucky to reach the end of the century considering the realistic scenarios

It will continue to show little change for all four RCP emissions scenarios

It will decline for half the RCP emission scenarios

3.

1 point

The UK GHG inventory defines the UK area using different geographical coverage depending on reporting requirement. Which of the statements below on geographical coverage is incorrect?

For Kyoto Protocol, coverage is UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man & Gibraltar

For EU monitoring mechanism, coverage is UK & Gibraltar

Statistics for the UK are compiled annually

For UK National Statistics, coverage is UK, Jersey, Guernsey & Isle of Man

4.

1 point

In the Earth System Models used to derive IPCC Fifth Assessment Report climate projections how are human CO2 emissions specified as an input parameter? By prescribing...

..the temporal evolution of anthropogenic CO2 emissions

..the spatial evolution of impacts of CO2 emissions

..the temporal evolution of the atmospheric CO2 concentration

..the spatial evolution of changing surface reflectivity (albedo)

5.

1 point

Which gas has the largest uncertainty range in the emissions reported in the UK GHG Inventory?

F-gases

Perfluorocarbons

Methane

Nitrous Oxide

6.

1 point

In theory how much should the atmospheric humidity increase for every 1°C increase in global temperature?

3%

7%

10%

13%

7.

1 point

A small change in the tilt of the Earth’s axis of rotation is a known contributor to long term climate change. The tilt is currently increasing, i.e. tending a bit more to the horizontal. The climatic effect on the two Polar Regions will be:

More solar radiation to the summer season poles and less to the winter season poles

More solar radiation to the north pole in winter and the south pole in summer

More solar radiation to the winter season poles and less to the summer season poles

More solar radiation to the south pole in winter and less to the north pole in summer

8.

1 point

At about what latitude does the Earth start to lose more heat to space than it receives from the sun and what is the main reason?

40°; reduction in solar zenith angle with increasing latitude

60°; reduction in solar zenith angle with increasing latitude

40°; Poleward heat transfer from low to high latitude by the ocean & atmosphere

60°; Poleward heat transfer from low to high latitude by the ocean & atmosphere

9.

1 point

GHG emissions from the industrial processes sector declined by 81% since 1990, the largest percentage decrease of any sector. What is the unusual feature hidden in this statistic?

It was a typo

The decline is partly an artefact of substantial uncertainties in nitrous oxide emissions from this sector in the early years of the record.

The decline was dominated by reductions in F-gas emissions rather than the main GHGs

Nearly half the emissions reduction is from a single UK factory

10.

1 point

Clouds are strong absorbers of thermal radiation and of crucial importance to the climate. In which part of the infra-red spectrum do clouds absorb most infra-red radiation from the Earth’s surface?

The restricted spectral range where water vapour and carbon dioxide are weak absorbers of infra-red radiation

The narrow part of the spectrum where carbon dioxide is a strong absorber

Centrally within the UV range

The same part of the spectrum where water vapour absorbs radiation