1.Which of the following things can we learn from paleoclimate records?
a. How much climate varies due to natural factors and so whether recent changes might be due to human activities
b. The sensitivity of climate (i.e. how much temperature/precipitation changes) due to variations in factors such as greenhouse gas concentrations, solar luminosity, aerosols
c. How well our complex computer models of the climate system can replicate known climate changes. This helps us assess whether we can trust the model estimates for future climate changes.
d. All of the above
2. Which of the following types of weather would not develop where there is strong wind shear?
a. tornadoes
b. thunderstorms
c. hurricanes
d. downdrafts
3. One suggestion for reducing the heat island effect (and also reducing pollution) is to create 'green roofs' on top of buildings in cities by planting grass or other vegetation. How would this reduce the heat island effect?
a. by increasing the ratio of sensible heat flux to latent heat flux
b. by increasing albedo
c. by increasing the ratio of latent heat flux to sensible heat flux
4. Which of the following atmospheric factors would improve air quality in LA?
a. a period of rain
b. gentle winds
c. an area of intense high pressure over LA creating an inversion
5. Below is a beautiful satellite image of Cyclone Yasi from 2011 approaching the coastline of Australia (moving from right to left in the image below). On which side of the cyclone (hurricane) would coastlines experience the largest storm surge?
a. northern side of the cyclone
b. southern side of the cyclone
c. eastern side of the cyclone
d. western side of the cyclone