Make your own quiz Manage my Quizzes Plans / Features Guides and Help Contact Privacy & Security

EMSC1006 Revision Quiz

A vibrant illustration of Earth with different spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, lithosphere) visually represented, showcasing the beauty and complexity of Earth’s systems, with a focus on climate change dynamics.

EMSC1006 Earth System Science Quiz

Test your knowledge of Earth System science with our comprehensive EMSC1006 revision quiz! Whether you're a student preparing for exams, a teacher looking for resources, or anyone interested in understanding our planet better, this quiz is designed to challenge and educate.

55 multiple-choice questions
Covers key topics in Earth Systems and climate change
Instant feedback on your answers

55 Questions14 MinutesCreated by ExploringEarth2024

What are the key “spheres” in the Earth System?

A. Cryosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere, Astrosphere

B. Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere

C. Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Astrosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere

D. Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere, Cryosphere, Atmosphere

E. Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere

Feedbacks in climate change are:

A. Amplifying responses only

B. Insensitive to greenhouse gas emissions

C. Processes that exclude changes in the ice sheets

D. Either amplifying or dampening response

E. Always fast processes (up to a few centuries)

The carbon cycle:

A. Contains as much biological carbon on land as in the ocean.

B. Includes almost as much carbon in living vegetation as atmospheric carbon.

C. Is not affected by silicate rock weathering.

D. Excludes decarbonation in and outgassing from the mantle.

E. Is dominated by chemical weathering on 104-105year timescales.

Find the INCORRECT answer. Modelling of Earth System changes over plate tectonic timescales is difficult because:

A. Feedbacks and interactions take place on all spatial scales, from millimetres to 1000s of kilometres

B. Further technical acceleration of computational power is needed.

C. Time lags cannot be modelled.

D. Feedbacks and interactions take place on all time scales.

E. Critical feedbacks depend on a range of processes.

The hydrological cycle:

A. Has to date been commonly considered including water in the mantle

B. Concerns fresh water only

C. Does not include aquifers

D. Excludes evapotranspiration by vegetation

E. Has to date been commonly considered excluding water in the mantle

Which regions commonly have so-called inversions?

A. Polar regions in winter

B. Warm ocean regions

C. The humid tropics in summer

D. Polar regions in summer

E. The humid tropic in winter

Why does Venus receive roughly the same solar power as Earth?

A. Venus is further away from the Sun, but has a higher albedo

B. Venus is closer to the Sun, but has a higher albedo

C. Venus is further away from the Sun, but has a lower albedo

D. Venus is closer to the Sun, but has a lower albedo

E. None of the above

Which statement is INCORRECT?

A. Low orbit satellites “live” in the Thermosphere

B. Weather happens in the troposphere

C. The acceleration due to gravity is the same at all levels in the atmosphere

D. The vertical structure of the atmosphere is characterised by several temperature reversals with altitude

E. Temperature generally increases with altitude in the stratosphere

Effective temperature in a greenhouse world is:

A. Lower than surface temperature

B. An irrelevant concept

A. Higher than surface temperature

D. The same as surface temperature

E. Described by 1–α

In electromagnetic radiation, photon energy is:

A. A function of wavelength and the speed of light

B. 1365 wm–2

C. The same as blackbody radiation

D. The same for all types of radiation

E. Proportional to wavelength times velocity

Seasonal variability in atmospheric circulation is driven in the first instance by:

A. Axial precession

B. The balance between pgf and the coriolis effect

C. Low-frequency oceanic circulation

A. Earth’s tilted rotational axis relative to its orbital plane around the sun

The H218O water isotopologue has lower vibrational energy than the H216O water isotopologue, and therefore:

A. Neither of the above

B. Preferentially goes into the liquid phase during condensation

C. Preferentially goes into the vapour phase during evaporation

D. Both of the above

From the equator to the poles, the major atmospheric circulation cells are named:

A. Equatorial, Trade, Westerly

B. Polar, Ferrel, Hadley

C. Hadley, Ferrell, Polar

D. Doldrums, Trade Winds, Westerlies

E. Ferrel, Polar, Hadley

The spacing between isobars in a MSLP chart indicate:

A. Rate of change of surface air temperature

B. The direction of air flow around pressure systems

C. Pressure gradient force and thus windspeed

D. Areas of equal pressure

The Pressure Gradient Force:

A. Acts to move air from low pressure to high pressure

B. Is greater at the poles than the equator

C. Acts to move air from high pressure to low pressure

D. Only operates when the Coriolis effect is present

Ice shelves are highly sensitive to climate change. Why?

A. Because sea ice is relatively thin

B. Because ice shelves melt from top and bottom, and are susceptible to cracking

C. Because ice shelves can get “re-grounded” in areas with low mantle viscocity

D. All of the above

E. Because ice shelves occur near to sea level where it’s warmest

Sea level is dropping rapidly around the Baltic Sea (Sweden-Finland region). Why?

A. Because of adjustments now that the Arctic ice cap is melting

B. Because of ocean temperature changes

C. Because global ice sheets are melting

D. This is the area of a lithospheric depression under an ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum, which relaxes now the ice sheet is gone

E. The area lies on the periglacial bulge of a major ice sheet that existed during the Last Glacial Maximum, which relaxes now the ice sheet is gone

Which statement is TRUE?

A. Ice-sheet processes affect solid-Earth processes, and solid-Earth processes affect ice- sheet processes

B. Antarctica holds and ice volume equivalent to about 58 m of sea-level rise, and Greenland about 17 m

C. Sea-level variations between today and the Last Glacial Maximum were dominated by changes in Antarctica

A. Gravitational effects are negligible for Greenland ice-mass changes

E. All continental ice-sheet mass affects sea level

If all ice on Earth were to melt, sea level would rise by approximately:

A. 85 m

45m

75m

65m

55m

Sea level measurements have revealed a lot of spatial variability. Which of the following processes is not a major player in causing that?

A. All of the above

B. Ocean temperature changes

C. Ocean circulation changes

D. Ice mass changes

E. Volcanic events

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

A. Is important for the transport of heat around the planet

B. Is showing signs of speeding up because of global warming

C. Involves half as much deep-water formations that formed around Antarctica

D. Is expected to completely shut down this century

Ocean gyres are characterised by

A. Convergent flow of water towards their centre

B. High levels of ocean productivity

C. The cleanest ocean water on the planet

D. Flow primarily made up of small scale eddies

The heat capacity of the ocean is

A. Around the same as the heat capacity of the atmosphere

B. Much lower than the heat capacity of the atmosphere

C. Much higher than the heat capacity of the atmosphere

D. Has increased substantially since the onset of human-caused climate warming

Which of these does not move in two directions between the atmosphere and surface ocean (i.e. Where the ocean influences the atmosphere and the atmosphere influences the ocean)?

A. heat

B. freshwater

A. Carbon dioxide

Nutrients

Human-caused climate change is causing the ocean to become:

More acidic

All of the above

More stratified

Hotter

Earth’s lithosphere is still adjusting to the loss of ice sheets at the end of the last ice age, 21,000 years ago. This results in:

A. A compensating effect that reduces sea level rise everywhere on earth

B. Additional sea level rise on some coasts, sea level fall on other coasts

C. An insignificant effect on sea level compared to global sea level rise from the loss of ice and expansion of the ocean today.

D. Additional sea level rise everywhere on Earth

Continental crust is:

A. More buoyant than oceanic crust

B. Mostly made of basalt

C. Tougher than oceanic crust

D. Rarely older than 200 million years old

The deepest parts of the ocean are:

A. Where oceanic crust is subducting at convergent plate boundaries

B. Where oceanic crust is oldest

C. In the very middle of the ocean basins on the abyssal plains

D. In the valleys at the centre of mid-ocean ridges

Interactions of the solid Earth with the climate system includes:

A. Rock weathering

B. Deformation of the lithosphere

C. Changes in ocean circulation

D. All of these are correct

Marie Tharp’s work

A. Was just nonsense girl talk

B. Pioneered our understanding of the bathymetry of the ocean floor

C. Found evidence for convergence at the centre of the ocean basins

D. Disproved the theory of continental drift

Photosynthesis involves the transformation of CO2 into organic matter while the respiration of organic matter transforms it back to CO2. Which simple reversible reaction describes photosynthesis and respiration?

A. 6H2O + energy <=> C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6CO2

B. C6H12O6 + 6O2 <=> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

C. 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy <=> C6H12O6 + 6O2

D. C6H12O6 + 6CO2 + energy <=> 6H2O + 6O2

The long-term decline in atmospheric CO2 is driven by:

A. Calcium carbonate formation in the ocean with no land-based processes

B. Calcium carbonate weathering on land followed by calcium carbonate formation in the ocean

C. Volcanic eruptions and deep-sea subduction

D. Silicate weathering on land followed by calcium carbonate formation in the ocean

Slow Carbon Cycle works on what timeframe?

A. One to tens of years

B. Billions of years

C. Millions to hundreds of millions of years

D. Tens to hundreds of years

Calcium carbonate weathering influences long-term atmospheric CO2 change by:

A. Leading to a net removal of 0 CO2 molecules for every molecule of weathered CaCO3

B. Leading to a net removal of 2 CO2 molecules for every molecule of weathered CaCO3

C. Leading to a net removal of 1 CO2 molecules for every molecule of weathered CaCO3

D. Leading to a net removal of 1 molecule of CO2 for every 2 molecules of weathered CaCO3

Long term carbon from loss from the Geosphere is via:

A. Weathering and volcanic processes

B. CaCO3 formation

C. Fossil fuel formation

D. Sedimentation

E. Soil formation

In which oceanic regions have high concentrations of chlorophyll and which regions have low concentrations?

A. Low to mid-latitude upwelling zones and also coastal regions have high productivity and mid-latitude gyres are effectively ocean deserts

B. Low to mid-latitude upwelling zones and also coastal regions are effectively ocean deserts and mid-latitude gyres have high productivity

C. Low to mid-latitude upwelling zones, coastal regions and mid-latitude gyres all have high productivity

D. Low to mid-latitude upwelling zones, coastal regions and mid-latitude gyres all have low productivity

The organic carbon pump best describes the:

A. The sedimentation of organic matter on the seafloor

B. The transfer of organic carbon from the surface ocean to the deep ocean followed by organic carbon breakdown by respiration

C. Inorganic carbon uptake by marine phytoplankton

D. The upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water to the surface ocean

Ocean acidification is the process where:

A. Seawater pH increases because of an increase in carbonate ion (CO32-) concentration

B. Seawater pH increases because of an increase in hydrogen ion (H+) concentration

C. Seawater pH decreases because of an increase in hydrogen ion (H+) concentration

D. Seawater pH decreases because of an increase in carbonate ion (CO32-) concentration

Corals, molluscs and coccolithophorids all form calcium carbonate shells. These shells are susceptible to dissolution because:

A. The saturation state (Ω) of the surface ocean is increasing as a result of ocean acidification.

B. The saturation state (Ω) of the surface ocean is decreasing as a result of ocean acidification

C. The saturation state (Ω) of the surface ocean is not changing because ocean acidification does not influence the carbonate ion concentration of the surface ocean.

D. The temperature of the surface ocean is increasing and hence is lowering the saturation state (Ω) of the surface ocean.

The projected rate of pH change in the deep ocean (>3,000m) associated with ocean acidification ocean over the next thousand years is going to be:

A. Faster than the surface ocean because of ocean circulation

B. Slower than the surface ocean because of ocean circulation

C. Zero because the deep ocean has a large carbon pool (>37,000 Pg C), so it will be unaffected by ocean acidification

D. At the same rate as the surface ocean

True or false: General Circulation Models are statistical representations of earth’s climate system

A. True

False

Evidence for the Little Ice Age being largely due to intrinsic variability (rather than external forcing) includes:

A. It didn’t happen everywhere at the same time

B. It was synchronous & widespread

C. It had different regional expressions

D. All of the above

E. A and C only

Why do climate scientists study climate variability in the Common Era?

A. Because it is an excellent natural laboratory for contextualising anthropogenic climate change

B. Because it is possible to reconstruct Common Era global temperature variability at annual resolution

C. Because it demonstrates the climatic changes that occur during a glacial-interglacial transition

D. All of the above

E. A and B only

Rank these climate model types in order from least to most complex

A. AOGCM – ESM – EBM

B. ESM – AOGCM – EBM

C. EBM – ESM – AOGCM

D. EBM – AOGCM – ESM

Which of these is not an example of an external forcing?

A. Solar irradiance changes

B. Ocean-atmosphere variability

C. Atmospheric CO2 concentration

A. Changes in earth’s orbital configuration

E. Anthropogenic aerosols

Which is closest to the age of the Earth?

A. 4000 million years

B. 4400 million years

C. 4550 million years

D. 4750 million years

E. 4250 million years

At around 3700 million years ago, we see the first appearance in the fossil record of biogenic structures that are similar to structures that can still be seen in Shark Bay, Western Australia. These are:

A. Stromatolite mounds

B. Multicellular algae

C. Banded iron formations

D. Deep-water sponges

E. Ediacaran fauna

Find the INCORRECT statement:

A. A given volume of warm water can hold less CO2 than the same volume of cold water

B. Ocean Anoxic Events were times with widespread hostile conditions in deep-sea environments

C. so-called “salt giant” deposits are very rare in Earth history

D. End-Permian CO2 emissions associated with deposition of the Siberian Traps flood basalts led to a massive warming spike

E. Ocean Anoxic Events have been key to the formation of oil and gas deposits

Many modern evolutionary branches of complex animals can be traced back to:

A. The rapid evolution event known as the “Cambrian explosion” between 542 and 520 million years ago

B. None of these answers

C. the Ediacaran fauna that resulted from the “Avalon explosion” between 575 and 542 million years ago

D. the Ediacaran fauna that dominated the Cambrian period

E. the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth period

The modern mode of operation of the global carbon cycle was established following:

A. The end of the last ice age

B. The disintegration of the supercontinent Rodinia

C. The terminal Cretaceous extinction event at about 66 million years ago

D. the “Cambrian explosion” between 542 and 520 million years ago

E. The major rise of pelagic calcifiers between 150 and 120 million years ago

At the start of 2020 the remaining carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C was:

A. 500 billion tonnes, to give a 100% guarantee of remaining below 1.5°C

B. 1 trillion tonnes, to give a 67% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C

C. 500 billion tonnes, to give a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C

D. There is no carbon budget left to stay below 1.5°C

Pre-industrial CO2 levels were close to 270-280 ppm. At the end of 2021, mean CO2 levels were close to:

A. 375 ppm

B. 400 ppm

C. 415 ppm

D. 425 ppm

E. 450 ppm

Global greenhouse gas emissions:

A. Peaked shortly after the 1st IPCC assessment report

B. Peaked around 2010

C. Have been falling since the 2020 pandemic.

D. Have not yet peaked and begun to fall

To limit warming to 1.5°C the 2021 Glasgow Pact stated that global emissions need to:

A. Reduce by 26-28% by 2030, and reach net zero by 2050

B. Reach net zero by 2050

C. Reduce by 45% by 2030, and reach net zero by mid-century

D. Reduce by 74% by 2030, and reach net zero by 2035

If we are 100% successful at both avoiding new emissions and reducing current emissions, then what is the best we can expect to have achieved?

A. A reduction of CO2 concentrations to pre-industrial levels

B. A global cooling of 0.5 °C relative to the present

C. Approximate stabilisation of emissions at their modern level

D. Approximate stabilisation of CO2 concentrations at their modern level

E. None of the above

{"name":"EMSC1006 Revision Quiz", "url":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/QPREVIEW","txt":"Test your knowledge of Earth System science with our comprehensive EMSC1006 revision quiz! Whether you're a student preparing for exams, a teacher looking for resources, or anyone interested in understanding our planet better, this quiz is designed to challenge and educate.55 multiple-choice questionsCovers key topics in Earth Systems and climate changeInstant feedback on your answers","img":"https:/images/course8.png"}