Climate Change and Geological Proxies Quiz

What geologic archives are used to reconstruct past changes in climate?

• Ice cores

• Tree rings

• Ocean sediments

• All of the above

What is meant by a paleoclimate “proxy”?

• A direct measurement of past climate

• An indirect indicator used to infer past climate

• A computer model predicting future climate

• A type of fossil used to determine past species

How are water isotopes used to determine changes in past ice sheet volumes, and what is an isotope?

• Water isotopes indicate ice sheet growth because lighter isotopes evaporate more easily and get trapped in ice, and an isotope is a chemical element with the same number of protons but different neutrons

• Water isotopes do not indicate past ice volume, and an isotope is a radioactive molecule found in ice cores

• Water isotopes indicate ocean salinity, and an isotope is a subatomic particle

• Water isotopes fluctuate randomly, and an isotope is a chemical element with the same number of neutrons but different protons

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How do ocean isotope compositions change when ice sheets grow, and what exactly changes?

• Oceans become enriched in heavier isotopes (O-18) as lighter isotopes (O-16) get trapped in ice sheets

• Oceans lose all isotopic signatures during ice ages

• Oceans become enriched in lighter isotopes (O-16) when ice sheets grow

• Isotopes remain constant over time

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Why do ocean isotope compositions change, and what drives these changes?

• Lighter isotopes evaporate more easily and get trapped in ice sheets, and these changes are driven by glacial-interglacial cycles

• Heavy isotopes are more volatile, and these changes are driven by solar radiation

• Solar radiation removes isotopes from water, and these changes are driven by ocean currents

• Volcanoes introduce isotopic shifts in ocean water, and these changes are driven by the tilt of the Moon

What geologic archive is used to reconstruct past changes in oxygen isotopes?

• Foraminifera shells in ocean sediments

• Tree rings

• Lava flows

• Atmospheric CO₂ levels

What are Milankovitch Cycles, and how do they influence past changes in energy input to the planet?

• Milankovitch Cycles are long-term variations in Earth’s orbit that affect climate, and they influence past energy input by changing the distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth

• Milankovitch Cycles are short-term fluctuations in global temperatures, and they influence past energy input by altering greenhouse gas concentrations

• Milankovitch Cycles are changes in solar flares, and they influence past energy input by modifying ocean salinity

• Milankovitch Cycles are seasonal temperature variations, and they influence past energy input by increasing volcanic activity

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What causes Milankovitch Cycles to change, and what are eccentricity, precession, and obliquity?

• Milankovitch Cycles change due to gravitational interactions with the Sun and other planets, and eccentricity, precession, and obliquity are different components of Earth's orbit that shift in predictable cycles

• Milankovitch Cycles change due to variations in ocean circulation, and eccentricity, precession, and obliquity describe ocean currents

• Milankovitch Cycles change due to ice core expansion, and eccentricity, precession, and obliquity impact only the Earth’s magnetic field

• Milankovitch Cycles change due to magnetic pole reversals, and eccentricity, precession, and obliquity are geological processes that shape continents

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What conditions in the Milankovitch Cycles favor glacier growth in the Northern Hemisphere?

• Less eccentricity (more circular orbit), less tilt (obliquity), and summers occurring when Earth is farthest from the Sun

• More eccentricity (more elliptical orbit), more tilt (obliquity), and winters occurring when Earth is closest to the Sun

• No change in eccentricity, no change in tilt, and no effect from precession

• Eccentricity, tilt, and precession have no impact on glacier growth

What information from ice cores provides us information about past climate changes?

• Atmospheric gas concentrations, temperature records, and volcanic ash layers

• Magnetic field shifts

• Plate tectonic movement

• Fossilized remains

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