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Chapter 16
Checkpoint 16.1
The following map shows the locations of four climate extremes. Match each extreme
climate with its location. Each location is used only once.
a) Highest temperature (136°F) is at location ____________.
b) Highest average annual precipitation (1331 cm; 524 inches) is at location
______________.
c) Second lowest temperature (–90°F) is at location ___________________.
d) Lowest average annual precipitation (0.08 cm) is at location __________________.
Checkpoint 16.2
Florida lies at the same latitude as the Sahara Desert. Why do you think Florida is not a
hot, dry desert?
Checkpoint 16.3
Describe how the distribution of maximum precipitation rates and maximum
temperatures would vary on a map of the world over the course of a year.
Checkpoint 16.4
Make a concept map of the global circulation system using at least 10 of the following
terms and others of your own choosing, with no more than 15 terms total.
Coriolis effect Hadley cell
rising air
descending air
hot deserts
solar radiation
convection cell
jet stream
subtropical high
equatorial low polar front
trade winds
Ferrel cell
precipitation
westerlies
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.2
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can predict locations characterized by extreme climates. (Answer Checkpoint
16.1.)
9
I can identify why areas at the same latitude have different climates. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.2.)
9
I can analyze how climate patterns migrate over the course of a year. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.3.)
9
I can create a diagram that summarizes the features of the global atmospheric
circulation system. (Answer Checkpoint 16.4.)
Checkpoint 16.5
The following graph illustrates mean monthly high and low temperatures and the average
monthly rainfall for Sydney, Australia. Estimate the average monthly temperatures as
halfway between the mean high and low temperatures. On the basis of these data, in what
climate region does Sydney belong? Explain your reasoning.
a) Tropical
b) Dry
c) Warm temperate
d) Cool temperate
Checkpoint 16.6
How does the distribution of people on Earth compare to the distribution of
climate zones and biomes?
Checkpoint 16.7
Mount Kilimanjaro is a 6,000-meter-tall (19,685 feet) mountain in Tanzania, Africa, just
320 kilometers (200 miles) south of the equator. Moving from bottom to top, a hiker
passed through savanna grasslands, tropical rain forest, treeless moorland, and alpine
desert, ending on a glaciated peak. Explain why the climate conditions and biological
environments changed as the hiker climbed up the mountain.
Checkpoint 16.8
With all the media reports about climate change, people in your community turn to you to
help them figure out if it is really happening. (You are taking an earth science class, after
all). They ask you to generate a common sense index of climate change that could be
used by long-time residents (longer than 20 years) of your community. The index should
not be too complicated, so you must identify just three things that an interested resident
could observe, using data from the evening news, the Internet, or a local newspaper.
Finally, residents should not have to collect daily weather data, but they may be asked to
compare daily data with long-term averages. What three factors would you choose and
how would residents use them to identify climate change?
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.3
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can predict the climate for a location, given rainfall and temperature data. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.5.)
9
I can compare the distributions of climate regions and population density. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.6.)
9
I can analyze how climate would change rising up the slopes of a tropical mountain.
(Answer Checkpoint 16.7.)
9
I can produce a plan to identify whether climate change is taking place. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.8.)
Checkpoint 16.9
While hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, Josh comes across a high
valley filled with several meters of snow and ice. What should he look for to determine if
it is just a big pile of snow and ice or a glacier?
Checkpoint 16.10
Examine the two pictures of glaciers provided.
a) In the photo, label as many features as you can.
b) In the photo, what do you infer is the origin of the dark stripes?
Checkpoint 16.11
Draw a diagram that illustrates the fate of a snowflake that falls in the accumulation zone
of a growing alpine glacier. Begin and end the path of the snowflake in the atmosphere.
Checkpoint 16.12
In the introduction to this chapter we mentioned that glaciers in Alaska are shrinking.
Discuss how you would plan a study of glaciers from other places to determine if this was
a local, short-term phenomenon or part of a larger, long-term global trend. Include a
description of how you would measure changes in the size of a glacier.
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.4a
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can describe the difference between a pile of snow and a glacier. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.9.)
9
I can label the features on photographs of glaciers. (Answer Checkpoint 16.10.)
9
I can illustrate the fate of a snowflake falling on the accumulation zone of a growing
glacier. (Answer Checkpoint 16.11.)
9
I can plan a study of glaciers to determine if global climate is changing. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.12.)
Checkpoint 16.13
The area around the South Pole receives just a few centimeters of snowfall each year. Is
the South Pole a desert? Give reasons to support your answer.
Checkpoint 16.14
Sand dunes along sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast also contain cross beds. Identify
two characteristics that you could look for to determine whether a sample of a sandstone
with cross beds was deposited in a desert or on a beach.
Checkpoint 16.15 Venn Diagram: Wind Action and Glacial Processes
Complete the Venn diagram provided here by placing the six listed descriptions in the
appropriate locations on the diagram. Add at least an additional six characteristics.
1. Transport sediment in direction of movement
2. Can transport large boulders
3. Form dunes
4. Occur most frequently at high latitudes
5. Few associated plants and animals
6. Occur on at least five continents
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Checkpoint 16.16
Discuss how you would plan a study of desert environments to determine if they are
increasing or decreasing in size. Include a description of how you would measure
changes in the size of a desert.
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.4b
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can identify a desert on the basis of its features. (Answer Checkpoint 16.13.)
9
I can interpret how sand deposited in a desert would differ from beach deposits.
(Answer Checkpoint 16.14.)
9
I can compare the action of glaciers with wind action in a desert. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.15.)
9
I can plan a study of desert environments to determine if they are increasing in size.
(Answer Checkpoint 16.16.)
Checkpoint 16.17
Compare the tree ring record of precipitation in New Mexico graphed here with the same
interval of the record from Wyoming illustrated in Figure 16.28. How do the records
compare, and what does this imply about drought conditions in the West during this time
period?
Checkpoint 16.18
The following graph illustrates the relative length of time that each proxy climate
indicator can be applied. Match the seven proxies listed here with the bars on the graph.
Tree rings
Microfossils
Pollen
Ice cores
Instrumental records
Archeological data
Varves
Checkpoint 16.19
Imagine that a 12-year record of ice layers, varves, and tree rings corresponded with the
rapid warming representing the transition from the Younger Dryas to the Holocene. Draw
three diagrams, one for each proxy record, showing the changes in each proxy during the
transition. Describe at least two additional proxies that might be associated with these
records and would also signal a dramatic warming trend.
Checkpoint 16.20
You are selected to serve on a Presidential panel to review the consequences for the
United States of an abrupt climate change that would either raise or lower global
temperatures by 5 to 10°C in a decade. Your job is to work with the other panel members
to plan how to adjust to such an event if it were to begin to happen in 100 years. What
three important recommendations would you make for the each scenario?
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.5
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can compare two tree ring data sets. (Answer Checkpoint 16.17.)
9
I can determine the relative time spans appropriate for different proxy climate
indicators. (Answer Checkpoint 16.18.)
9
I can predict how proxy indicators would record an abrupt climate change. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.19.)
9
I can plan how to adjust to a future abrupt climate change. (Answer Checkpoint
16.20.)
Checkpoint 16.21
What combination of changes in the Milankovitch cycle would cause the highest and
lowest summer temperatures in North America?
Checkpoint 16.22
Would the amount of incoming solar radiation increase or decrease at the Arctic Circle
during July in the Northern Hemisphere if
1. Earth’s axis were vertical rather than tilted?
2. Earth’s orbit brought it closer to the sun?
3. The tilt of Earth’s axis were opposite to its present orientation? (away from the sun)
Checkpoint 16.23
Concisely describe five factors that could cause the temperature of a region of Earth’s
surface to decrease.
Checkpoint 16.24
From information in the chapter, discuss what you think would be some potential climate
scenarios for North America over the next 1,000 years.
Comprehension Survey: Section 16.6
Review the following statements and identify which best describe your understanding of
the material in this section. Answer the corresponding questions.
9
I can identify how the Milankovitch cycle would result in the highest and lowest
temperatures. (Answer Checkpoint 16.21.)
9
I can interpret how climate would change if Earth’s orbit changed. (Answer
Checkpoint 16.22.)
9
I can describe factors that would cause the temperature of a region to decrease.
(Answer Checkpoint 16.23.)
9
I can predict climate changes for the next millennium. (Answer Checkpoint 16.24.)