Problem 2
Florida lies at the same latitude as the Sahara Desert. Why do you think Florida is not a hot, dry desert?
Problem 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. \(\begin{array}{lll}\text { convection cell } & \text { Hadley cell } & \text { rising air } \\ \text { Coriolis effect } & \text { hot deserts } & \text { solar radiation } \\ \text { descending air } & \text { jet stream } & \text { subtropical high } \\ \text { equatorial low } & \text { polar front } & \text { trade winds } \\ \text { Ferrel cell } & \text { precipitation } & \text { westerlies }\end{array}\)
Problem 7
Mount Kilimanjaro is a 6,000 -meter-tall (19,685-foot) 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.
Problem 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 commonsense 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. For example, they might write down the date that they first observe a robin. Describe three other observations that citizens could make to identify climate change.
Problem 9
Identify three things that are similar and three things that are different between alpine and continental glaciers.
Problem 12
In the introduction to this chapter, we mentioned that glaciers in Alaska are shrinking. Discuss how you would plan a study of glaciers in 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.
Problem 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.
Problem 17
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.
Problem 20
Imagine that a 12 -year record of ice layers and tree rings corresponded with the rapid warming representing the transition from the Younger Dryas to the Holocene. Draw two diagrams, one for each proxy record, showing the changes in each proxy during the transition. Describe at least one other proxy that might be associated with these records and that would also signal a dramatic warming trend.
Problem 23
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)?
