Mrs. KempfBiology
Name______Hr.______
Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming WebQuest
Step 1. Go to the following website:
Step 2. Answer the following questions as you proceed through the website demonstration:
1. In this demonstration, what color represents the Earth’s atmosphere?
2. What is the Sun’s energy called?
3. What part of the Sun’s electromagnetic spectrum enters the Earth’s atmosphere?
4. What does IR and UV radiation mean (stand for)?
5. Does the incoming radiation from the Sun have short or long wavelengths?
6. Does the incoming radiation reach the Earth’s surface?
7. What form of solar energy does the Earth release back to the atmosphere?
8. What are the three main gases in our atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect?
9. What do greenhouse gases do?
10. With increased greenhouse gases (much higher concentrations than any in the last 650,000 years), what may happen to the Earth?
Step 3. Go to the following website:
Step 4. Answer the following questions using the information found on the website.
1. What does NOAA NCDC stand for?
2. List the tools, equipment, and records (data platforms) that the NCDC uses to collect climate data.
3. What do scientists use to understand how climate (heat distribution systems) will change in the future?
4. What does IPCC stand for and what do they do?
5. What is the most abundant greenhouse gas?
6. What would happen to the Earth without the greenhouse effect?
7. If the greenhouse effect is normal and necessary, what is the recent concern about it?
8. How do we know that greenhouse gases are increasing?
9. What does ppm stand for?
10. What is the current concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere?
11. How many years of CO2 data do we have to study?
12. If current trends continue, how many years from now will CO2 levels reach as much as 1,260 ppm (350% above pre-industrial levels)?
13. How much have global surface temperatures increased since the late 1800s?
14. Are all areas of the globe getting warmer?
15. What have been the warmest years on record?
16. What are indirect indicators of warming?
17. What is happening to Arctic sea ice?
a. What is happening to Antarctic sea ice?
18. What is the El Niño phenomenon?
a. Is it related to global warming?
19. Where have increases in annual precipitation been observed?
a. Has precipitation decreased anywhere?
20. Why do you think clouds are an important indicator of climate change? (Think about greenhouse gases)
21. Are El Niño episodes increasing in frequency and persistence (how often they happen and how long they stay)?
22. Do we have lots of long-term daily and hourly climate data sets for most of the globe?
a. What do these data show regarding temperature extremes?
(Answer is within first paragraph of section)
23. What has been happening to the dry (drought) and wet areas of the globe in recent years?
24. What is the IPCC’s conclusion about the recent increase in hurricanes in the Atlantic?
25. What are all the examples of paleoclimate data listed in Section 8?
26. In the Northern Hemisphere, recent decades appear to be the warmest since when?
27. Calculate how much (mm) the sea levels have risen over the past century.
a. Has the rate increased over this period as compared to the last several thousand years?
28. What is the range of projected sea level increase?
29. What is this increase in sea levels due to?
30. Does the Sun’s output (solar output) vary?
31. Are we confident in the data and potential effects of solar output changes on global warming?
32. What is a Milankovitch cycle and what do these cycles cause?
33. What are climate models and why are they useful?
34. What does simulate mean?
35. What makes a “good” climate model?
36. What is IPCC’s best estimate of global temperature increase in the next 90 years?
37. Even if we reduce greenhouse gases to year 2000 concentrations, will the average temperature around the world increase? (Look at figure)
- What will global warming do to the amount of precipitation around the globe?
Step 5. Congratulations! You now know more about the greenhouse effect and global warming than most voters. You can teach them. By the time you can vote, we will have even more data and can make better predictions, so continue to read and think about this very important socioeconomic-geopolitical issue! We will work more with this webquest, so please bring it (completed) to class on Monday.
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