NAME_______________________ Pd.

_________

Date_____________

Climate Change Web-Quest

Directions- Go to: climate.nasa.gov and using the information of the website,
answer the following questions. Write your answers in the space provided.

Key Indicators
1) What is carbon dioxide (CO2) and where does it usually come from? \
- Its an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, that is usually released
through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as
well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions.

2) According to the CO2 charts, what was the highest level of CO2 in the 400,000
years prior to 1950?
- 300
3) According to the charts, what is the level of CO2 today?
- about 400
3) Based on the information on the page, why is this level of CO2 a problem?
- Its increasing climate change

5) According to the charts on Arctic Sea Ice, what has been the overall trend since 1980?
- Its been declining at a rate of 13.3 percent per decade.
6) What trend can be observed for land ice?
- loses about 134 gigatonnes per year.

7) What trend can be observed for sea level?

- Rises by about 3.4 mm every year

8) What overall conclusion can you make based on the data of these three charts?
- Climate change is reducing amounts of ice and dangerously rising sea levels.

Evidence
9) What are eight areas that scientists look at for evidence of global warming?
- Sea level rise
- Global Temperature rise
- Warming oceans
- Shrinking Ice Sheets
- Declining Arctic sea Ice
- Glacial Retreat
- Extreme Events
- Ocean Acidification
- Decreased Snow Cover

Causes
10) What are the five common gases that cause global warming?
- Water Vapor
- Nitrous Oxide
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Chlorofluorocarbons

Effects
11) According to the effects page, what effect will climate change have on water
availability?
- Sea levels will continue to rise and cause more floodings, even after 2100
12) What visible changes have already occurred due to climate change?
- Glaciers have shrunk
- Ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier
- Plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner
- Loss of sea ice
- Accelerated sea level rise
- Longer, more intense heat waves

Consensus
13) What percentage of scientists agree that climate change is due to human activity?
- 97

Innovations
14) Describe three innovations in energy that could help the world become independent
of fossil fuels.
- biomass
- Hydrogen
- Hydroelectricity
- wind energy