首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The Role of the Ocean in Controlling Climate P1: Computer models are one of the tools that scientists use to understand the clim
The Role of the Ocean in Controlling Climate P1: Computer models are one of the tools that scientists use to understand the clim
admin
2019-03-10
26
问题
The Role of the Ocean in Controlling Climate
P1: Computer models are one of the tools that scientists use to understand the climate and make projections about how it will respond to changes such as rising greenhouse gas levels. The computer models used to predict climate change are far more sophisticated than the one that forecasts the weather. They are multi-layered programs in which scientists try to replicate the physics behind things such as rainfall, ocean currents, and the melting of sea ice. Because of their complexity and size, supercomputers are used to run full-scale climate models. Much of the uncertainty in their outputs comes from the way that various aspects of the climate are represented by different models, and even more so, because there are aspects of climate that are not well understood—one of which is how the ocean impacts climate.
P2: As one of the planet’s principal carbon absorbers, the ocean soaks up roughly one-third of all human carbon emissions, reducing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its associated global effects. This benefit stems from the fact that numerous marine plants and algae, especially phytoplankton, are photosynthetic, meaning they have the ability to use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into energy. Then what controls the amount of phytoplankton? There are several limiting factors, but results from a recent experiment suggest that in areas of the ocean where other nutrients are plentiful, iron may be one of the most important and, until recently, unrecognized variables controlling phytoplankton production. Some researchers claimed that adding iron to the sea could induce phytoplankton blooms, which might alleviate the impact of global warming by consuming a significant amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But this radical approach was rather controversial. It was demonstrated for the first time after research conducted by the University of Liverpool that carbon, absorbed by algae in an iron-fertilized bloom, can sink to the ocean bed, where scientists believe it will remain in a fluff layer for many centuries or longer.
P3: In the ocean, carbon dioxide is also removed and placed into long term storage by the burial of sedimentary strata, especially coal and black shale, which stores organic carbon from undecayed biomass and carbonate rocks like limestone. However, when deposits of limestone become exposed and weathered on land or are recycled in the sea, carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. Gas hydrates are another threat to global warming. Gas hydrates are crystalline solids of water, which release massive amounts of methane gas when ocean temperatures increase. Consequently, massive hydrate dissolution events are possible causes of some of the abrupt increases in temperature seen in the geologic record. Besides, localized melt-downs have caused massive continental slope failure, which can present a geological hazard for shelf oil and gas production.
P4: The ocean is also a great reservoir and transporter of heat. Heat from the ocean warms the atmosphere and fuels tropical storms. Heat is transported by currents from the equator to the poles. Evaporation from the ocean also supplies the precipitation that creates fields of snow and ice at high latitudes. Snow and ice coverage change the reflectivity of Earth’s surface and are an important influence on how much incoming radiation is either absorbed or reflected. Furthermore, clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere come mainly from the sea and strongly influence climate. Surprisingly, clouds are one of the least understood and most poorly modeled parts of the climate change equation. Most climate modeling grids fail to take into account common-sized cloud formations. To accurately depict how individual clouds form and disappear, for instance, the computers that model climate change would need to be a million times faster. For now, the effects of clouds have to be estimated. But scientists say complexity doesn’t guarantee accuracy and the best test of a model is to check it against reality.
P3: In the ocean, carbon dioxide is also removed and placed into long term storage by the burial of sedimentary strata, especially coal and black shale, which stores organic carbon from undecayed biomass and carbonate rocks like limestone. ■ However, when deposits of limestone become exposed and weathered on land or are recycled in the sea, carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere.■ Gas hydrates are another threat to global warming. ■ Gas hydrates are crystalline solids of water, which release massive amounts of methane gas when ocean temperatures increase. ■ Consequently, massive hydrate dissolution events are possible causes of some of the abrupt increases in temperature seen in the geologic record. Besides, localized melt-downs have caused massive continental slope failure, which can present a geological hazard for shelf oil and gas production.
According to paragraph 1, the results of full-scale climate models are questionable in part because
选项
A、the supercomputers used for such modeling are large and complex.
B、thousands of calculations have to be performed to assess conditions.
C、past conditions cannot always be estimated accurately.
D、there are multiple ways to represent the different aspects of climate.
答案
D
解析
【事实信息题】末句提到全面的气候模型产生的结果有许多不确定性,因为要使用不同的模型来代表气候的不同方面。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/70fO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
ChooseTWOletters,A-E.WhichTWOpossibleobjectionstoaroofgardenarediscussed?AproblemsofaccessBthecostofconstr
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.GRAPHICALSYMBOL’Graphicalsymbol’includesthelogographsinEg
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.DevelopmentStudiesDevelopmentStudiesattemptstounderstand-
(Until)theGeorgeWashingtonBridge(wasbuilt),modernsuspensionbridgeswerestiffenedwithsteeltrussesandbeamsto(limi
A、She’snotsureshewantstogotothepartyB、ShejustreturnedfromavisittotheAndersons.C、Shemaynotbeabletogivet
Whatdoesthepassagemainlydiscuss?Theauthorsuggeststhathumanstandardsofbeautyare
"MigrationfromAsia"TheAsianmigrationhypothesisistodaysupportedbymostofthescientificevidence.Thefirst"hard"
GeographyTheNorthwestPassageWhydoestheprofessortalkaboutMartinFrobisherandHenryHudson?
To______hisgreatambitionofbecomingwell-knownalloverDenmark,Andersen,thoughveryyoung,lefthomeforCopenhagentomak
AHowtoUseaPaintingKnife使用画刀的方法Paintingwithaknifeisabitlikeputtingbutteronbreadandproducesquitea(1)resu
随机试题
选择型盒时牙合面与顶盖之间以及模型周边与型合之间应有的距离为
关于乳前牙反的治疗说法正确的是
三叉神经周围支切断撕脱术主要适用于A.下牙槽神经和眶下神经B.上牙槽后神经和中神经C.上牙槽前神经和下牙槽神经D.颊神经和舌神经E.眶下神经和腭大神经
关于部门预算的含义,下列说法错误的是()。
某市服装生产企业为增值税一般纳税人。2016年度取得销售收入40000万元、投资收益1000万元。发生销售成本28900万元,税金及附加1800万元,管理费用3500万元、销售费用4200万元、财务费用1300万元,营业外支出200万元,企业自行计算实现年
某县酒店承包人章某(男,1964年12月生),因经营不善而严重亏损,遂产生了绑架勒索财物的主意。经考察,章某选定了本县个体户吴甲之子吴乙(7岁)为绑架对象,并对吴乙的活动规律进行了跟踪了解。2003年9月14日上午,章某对本酒店的服务员王某(女,1985年
张某因不服税务局查封财产决定向上级机关申请复议,要求撤销查封决定,但没有提出赔偿请求。复议机关经审查认为该查封决定违法,决定予以撤销。对于查封决定造成的财产损失,复议机关正确的做法是什么?()
改正下列错别字寻序渐进(青岛大学2015)
StudyConfirmsRedMeatLinkwithBowel(结肠)CancerPeoplewhoeatmorethan160gramsofredorprocessedmeatadayare35pe
Fewcreaturesonearthareascuteastheblackliontamarin,andfewhaveasdramaticastoryline.Pug-nosedanddiminutive,w
最新回复
(
0
)