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This page shows questions in the Arctic Ice public release module at MSDE. Life Science MISA
"Arctic Ice"

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The Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a sea route that connects the northern Atlantic Ocean to the northern Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Circle. In the past, the Northwest Passage was covered year-round by sea ice (frozen ocean water) and was impassable to ships. Due to sea ice melting, ships can now travel through the passage during the summer months.

The Arctic has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the world. Satellite records since 1979 show that Arctic sea ice is disappearing at a rate of 13.4% per decade. Since 1981, the area of ocean covered by sea ice has decreased by 1.02 million square kilometers.

The two maps show the location of part of the Northwest Passage and also show the sea ice boundaries in 1970 and the predicted sea ice boundary for 2100.

The title of the map is Northwest Passage Map Nineteen Seventy. There is a legend below the map. The legend has a square with cross-hatching labeled Sea ice and a dotted line labeled Northwest Passage. Canada is a large area in the top left corner of the map. The Northern Pacific is shown above Canada. The Northern Atlantic Ocean is below Canada. Russia is a large area along the right side of the map. The Arctic Ocean is to the left of the middle of Russia. The outline of a circle labeled Arctic Circle is in the middle of the map. A large circle showing sea ice is in this circle. This circle has a small piece at the top that is touching Russia. The sea ice is also touching both Russia and Canada in a few places. A dotted line begins at the bottom of the map to the left of the label for the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The dotted line continues up along the left side of the sea ice, curves to the right just above the sea ice, and then continues up to the very top of the map.
The title of the map is Northwest Passage Map Predicted Twenty-One Hundred. A legend is below the map. The legend has a square with cross-hatching labeled Sea ice and a dotted line labeled Northwest Passage. Canada is a large area in the top left corner of the map. The Northern Pacific Ocean is shown above Canada. The Northern Atlantic Ocean is below Canada Russia is a large white area along the right side of the map. The Arctic Ocean is a large area between Russia and Canada. The outline of a circle labeled Arctic Circle is in the middle of the map. A medium-sized white area is at the bottom left of the circle. A very small area showing sea ice is at the top of this white area. A dotted line showing the Northwest Passage begins at the bottom of the map to the left of the label for the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The dotted line continues up along the left side of the Arctic Ocean near Canada, curves to the right just above the label for the Arctic Ocean, and then continues up to the very top of the map.

Sea ice is a reflective surface. As the Sun’s rays hit Earth, a certain percentage of the energy is reflected back into space. The table shows the percentage of energy reflected by different surfaces.

The table is titled Reflectivity. The table has two columns and five rows. The first column heading is Surface. The second column heading is Solar Energy Reflected in percentage. The first row is Desert, thirty. The second row is Forest, eight to fifteen. The third row is Ocean water, six. The fourth row is Sea ice, fifty to seventy. The fifth row is Average for Earth, thirty-one.

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Atmosphere Observations

Scientists studied changes to the atmosphere in order to understand the changes to the Northwest Passage. Since the start of the industrial era, the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases have been rising. In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels for industry, electricity production, and transportation account for 77% of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 82% of the greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide. Global carbon emissions and Arctic atmosphere temperature data are shown in the graphs.

The title of the first graph is Global Carbon Emissions. The x-axis is labeled Year. It begins at nineteen seventy-five and extends to the right to two thousand fifteen in intervals of five years. The y-axis is labeled Carbon in million metric tons. The y-axis begins at zero and extends upward to ten thousand in intervals of one thousand. The graph line starts at nineteen seventy-five on the x-axis and at about four thousand five hundred on the y-axis. The line goes gradually up for most of its length, ending at about nine thousand nine hundred on the y-axis and at about two thousand fourteen on the x-axis.
The title of the second graph is Arctic Atmosphere Mean Temperature.The x-axis is labeled Year. It begins at nineteen seventy-five and extends to the right to two thousand fifteen in intervals of five years. The y-axis is labeled Temperature in degrees Celsius. It begins at negative three and extends upward to positive two in intervals of one. The graph line moves up and down by between zero point five and one point five degrees throughout its length, but its overall trend is slightly upward. The graph line starts at about negative zero point eight on the y-axis and nineteen seventy-five on the x-axis. It is at about negative zero point five on the y-axis at nineteen eighty on the x-axis, at zero on the y-axis at nineteen ninety on the x-axis, at negative zero point five on the y-axis and at two thousand on the x-axis, at zero point nine on the y-axis and at two thousand ten on the x-axis, and it ends at zero point five on the y-axis and at about two thousand fourteen on the x-axis.

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Environmental Changes

Sea ice melt from the Arctic may impact the environment in other parts of the world. Scientists collect data from other areas to determine if there are relationships between sea ice melting and environmental changes throughout the world. They collected data on the changes in water surface temperature in the North Atlantic Ocean. This graph shows the data they collected.

The title of the graph is Ocean Surface Temperature. The x-axis is labeled Year. It begins at nineteen seventy-five and extends to the right to two thousand fifteen in intervals of five years. The y-axis is labeled Temperature in degrees Celsius. It begins at zero, but just above zero there is a break in the graph. The first label above the break is twenty-seven point four, and the axis continues upward from there to twenty-eight point four in intervals of zero point two. The graph line starts at about twenty-seven point six on the y-axis and nineteen seventy-five on the x-axis. It goes up to about twenty-seven point eight one on the y-axis at nineteen eighty on the x-axis. The line continues this pattern of going up and down throughout the rest of the graph, but overall it moves gradually upward to twenty-seven point eight on the y-axis at nineteen ninety on the x-axis, twenty-eight point zero two on the y-axis at two thousand on the x-axis, twenty-eight point three two on the y-axis at two thousand ten on the x-axis, and ends at about twenty-eight point two four on the y-axis and two thousand fourteen on the x-axis.

Additional data was collected on the Power Dissipation Index for hurricanes in the North Atlantic. The Power Dissipation Index is higher for more powerful hurricanes. This graph shows changes in hurricane power.

The title of the graph is Hurricane Power. The x-axis is labeled Year. It begins at nineteen seventy-five and extends to the right to two thousand fifteen in intervals of five years. The y-axis is labeled Power Dissipation Index. It begins at zero and extends upward to seven in intervals of one. The graph line starts at about one point five on the y-axis and nineteen seventy-five on the x-axis. It then goes up sharply to about two point eight on the y-axis at nineteen eighty on the x-axis. It then goes down sharply to about one point two on the y-axis at about nineteen eighty-two on the x-axis. The line continues this up-and-down pattern throughout the rest of the graph with steadily climbing peaks until about two thousand seven on the x-axis, where the graph drops again. At nineteen ninety on the x-axis, the graph line reaches two point one on the y-axis. At two thousand on the x-axis, the graph line is at three point two on the y-axis. At about two thousand four on the x-axis, the graph line is at five point nine on the y-axis. At two thousand ten on the x-axis, the graph line is at three point two on the y-axis, and then it ends at about one point nine on the y-axis at about two thousand thirteen on the x-axis.

Data was also collected on the percent of land area affected by one-day extreme precipitation events for the United States. An extreme one-day precipitation event is when the rain or snowfall in a single day exceeds the normal amount. The graph shows the data collected.

The title of the graph is Extreme Precipitation Events. The x-axis is labeled Year. It begins at nineteen seventy-five and extends to the right to two thousand fifteen in intervals of five years. The y-axis is labeled Percent of Land Area Affected. It begins at zero and extends upward to twenty in intervals of five. The graph line goes up and down by various degrees throughout its entire length, but its trend is generally upward. The line starts at about eight on the y-axis at nineteen seventy-five on the x-axis. It rises to ten on the y-axis at nineteen eighty on the x-axis. The line goes up slightly to about twelve in nineteen ninety. It is at about fourteen on the y-axis at two thousand on the x-axis and at about seventeen on the y-axis at two thousand ten on the x-axis. The line ends at about eighteen on the y-axis at about two thousand fourteen on the x-axis.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Scientists claim that one reason Earth is warming is because it is absorbing more radiation from the Sun.

Which data best support this claim?

  1. A.
    By 2100, only 50% of the solar energy will be reflected from the sea ice.
  2. B.
    As the sea ice melts, it reflects about 10 times less of the solar energy.
  3. C.
    The Arctic Circle includes a large section of land, which reflects 31% of the solar energy.
  4. D.
    The desert and Earth reflect approximately the same amount of the solar energy.

This is test content.

Put the processes into the correct order to show the feedback effects from an increase in greenhouse gases that results in an increase in surface temperatures.

Arrows are drawn from bay 1 to bay 2 to bay 3 to bay 4. Bay 4 is titled, Surface temperatures increase. The draggers are titled, Ice melts, Atmospheric temperatures increase, Less sunlight is reflected from the surface.

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A scientist merged two graphs to compare ocean surface temperatures with hurricane power. The scientist claimed that an increase in ocean surface temperatures causes more powerful hurricanes to occur. Select the location(s) on the graph that support the scientist's claim.

The title of the graph is Ocean Surface Temperatures and Hurricane Power. The x-axis is labeled Year, and it ranges from nineteen seventy-five to two thousand fifteen in increments of five years. There are two y-axes. The y-axis on the left is labeled Power Dissipation Index and ranges from zero to seven in increments of one. The y-axis on the right is labeled Ocean Surface Temperature in degrees Celsius. This y-axis begins at twenty-seven point four and extends upward to twenty-eight point four in increments of zero point two. The key shows a dashed line labeled Ocean Surface Temperature and a solid line labeled Hurricane Power. The solid line starts before nineteen eighty at two and twenty-seven point seven, goes to point W at just after nineteen eighty at one and twenty-seven point five, goes to point X at two thousand five at six and twenty-eight point three, and ends at point Z at about two thousand thirteen at just below two and midway between twenty-seven point six and twenty-seven point eight. The dashed line starts at the same point as the solid line, goes to point W, goes to point X, and ends at point Y, just after two thousand ten at six and twenty-eight point three.

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

Use the data and models to predict the future effect of global carbon emissions on Earth's systems.

Type your answer in the space provided.