Important Information: please note that the purpose of this practice exam is only to make you familiar with the exam format but not for examining your knowledge of the course material.

1)   Which statement is correct about 16O isotope in comparison to 18O? (1pt, 1 min) a)   16O evaporates and condenses faster than 18O

b)   16O evaporates faster and condenses slower than 18O

c)   16O evaporates and condenses slower than 18O

d)   16O evaporates slower and condenses faster  than 18O

2)   Choose True and False statements about Isotopic records: (2.5pt, 2.5 min)  a)   At least one out of every 10 oxygen atoms contain additional neutrons.

b) Comparisons of heavy and light isotopes of oxygen in fossils can be used to reconstruct past climate.

c) If ice cores show a decrease of 18O/16O ratio for a particular time period, it is not

expected that sediment cores show a decrease for the same region and same time period.

d) Understanding the interactions between ocean water, atmosphere and melt runoff is necessary for a correct interpretation of 18O/16O ratio analysis from ice and sediment cores.

e)   Based on isotopic records, we are currently in the glaciation period, and the latest interglaciation period lasted thousands of years ago.

3)   Which timescales best describe sub-orbital and instrumental timescales? (1.5pt, 1 min) a)   Centennial - decadal

b) Thousands of years - centennial

c)   Two Eras - decadal

d)   Hundreds of millions of years – centennial

4)   Which of the following is not correct about geological time scales? (1.5pt, 1.5 min) a)   Cenozoic era expands from 65 million years ago to the present time.

b) Dinosaurs evolved in early Paleozoic geologic time.

c)   Epoch timescales are usually longer than ages and shorter than periods.

d)   According to Snowball Earth hypothesis, earth’s surface became nearly or entirely frozen in around Proterozoic eon.

5)   Which of the following proxy methods are used for reconstruction of climate data for hundreds of millions of years ago? (1pt, 1 min)

a)   Tree rings

b)   Commodity prices

c)   Lake sediments analysis

d) All answers are wrong

6)   Fill in the blanks with correct approximations for the lengths of Geological Time Scales (2pt, 2 min)

7)   In the figure shown, monthly temperature data for four climate stations are plotted throughout a year. Match the correct description for each graph (1.5pt, 2 min)

8)    Fill in the blanks with correct word/numbers. (3.5 points, 4min)

Quaternary period is the most recent period among geological time scales, expanding from about 2.5 million year(s) ago until present time. Throughout this period, two epochs exist. Throughout the older epoch which is called Pleistocene, the CO2 concentration was increased to 300 ppm. At the end of this    epoch, which was about 1 million year(s) ago, the event of extinction of large mammals occurred. After   that, the most recent epoch called Holocene began. In this epoch, the little ice age event happened, and the global CO2 concentration was increased to 400 ppm at present time.

Words: 2.5, 1, 50, 25, Pleistocene, Holocene, 100 ppm, 200 ppm, 300 ppm, 400 ppm, extinction of large mammals, little ice age.

9)   Choose True and False statements regarding North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO): (2.5pt, 2.5 min)

a)    Low   pressure   areas  have  higher  temperatures  than  high  pressure  areas  because  of  the movements of Polar front and Westerlies.

b) NAO is based  on   atmospheric pressure differences between regions, rather  than  ocean dynamics.

c)    In  subtropical  high  pressure areas, low relative humidity and clear skies are more frequent in comparison to low pressure areas.