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?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, which is 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?
280
3) According to the charts, what is the level of CO2 today?
404.93
4) Based on the information on the page, why is this level of CO2 a problem?
Causing the temperature n earth to increase
5) According to the charts on Arctic Sea Ice, what has been the overall trend since 1980?
13.3
6) What trend can be observed for land ice?
decrease
7) What trend can be observed for sea level?
81.1

8) What overall conclusion can you make based on the data of these three charts?
the co2 is causing an increase in the atmosphere which causes the poles to melt which
equals to a rise in 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, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons

Effects
11) According to the effects page, what effect will climate change have on water
availability?
Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts
12) What visible changes have already occurred due to climate change?
loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise and 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.
Solar energy
Hydropower
Wind power