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?
-an important heat trapping greenhouse gas that is released during certain human
activities.

2) According to the CO2 charts, what was the highest level of CO2 in the 400,000 years
prior to 1950?
-About 300 parts per million.
2) According to the charts, what is the level of CO2 today?
-almost 400 parts per million

3) Based on the information on the page, why is this level of CO2 a problem?
-increase in temperature, heating of the earth.

4) According to the charts on Arctic Sea Ice, what has been the overall trend since
1980?
-its decreased.

5) What trend can be observed for land ice?

-ice loss has doubled between 1996 and 2005

6) What trend can be observed for sea level? Has risen 7 inches in nearly 100 years.

8) What overall conclusion can you make based on the data of these three charts? The
production of CO2 definitely affects our world, climate, and has made a difference in the
things above.

Evidence
9) What are eight areas that scientists look at for evidence of global warming?
-sea level rise, global temp. rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, declining artic 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, CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons.

Effects
11) According to the effects page, what effect will climate change have on water
availability?
-loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise.
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.

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.
Satellites/ solar energy, wind farms, artificial photosynthesis, etc.