In predicting climate change, what are atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels used as an indicator of?

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Question restatement: In predicting climate change, what are atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels used as an indicator of?
Option 1: 'How well we can measure the molecular content of the atmosphere' This choice focuses on measurement capability rather than what CO2 levels indicate about climate. While measuring accuracy matters, CO2 levels are not primarily a proxy for measurement quality; they are used to infer climatic consequences. 
Option 2: 'How high the Earth's oceans will be in the future' CO2 levels influence climate, which in turn affects sea level, but CO2 is not a direct predictor of ocean height on its own. Ocean height depends on multiple factors including thermal expansion, ice melt, and regional dynamics, not solely CO2 quantity. 
Option 3: 'How many extreme weather events there will be in the future' CO2 is a driver of climate change that can alter the probability of extreme events, but it is not a direct count of events. The relationship is probabilistic and mediated by complex climate processes rather than a simple tally. 
Option 4: 'How much the temperature on Earth will increase' This is the core concept: rising CO2 levels trap infrared radiation, enhancing the greenhouse effect and leading to higher global mean temperatures. CO2 is a key indicator used to project temperature increases under climate scenarios. 
Option 5: 'How much pollution is in Earth's atmosphere' CO2 is a greenhouse gas and a pollutant in a broad sense, but this optionframes CO2 as total pollution content rather than its role in driving warming. While related, CO2 levels specifically indicate potential temperature change, not just pollution quantity. 
In summary, the central purpose of monitoring atmospheric CO2 in climate predictions is to estimate the magnitude of future global temperature rise, since CO2 is a principal driver of the enhanced greenhouse effect. The other options confuse measurement capability, direct physical outcomes, event counts, or a broader notion of pollution with the primary predictive signal that CO2 provides regarding temperature changes.

OLES1602 (all) Topic 5: Climate apocalypse

In predicting climate change, what are atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels used as an indicator of?

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OLES1602 (all) Topic 5: Climate apocalypse

In predicting climate change, what are atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels used as an indicator of?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

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