In a plausible but speculative scenario, oceanographer Douglas Martins

Question

In a plausible but speculative scenario, oceanographer Douglas Martinson suggests that temperature increases caused by global warming would not signifcantly affect the stability of the Antarctic environment, where sea ice forms on the periphery of the continent in the autumn and winter and mostly disappears in the summer. True, less sea ice would form in the winter because global warming would cause temperatures to rise. However, Martinson argues, the effect of a warmer atmosphere may be offset as follows. The formation of sea ice causes the concentration of salt in surface waters to increase; less sea ice would mean a smaller increase in the concentration of salt. Less salty surface waters would be less dense and therefore less likely to sink and stir up deep water. The deep water, with all its stored heat, would rise to the surface at a slower rate. Tus, although the winter sea-ice cover might decrease, the surface waters would remain cold enough so that the decrease would not be excessive.    1 
 1. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is true of the surface waters in the current Antarctic environment?

A. They are more affected by annual fluctuations in atmospheric temperatures than they would be if they were less salty.
B. They are less salty than they would be if global warming were to occur.
C. They are more likely to sink and stir up deep waters than they would be if atmospheric temperatures were to increase.
D. They are able to offset some of the effects of global warming beyond the Antarctic region.
E. They are less affected by the temperature of deep water than they would be if atmospheric temperatures were to increase.

2  
 2. The passage suggests that Martinson believes which of the following about deep waters in the Antarctic region?

A. They rise to the surface more quickly than they would if global warming were to occur.
B. They store heat that will exacerbate the effects of increases in atmospheric temperatures.
C. They would be likely to be signifcantly warmed by an increase in atmospheric temperatures.
D. They would be more salty than they currently are if global warming were to occur.
E. They are less likely to be stirred up when surface waters are intensely salty than when surface waters are relatively unsalty.

3  
 3. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the sea ice that surrounds the Antarctic continent?

A. The amount of sea ice that forms in the winter has been declining.
B. Most of the sea ice that forms in the winter remains intact in the summer.
C. Even small changes in the amount of sea ice dramatically affect the temperature of the surface waters.
D. Changes in the amount of sea ice due to global warming would signifcantly affect the stability of the Antarctic environment.
E. Changes in the amount of sea ice affect the degree of saltiness of the surface waters.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question 1

Choice C is correct. Te passage states that rising temperatures would decrease the amount of sea ice formed in the winter, and that this change would result in surface water that is less salty, and thus less likely to sink. Te current situation, then, results in the opposite: surface waters that are more likely to sink. Choices A and D are incorrect because the passage gives no information about how fluctuating temperatures would affect less salty water or about the relationship between the Antarctic region and the rest of the planet. Choices B and E are incorrect because they are both the opposite of what the passage implies about surface waters in the current environment.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question 2

Choice A is correct. Te passage states that, in Martinson’s scenario, the deep water would rise to the surface at a slower rate were warming to occur. He must believe, then, that the water currently rises to the surface more quickly. As for Choice B, while the passage indeed states that deep waters in Antarctica store heat, it also suggests that this heat would be less likely to reach the surface and worsen global warming. Choice B is therefore incorrect. Choice E is incorrect because it contradicts information given in the passage. Choices C and D are incorrect because, while the passage discusses the effects of global warming on the temperature and salinity of surface water, it gives no information of warming’s effects on the temperature and salinity of deep water.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE Question 3

Choice E is correct: according to the passage, “less sea ice would mean a smaller increase in the concentration of salt.” Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because they are all contrary to the information presented in the passage. Choice A is incorrect because the passage does not compare current amounts of sea ice with past quantities; it instead proposes a hypothetical scenario involving a possible future decline of sea ice formation.

In a plausible but speculative scenario, oceanographer Douglas Martins

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