All the Shite Flashcards
What are the names of the 3 atmospheric circulation cells?
Polar, Hadley, Ferrel
What is the effect of cooling air on its density?
Density increases
How does the upwelling of air at the equator occur?
Solar radiation at the equator heats up the air and water
The warm air rises (reduced density)
Water vapour also lowers density
What forms the basis of the Hadley cell circulation?
The rising air cools (water droplets form clouds)
Cooled air can’t sink due to upwelling, so has to move sideways in upper atmosphere
Air sinks down at around 30º latitude
What is the name of the force that creates a latitudinal component to air force, caused by the Earth’s rotation?
The Coriolis force
What is the effect of the Coriolis force?
Deflects air to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in southern hemisphere
What does ITCZ stand for?
Intertropical convergence zone
Why does the ICTZ shift?
Due to movements in position of latitudinal high and low pressure zones, especially in the northern hemisphere
Sinking air at the tropics (30º north and south) causes:
An area of high pressure
What is the compensation depth?
Where GPP = R
What is endemism?
Refers to the taxa unique to a given area
What is an equinox?
When the sun shines directly above the equator, and day and night are roughly the same length
What is a solstice?
Where the sun is furthest from the celestial equator
What is critical depth?
The hypothesised surface mixing depth where phytoplankton growth equals loss of phytoplankton biomass
Marine accounts for how much GPP?
~56 PgC/yr
What components constitute the ‘slow’ domain of the carbon cycle?
Rocks and sediment
What does Leibig’s Law of the Minimum state?
Productivity is restricted by the source which is closest to being limiting
What is the approximate amount of carbon in the atmosphere?
762Pg
What are 3 examples of grazing ecosystems?
Grassland, freshwater, sea
What are the features of a grazing ecosystem?
Large proportion of of primary producers, no significant storage
What are 3 examples of a storage ecosystem?
Developing peatlands, heathlands, young forest
What are the features of a storage ecosystem?
More energy enters than leaves. Balance is stored in peat, tree biomass, and shrub biomass
What are 2 examples of a detritus ecosystem?
Mature heathlands, mature forest
What are the features of a detritus ecosystem?
High proportion of energy enters detritus. PP biomass is unpalatable or difficult to access by herbivores
What is the purpose of a muirburn?
Converting a detritus ecosystem to a grazing one. Achieved by burning off growth on a heather moor to encourage new growth for grazing
What constitutes the ‘fast’ domain of the carbon cycle?
Carbon in the atmosphere, ocean
What is NAO?
The North Atlantic Oscillation is a climatic phenomenon in the N Atlantic ocean of fluctuations in the difference of atmospheric pressure at sea level between the Icelandic Low and Azores High
