APES Test 4 Pt. 2 Midterm Review

Question 1

Water holding capacity

Answer 1

the total amount of water a given soil can hold
Varies among soil types
Soils with higher amounts of clay and/or organic matter can hold the most water
But it also matters how available the water in the soil is to plants
One reason loam is optimal for plant growth is that it retains plenty of water and has a texture that allows that water to be available for use by plants
Thus soil water retention contributes to the fertility of soil and the productivity of the land it covers

Question 2

Soil Types and Percolation/ Porosity

Answer 2

Clay soils tend to have the most porosity but the least permeability
This is because smaller particle sizes have a greater number of small, open spaces (pores) but these pores are not well connected to each other (also, water’s adhesive properties means a larger surface area it can ‘stick’ to)
Sandy soils are the opposite- water can flow through them quickly, but they can hold very little water

Question 3

Soil Management in Agriculture

Answer 3

Porosity and permeability can indicate water needs- less porous soil probably holds less water and needs more regular watering
High permeability can decrease amount of water in soil, which can be good for plants that cannot survive in standing water, but does also reduce water availability
Different crops do better in different soils and require different amounts of watering
Similarly, some soils hold nutrients better than others, with large implications for fertilized needs

Question 4

Soil Erosion

Answer 4

Soils can take 1000s of years to form- so practices that erode soil are extremely harmful and have long lasting consequences
Soil erosion can runoff into bodies of water, creating turbidity or cloudy conditions that limit sunlight
We will discuss soil health, erosion, and remediation more in future units!

Question 5

Soil Erosion and Water Quality

Answer 5

Soils effectively filter, clean, and buffer water that passes through them, but are similarly vulnerable to extreme rain (runoff) and wind which can erode them. If they erode, they end up in rivers and lakes, where they cloud the water, making it difficult for photosynthesis to occur, and harming aquatic ecosystems

Question 6

Desertification

Answer 6

Fertile land turns into non fertile land- this occurs due to loss of nutrients, erosion, droughts, or fires that degrade the land
Desertification is an issue in nearly ⅓ of global land
Implications for biodiversity,
Again, this will be done in more detail in our agriculture lessons

Question 7

layers of the atmosphere

Answer 7

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

Question 8

The atmosphere is made up of major gases, each with its own relative abundance.

Answer 8

78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.934% argon, carbon dioxide 0.04%

Question 9

Stratosphere

Answer 9

About 20km-50km above Earth’s surface
Temperatures INCREASE as you ascend
Heat production at higher layers related to ozone formation
This layer is normally the ceiling on clouds- because convection currents don’t work anymore if warm air is located above cooler air below
Gases in the stratosphere are not well mixed and temperatures increase with distance from the earth
This warming effect is due to the ozone layer,a thin band of ozone that exists in the lower half of this layer
The ozone traps the high energy radiation of the sun, holding some of the heat and protecting the troposphere and the Earth’s surface from this radiation
Stratosphere is similar to troposphere in gas composition, only less dense and drier, with a thousand times less water vapor

Question 10

Mesosphere

Answer 10

50- 85 km- temps DECREASE as you ascend as air becomes thicker
Thick enough to burn up meteors
Coldest point in the atmosphere at top of this layer, around -90C

Question 11

Thermosphere

Answer 11

85-500 km
High energy radiation from sun (X rays and UV light) absorbed in this layer, especially toward the top
Extremely hot- 2,000 C plus- but toward the bottom, can be - 120 C- thus temps INCREASE as you ascend
Very thin (few molecules); Hot vacuum

Question 12

Exosphere

Answer 12

Extending to 10,000 km or more
Upper limit is not definitely settle
Concentration of gases is thinnest here

Question 13

Climate and solar energy

Answer 13

ncoming solar radiation (insolation) is the Earth’s main source of energy
The angle of the sun’s rays determines the intensity of the solar radiation. Due to the shape of the Earth, the latitude that is directly horizontal to the solar radiation receives the most intensity.
The highest solar radiation per unit area is received at the equator and decreases toward the poles.
The solar radiation received at a location on the Earth’s surface varies seasonally, with the most radiation received during the location’s longest summer day and the least on the shortest winter day.
The tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation causes the Earth’s seasons and the number of hours of daylight in a particular location on the Earth’s surface.

Question 14

Seasons

Answer 14

The motion of the EArth around the sun and the Earth’s axial tilt of 23.5 degrees together create the seasons that we experience on Earth
Earth’s tilt means that sunlight hits most directly and for the longest number of hours per day on the parts of the Earth that face the source of energy for a given place on Earth (the sun’s rays) varies depending on latitude and is received at the equator and decreases toward the poles any place will receive the most solar radiation its longest summer day in the least on its coldest winter day

Question 15

High and Low Pressure

Answer 15

High and Dry!
High pressure is formed by cold air- this air is heavy- dense- and sinks down to the surface.
Low pressure is formed by warm air- warm air rises, carries moisture with it, usually leads to precipitation events- but this less dense warm air leads to lower pressure

Question 16

Coriolis Effect

Answer 16

Earth’s surface at the equator is moving faster than at the poles, because the circumference is larger but the rotation time is the same
Because an object or air mass nearer to the equator is moving more rapidly (from east to west), it will maintain this eastward momentum as it moves away from the equator to where the surface is moving more slowly, winding up further east
Therefore, winds moving north from the equator near the surface are deflected to the right (east), and winds moving south from the equator are deflected to the right (east), and winds moving south from the equator are deflect to the left(east) and opposite
Winds blowing toward the equator will be deflected to the west because they are moving eastward more slowly than is teh surface in the lower latitudes where they are moving to

Question 17

Horse latitudes

Answer 17

30-35 egress north and 30-35 degrees south of the equator lie the regions known as horse latitudes
Subsiding dry air and high pressure result in very weak winds it hese regions

Question 18

Weather and climate are affected not only by the sun’s energy but by geologic and geographic factors, such as mountains and ocean temperature

Answer 18

Oceans-
Any large body of water is going to have a moderating effect on climate- that is, because water has a high specific heat, it is resistant to changes in temperature.
Ocean currents can have a large impact on ocean temperatures, too

Question 19

Watersheds

Answer 19

‘Watershed’ is an area of land where all precipitation will flow to a single body of water (river, basin, sea/ocean, etc.)
Watersheds are defined by what happens to precipitation.

Question 20

Rain Shadow Effect

Answer 20

a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of the mountain—the rain shadow side—all that precipitation is blocked.
windward vs. leeward sides

Question 21

What happens to precipitation?

Answer 21

In many ‘natural’ forest ecosystems, most rainwater is absorbed by soil and taken up by plants….
Rain is first captured by the forest canopy, where it slowly drips to the forest floor and is absorbed by soil.
In the absence of a canopy or vegetation to capture rainfall, the ground will quickly become too saturated and water will ‘run off’

Question 22

Three Things happen to precipitation:

Answer 22

1) Canopy Interception and Evapotranspiration
Tree canopy and other vegetation intercepts rainfall. Much of this rainfall collects on leaves, where it slowly drips down or evaporates.
2) Soil Infiltration
Water, once it gets through the canopy, will infiltrate, or absorb into the soil
Shallow infiltration saturates the soil, providing plant life and soil organisms with moisture
3) Runoff
The remaining water will runoff, meaning it will move across the surface, to bodies of water

Question 23

Runoff and Impervious Surfaces

Answer 23

Impervious surfaces are surfaces that do NOT absorb water (eg. relatively little infiltration).
Water ‘runs off’ when it is not absorbed. Notice this is MUCH higher in urban areas.
Runs off to where??
The body of water (river)!!!!

Question 24

Watersheds and Runoff– Summary

Answer 24

Precipitation landing anywhere within a watershed will ultimately collect in a single body of water UNLESS absorbed into the ground or lost to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration
In natural areas, vegetation prevents the majority of water from running off into bodies of water
Urbanization increases impervious surface cover, therefore increasing runoff.

Question 25

Runoff Problem 1: NOT JUST WATER

Answer 25

Sand, silt, and clay; eg. MUD
Industrial and vehicle fluid (eg. oil)
Garbage!
Couches, car bumpers, tires, clothing, bottles, bags, chip bags, chairs, tools, bleachers, bridges, and MORE!
Fertilizer, nitrogen
Goose poop, dog poop, etc.
Pesticides and other chemicals
Road Salt
As water ‘runs off’, some is caught in storm drains and sewers, overflowing them and sending things like raw sewage directly into the river
You name it, and it has probably ended up in a river at some point. We have found tires, shopping carts, couches, bullets, car bumpers, road signs, bridges and more on our class clean ups

Question 26

Runoff- Problem 2- Excessive Flooding

Answer 26

Excessive flooding occurs when massive amounts of precipitation runoff into a body of water in a short period of time.

Question 27

Weather Events

Answer 27

Weather and climate are affected not only by the insolation in a given area but also by geologic and geographic factors, such as terrai (mountains, plains, distance from the ocean) and ocean temperatures
Monsoons, or esasonal winds that are usually accompanied by very heavy rainfall, occur when land heats up and cools down more quickly than water does
In a monsoon, hot air rises from the heated land and a low pressure system is created
The rising air is quickly replaced by cooler moist air that blows in from over the ocean’s surface
As this air rises over the land, it cools, and the moisture it carries is released in a steady seasonal rainfall
This process happens in reverse during the dry season, when masses of air that have cooled over the land blow out over the ocean
Monsoons primarily occur in coastal areas