BIO 103 SimUText Section 2 Flashcards
Biomes
The major communities covering Earth that are based on their predominant vegetation
Community
In ecology, the association of species within a defined area that actually or potentially interact with each other
Tundra
The coldest and simplest of Earth’s major biomes, with comparatively few species and relatively simple food chains
Steppe
Cold, dry biome dominated by grasses
Detection
Studies that focus on demonstrating a statistical change in the climate system
Attribution
The process of determining the probable cause(s) of an observed phenomenon
Meteorologist
Someone who studies the weather and provides short-term (days to weeks) weather forecasts
Precipitation
The process by which water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and falls to the Earth
Atmosphere
A layered composite of gasses surrounding the Earth, held in place by gravity
Weather
The short-term (minutes to months) behavior of the atmosphere at a particular location
Anomaly
The difference between an observed value of some parameter and its long-term mean
“Noise”
Variability in data that can obscure the trend
“Signal”
The trend in data
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
The ratio of useful information in a data set to the useless information
Spatial Scale
The approximate area, size, distance, or length at which a particular system is being studied or described
Annual Global Mean Temperature
The annual temperature of the entire surface of the Earth over the course of a year
Instrumental Record
The relatively recent and comparatively short record of temperature observations that were directly or indirectly measured using a thermometer, satellite, or some other instrument
Proxy Records
A local quantitative record (thickness of tree rings or variation in the isotopic condition found in ice cones, etc) to estimate some climate variable, like temperature or rainfall
Lithosphere
The rocks and sediments that make up the Earth’s crust, tectonic plates, and upper mantle
Boreholes
Shafts drilled into the Earth’s crust
Isotopes
Atoms of the same chemical element that differ in the number of neutrons in their nuclei, and, as a result, in their atomic mass
Hydrosphere
All the water in liquid form that exists on Earth, including the oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams
Cryosphere
All of Earth’s perennially frozen water, including river and lake ice, sea ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice shelves, snow and frozen ground
Annual Sea Ice Minimum
The maximum extent of the contraction of sea ice in the Arctic during summer
Hydrologic Cycle
The continuous exchange of water molecules of among the various reservoirs, or pools, in which water is held on Earth
Pools
In ecology, the amount of material located in a definable compartment
Evaporation
The conversion of liquid water to water vapor
Flux
The rate at which material or energy moves from pool or another
Thermal Expansion
The increase in volume and decrease in density of water, which is caused by an increase in collision frequency, which is caused by an increase in the average velocity of the molecules, which is causes by the water temperature to increase
Heat Capacity
The amount of energy (heat) required to heat to increase an object’s temperature by a given amount
Biotic
A term that describes either the living components of a system or the environmental influences that result from living organisms’ activities
Length of the Growing System
The typical number of frost-free days in a region
