Biomes and the Biosphere

Question 1

Atmospheric envelope

Answer 1

• clean, dry air at Earth’s surface
• 70% N
• 21% O
• 1% Ar
• 0.003% CO2
• 0.00005% ozone

Question 2

Greenhouse effect

Answer 2

• heat trapped in earth’s atmosphere by greenhouse gasses
• water, CO2, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
• absorb infrared and reemit it back to earth
• 30% reflected by clouds + particles
• 70% absorbed by atmosphere or surface

Question 3

ozone

Answer 3

• filters harmful UV radiation
• absorbs UV, but breaks its bonds in the process
• CFCs break the bonds too and reduce ozone layer

Question 4

Tilt of Earth’s axis

Answer 4

• uneven heating
• seasons
• drives air circulation and precipitation patterns
• tropics get most direct sunlight (area per unit light) –> 23.5 N to 23.5 S

Question 5

Air Circulation

Answer 5

• warm, moist air rises, cools, condenses, and rains
• cool, dry air falls back to surface
• Polar cells –> towards the earth and towards the pole
• Ferrel cells –> opposite from closest polar
• Hadley cells–> opposite from closest Ferrel

Question 6

Coriolis effect

Answer 6

• apparent deflection of the winds
• move clockwise in northern hemisphere
• move counterclockwise in southern hemisphere
• wind is fastest at equator

Question 7

Ocean circulation

Answer 7

• follows prevailing winds
• currents carry cool water to equator from poles and warm water from the equator to the poles
• air is cooled or warmed by these currents before passing over land

Question 8

Gulf stream

Answer 8

• made from central american land bridge

- affects climates as far away as the British isles

Question 9

3 main factors that contribute to storms

Answer 9

• water temperature (temperature)
• wind shear (wind)
• atmospheric moisture (rain)

Question 10

Mointain’s + water effect on climate

Answer 10

• in U.S. wind blows from west
• wind causes air to rise, cool, and condense on west side of mountain
• cool, dry air descends on east side of mountain (rain shadow)

Question 11

Mountain shadow deserts

Answer 11

• east side of mountains in temperate zones

- west side of mountains in tropical zones

Question 12

El Nino

Answer 12

off coast of Peru

• usually wind goes westward and warms over western pacific while picking up moisture
• during El nino, the eastern pacific is unusually warm –> causes storms in the east and droughts in the west

Question 13

El nino affect on Great Salt Lake

Answer 13

• more storms raise levels 3.7 m
• salinity drops by 50 g/L
• lake invaded by predatory insect
• brine shrimp went from 12000 - 74 per m^3
• a bunch of phytoplankton
• eventually went back to normal

Question 14

Bodies of water

Answer 14

• large bodies of water govern climate of nearby land
• Day: warm air rises over land, cool breeze from water
• Night: warm air rises from water and moves out from land

Question 15

Photic zone

Answer 15

• epipelagic region of ocean that’s reached by light
• inhabited by phytoplankton and zooplankton
• produce 1/4 of oxygen for biosphere

Question 16

Thermocline

Answer 16

separates warm water from cold water

-winter and summer (?)

Question 17

Turnover

Answer 17

mixing of oxygenated surface water with deeper, nutrient-rich water

• semi annual
• fall and spring

Question 18

Types of coral reefs

Answer 18

• fringing reefs = hug the shore of continents
• barrier reefs = stand between ocean and lagoon
• coral atolls = coral inlets built up from submerged ocean islands

Question 19

Shallow marine water

Answer 19

• reefs and kelp beds when there’s sunlight –> limited by temp –> very productive and diverse
• cleaned and feuled by currents

Question 20

estuaries

Answer 20

• productive, nutrient rich transition bt ocean and river
• water levels very spatially and temporally due to tides
• nutrients driven by ocean tides and river flow

Question 21

Saltmarshes and mangroves

Answer 21

• concentrated along low lying coasts
• saltmarsh grasses and algae are major producers and attract a bunch of animals
• carbon sequestration

Question 22

climography plots

Answer 22

• leslie holdrige
• temp on y axis
• rain on x axis

Question 23

climate diagram

Answer 23

• temp on right
• rain on left
• months on x axis

Question 24

How do we catagorize terrestrial biomes?

Answer 24

• plants
• climate (temp and rain)

also distribution and animals

Question 25

serotiny

Answer 25

Jack pine is seratinous bc its cones only open to expose seeds when its super hot bc of a forest fire

Question 26

Convergent evolution in dif biomes

Answer 26

• similar characteristics due to similar environments
• cacti in north america and euphorbs in african desert
• dif evolutionary lineages

Question 27

Tropical wet forests

Answer 27

• vertically layered
• competition for light –> broad leaves + lateral growth
• highest diversity of terrestrial biomes
• high productivity
• low soil nutrients
• water is NOT limiting –> plants shed water
• stratification/specialization
• understory + canopy leaves are evergreen
• thin, smooth bark
• buttress roots

Question 28

Tropical dry forests

Answer 28

• deciduous leaves
• thick corky bark with thorns and spikes
• small leaves
• flower during dry season

Question 29

Tropical Savana

Answer 29

• tropical grassland
• 10-20 N and S
• dry season is 8-9 months
• temp varies seasonally (usually 24-29)
• grasses, sedges, and herbs with occasional tree
• vegitation is resistant to drought
• trees are deciduous and less than 20 m tall

Question 30

Deserts

Answer 30

• 30 N and S
• less than 30 cm rain per year
• temp varies seasonally
• plants resistant to heat + desication –> small leaves and good water storage
• animals can conserve water and some are nocturnal

Question 31

Mediterranean Woodland, Shrubland and

Chapparal

Answer 31

• “chapparal” in US
• fires 600-700 degrees
• soil is hydrophobic –> has waxy resin from burnt plants that forms impermeable underground layer
• torrential rains
• firestorms help some with serotinous cones

Question 32

Temperate Grassland

Answer 32

• rain and temp is highly seasonal
• most rainfall in spring
• summers are hot and dry
• plants are adapted to drought and fire
• Disturbance is important for community continuity

Question 33

Temperate Deciduous Forests

Answer 33

• rains year round
• winters = 0 temp, summers = 35
• animals hibernate or migrate to avoid winter
• dominant plants deciduous in Northern hemisphere; evergreen in Australia

Question 34

Boreal Forest or Taiga

Answer 34

• biggest biome
• North East North America and Eurasia
• rain varies — some have droughts, but coasts are wet
• cold winters, hot summers
• slow decomposition –> reduces nutrient cycling
• store tons of carbon –> boreal forests have 20% more than tropical and temperate forests combined
• Taiga has 30% of all terrestrial carbon

Question 35

Tundra

Answer 35

• arctic tundra and alpine tundra
• winters below 30, summers around 10
• permafrost (frozen layer of soil) prevents plant root growth
• rains 20-60 cm in arctic and 100 cm in alpine
• home to mosses, lichen grasses, forbs, dwarf trees/shrubs, musk ox, carribeau, reindeer, bears, wolves, foxes, and birds