Biomes and the Biosphere Flashcards
1
Q
Atmospheric envelope
A
- clean, dry air at Earth’s surface
- 70% N
- 21% O
- 1% Ar
- 0.003% CO2
- 0.00005% ozone
2
Q
Greenhouse effect
A
- 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
3
Q
ozone
A
- filters harmful UV radiation
- absorbs UV, but breaks its bonds in the process
- CFCs break the bonds too and reduce ozone layer
4
Q
Tilt of Earth’s axis
A
- 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
5
Q
Air Circulation
A
- 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
6
Q
Coriolis effect
A
- apparent deflection of the winds
- move clockwise in northern hemisphere
- move counterclockwise in southern hemisphere
- wind is fastest at equator
7
Q
Ocean circulation
A
- 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
8
Q
Gulf stream
A
- made from central american land bridge
- affects climates as far away as the British isles
9
Q
3 main factors that contribute to storms
A
- water temperature (temperature)
- wind shear (wind)
- atmospheric moisture (rain)
10
Q
Mointain’s + water effect on climate
A
- 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)
11
Q
Mountain shadow deserts
A
- east side of mountains in temperate zones
- west side of mountains in tropical zones
12
Q
El Nino
A
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
13
Q
El nino affect on Great Salt Lake
A
- 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
14
Q
Bodies of water
A
- 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
15
Q
Photic zone
A
- epipelagic region of ocean that’s reached by light
- inhabited by phytoplankton and zooplankton
- produce 1/4 of oxygen for biosphere
16
Q
Thermocline
A
separates warm water from cold water
-winter and summer (?)
17
Q
Turnover
A
mixing of oxygenated surface water with deeper, nutrient-rich water
- semi annual
- fall and spring
18
Q
Types of coral reefs
A
- fringing reefs = hug the shore of continents
- barrier reefs = stand between ocean and lagoon
- coral atolls = coral inlets built up from submerged ocean islands
19
Q
Shallow marine water
A
- reefs and kelp beds when there’s sunlight –> limited by temp –> very productive and diverse
- cleaned and feuled by currents
20
Q
estuaries
A
- 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
21
Q
Saltmarshes and mangroves
A
- concentrated along low lying coasts
- saltmarsh grasses and algae are major producers and attract a bunch of animals
- carbon sequestration
22
Q
climography plots
A
- leslie holdrige
- temp on y axis
- rain on x axis
23
Q
climate diagram
A
- temp on right
- rain on left
- months on x axis
24
Q
How do we catagorize terrestrial biomes?
A
- plants
- climate (temp and rain)
also distribution and animals
25
Q
serotiny
A
Jack pine is seratinous bc its cones only open to expose seeds when its super hot bc of a forest fire
26
Q
Convergent evolution in dif biomes
A
- similar characteristics due to similar environments
- cacti in north america and euphorbs in african desert
- dif evolutionary lineages
27
Q
Tropical wet forests
A
- 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
28
Q
Tropical dry forests
A
- deciduous leaves
- thick corky bark with thorns and spikes
- small leaves
- flower during dry season
29
Q
Tropical Savana
A
- 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
30
Q
Deserts
A
- 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
31
Q
Mediterranean Woodland, Shrubland and
Chapparal
A
- “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
32
Q
Temperate Grassland
A
- 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
33
Q
Temperate Deciduous Forests
A
- rains year round
- winters = 0 temp, summers = 35
- animals hibernate or migrate to avoid winter
- dominant plants deciduous in Northern hemisphere; evergreen in Australia
34
Q
Boreal Forest or Taiga
A
- 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
35
Q
Tundra
A
- 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
