Blue Planet test Flashcards
What are the 4 spheres of the earth?
- hydrosphere
- lithosphere
- biosphere
- atmosphere
Hydrosphere
- the biggest sphere
- where all water on our earth is found
-oceans, streams, lakes, and rivers and ice
Lithosphere
The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of Earth. The lithosphere includes the upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure. It contains land rocks and minerals
biosphere
-a global ecosystem made up of living organisms
atmosphere
-made of the layers of gases surrounding a planet
- the thinnest layer
How is the atmosphere broken up?
The atmosphere is broken up into many different layers:
Troposphere: lowest level in the atmosphere, contains 80% of the air and where weather hppens
Stratosphere:(absorbs harmful rays from the sun)
Mesosphere: coldest layer no breathable air
thermosphere: highest you can go an still be on earth it deals with intense amounts of heat and radiation from the sun
What does the atmosphere comprise of?
-02 allows organisms to respire
- 03 protects from uv
-c02
- h20
-n2
The oxygen cycle
-the movement between biotic and abiotic factors
-21% atmosphere is oxygen
-33% hydrosphere is oxygen
-22% biosphere is oxygen
- oxygen exists as 02,03,h20 and co2
the movement of oxygen
-atoms->litho->bio
-sources of oxygen production are plants sunlight reacting with water vapor
oxygen is removed form the atmosphere through..
- decay organisms
- cellular respiration
- weathering of exposed rocks
Three important processes of the oxygen cycle
- photosynthesis
- cellular respiration
- Photolysis
- photosynthesis LEARN EQAUTIONS
The process plants use to synthesis oxygen and sugar
- cellular respiration LEARN EQAUTIONS
the process by which cells derive energy from glucose
- Photolysis
uv light breaks down water into oxygen and hydrogen
why is bacteria vital in the nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil and within the root convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere to ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites or nitrates. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all fixed nitrogen and can be absorbed by plants. it supply plants with the vital nutrient that they cannot obtain from the air themselves
nitrogen fixing bacteria
root nodules of certain plants.
denitrifying bacteria
return nitrogen back to the atmosphere
how does human activity affect the nitrogen cycle
fossil fuels emissions
and run off from fertilizers
the four main steps in the phosphorus cycle
- weathering
- absorption
- decompitison
- Sediment
the three most important bacteria’s in the nitrogen cycle
Nitrite
nitrate
ammonia
How can phosphorous effect the water ways
run of can lead to excessive levels of phosphorus in waterways which results in a aquatic plants which results in the consumption of oxygen with in the environment an suffocates fish and blocks sunlight this is called eutrophication
eutrophication
he process in which a water body becomes overly enriched with nutrients, leading to algae and other bacteria growth
how can human activity effects the phosphorus cycle
Human actions—mining phosphorus and transporting it in fertilizers, animal feeds, agricultural crops, and other productsare altering the global P cycle, causing P to accumulate in some of the world’s soil.
weathering
the minerals containing p enter water ways
absorption
animals and plants absorb p from water and soil,
decomposition
animals and plants decay and decompose into p and other basic elements
sediment
the basic elements settle back into the rocks
weathering vs climate
Weather refers to short term atmospheric conditions while climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time.
l>g
evaporation
g>L
condensation
l>s
freezing
how are clouds made
water evaporates from a body of water then transpiration is the evaporation of water vapor from plants water vapor rises until it reaches the cooler parts of the atmosphere the water vapor condenses back into water and drops of water form clouds
carbon sink
is any feature of the environment that absorbs and or stores carbon
example of carbon sinks
-forests
-the ocean it absorbs more c02 making it more acidic
-rocks(limestone and marble)
-decomposed organic matter
the main green house gases
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
water vapor (h20)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
main source
fossil fuels
main source
Methane (CH4)
methane emissions is agriculture, responsible for around one quarter of emissions, closely followed by the energy sector, which includes emissions from coal, oil, natural gas and biofuels.
water vapor (h20) main source
Water vapor, a major greenhouse gas, mainly comes from natural sources like evaporation from oceans and plants. Human activities also contribute through industrial processes and fossil fuel burning.
natural enhanced green house effect
the enhanced greenhouse effect is where extra greenhouse gases in our atmosphere trap too much of the Sun’s energy.
enhanced greenhouse effect
extra gases produced by human activity eg burning fossil fuels, including coal and oil,
Melting sea ice enhanced global warming
- the ocean is important to regulating global temp because the ocean is a reflective surface it helps aid this
rising sea levels
over the past 100 years there has been a dramatic increase due to enhanced global warming melting of ice caps
evidence of enhanced global warming co2 and ch4
pon escaping into the atmosphere, greenhouse gases act as a blanket insulating the Earth, absorbing energy and slowing the rate at which heat leaves the planet.
why is the greenhouse effect important to sustain life
Greenhouse gases’ are crucial to keeping our planet at a suitable temperature for life. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass outwards from the Earth’s surface into space and the Earth would have an average temperature of about -20°C.
how enhanced global warming has affected health
higher temps lead to more heat related deaths
also humid and moist conditions causing the speard of dieses like malaria
how enhanced global warming has affected loss of bio diversity
loss of species will effect the survival of another specie
how enhanced global warming has affected weather patterns
the warming of our planet is changing our climate. Our weather systems are being affected – patterns of rain and wind are changing and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity
There are three major reservoirs of oxygen (shepre
: the atmosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere.
the significance of carbon
regulate the Earth’s temperature,
photosynthesis equation
6CO2+H2O->C6H12O6+6O2
cellular respiration equation
C6H12O6+6O2->6H2O+energy
photolysis equation
2H2O->4H+O2