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GEOG 2400 > CH 10-14 > Flashcards

CH 10-14 Flashcards

1
Q

Asian Brown Cloud

A

2mi. thick layer of ash, acid, aerosols, dust, smog over India. Cuts insolation by 15%

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2
Q

Nitrogen oxides

A

formed when heat from combustion initiates reactions between atmospheric nitrogen & oxygen. An acid rain source

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3
Q

Carbon monoxide

A

less common, colorless, odorless toxic gas pollutant

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4
Q

Volatile organic compounds

A

gases containing carbon, benzene, toluene, formaldehyde which interact with ozone to create photochemical smog

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5
Q

Lead

A

most abundantly produced metal air pollutant which impairs brain and nerve function

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6
Q

Particulate matter

A

most apparent form of air pollution

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7
Q

Hazardous air pollutants

A

very dangerous even in low concentrations, accumulates in human and animal tissue. e.g. gasoline vapors, solvents

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8
Q

Mercury

A

key neurotoxin, damages brain and nerves. 70% of airborne particles of it released by burning coal

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9
Q

Hydrologic cycle

A

the water cycle

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10
Q

Dew point

A

temperature at which relative humidity reaches 100%

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11
Q

Frontal rainfall

A

cold and warm air masses collide

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12
Q

Orographic rainfall

A

moist air pushed over a landform

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13
Q

Rainshadow

A

dry leeward side of mountain

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14
Q

Chinook

A

winds that flow down dry leeward side of mountain

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15
Q

Convectional rainfall

A

rapidly rising hot air cools, precipitates

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16
Q

Thermals

A

upward flows of air from the surface in a convectional rainfall

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17
Q

Air mass

A

large section of air

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18
Q

Front

A

leading edge of air mass

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19
Q

Tornado

A

most violent storm on earth for its size. winds up to 300+ mph

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20
Q

Fujita scale

A

measurement of tornado intensity from 1-5

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21
Q

Waterspout

A

tornado over water

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22
Q

tornado watch

A

alert from the national weather service when atmospheric conditions could form a tornado

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23
Q

tornado warning

A

alert from national weather service when a tornado has been sighted or a hook shows up in doppler radar

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24
Q

eye

A

center of a hurricane

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25
Q

storm surge

A

sea water pushed inland by hurricane

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26
Q

groundwater

A

largest compartment of liquid fresh water. has 100x the volume of all rivers, freshwater lakes, ad reservoirs combined

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27
Q

Zone of saturation

A

areas where rocks and soil are filled with water

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28
Q

Water table

A

top edge of zone of saturation

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29
Q

Non-aquifer

A

non-water-bearing rocks

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30
Q

aquifer

A

water-bearing rock

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31
Q

recharge zone

A

area that adds water to aquifer

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32
Q

artesian well

A

aquifer trapped between layers of non-aquifer where pressure forces water upward

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33
Q

piezometric level

A

height water is pushed up in artesian well

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34
Q

Lake Baykal

A

world’s larges lake. found in serbia. 5,000 ft. deep

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35
Q

wetlands

A

stabilize soil and hold back surface runoff

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36
Q

Aral Sea

A

water body that has lost 60% of its volume due to Russian diversion of rivers

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37
Q

Saltwater intrusion

A

freshwater in aquifer replaced by ocean salt water

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38
Q

Cone of depression

A

water table dips down around a heavily pumped well

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39
Q

Karst topography

A

groundwater dissolves limestone beneath surface, surface collapses creating sinkholes

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40
Q

Agriculture

A

1 reason for US wetland destruction; our greatest use of water

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41
Q

Streambed channelization

A

bulldozing streams, vegetation, and straightening stream channels

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42
Q

Transpiration

A

the loss of water from leaves and plants

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43
Q

evapotranspiration

A

loss of water from the soil and the leaves of plants

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44
Q

riparian rights

A

people who own land along streams have rights to use it

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45
Q

braiding

A

occurs when stream channel is clogged with sediment; breaks channel into many small channels, making navigation impossible

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46
Q

point source pollution

A

water pollution occurring from a specific place

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47
Q

non-point source pollution

A

no specific place where water pollution is occurring

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48
Q

coliform count

A

measures levels of naturally occurring intestinal bacterium, and gives water personnel the chance to measure fecal contamination in water

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49
Q

biological oxygen demand

A

amount of oxygen required by decomposers to break down organic matter

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50
Q

oxygen sag

A

oxygen levels decline downstream

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51
Q

water hyacinth

A

introduced to Florid from South America in 1884, 10 plants can grow into 600,000 in 8 months

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52
Q

inorganic fertilizers

A

1 anthropogenic source of plant nutrients in fresh water

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53
Q

laundry detergents

A

2 anthropogenic source of plants nutrients in fresh water due to synthetic phosphates

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54
Q

tripolyphosphates

A

cling to dirt, holding it in suspension until the water washes it away

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55
Q

toxic tides

A

excessive nutrients support blooms of deadly aquatic microorganisms in polluted waters near the shore

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56
Q

Thermal pollution

A

hot water from power plant cooling towers enter streams, suddenly changing temperatures, killing life and changing fish spawning cycles

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57
Q

Magnitogorsk

A

steel mfg. plant in Ural Mts. 90% of local children suffer from birth defects and pollution related ills

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58
Q

Bratislava

A

capital of Slovakia; dumps 2 billion gallons of industrial and municipal wastes into the Danube annually

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59
Q

Primary treatment plants

A

reduce amounts of organic solids by settling, filtering, and screening

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60
Q

Secondary treatment

A

more filtering and screening and aeration to accelerate bacterial breakdown of wastes

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61
Q

tertiary treatment

A

activated carbon used to bond chemicals; advanced filtering (reverse osmosis), chlorine added to kill disease transmitted bacteria

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62
Q

Uniformitarianism

A

assumes same physical processes active today have been operating throughout geologic time

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63
Q

Catastrophism

A

belief that the earth is young, major events created landforms

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64
Q

Discontinuity

A

transition zone between layers in the earth

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65
Q

Gutenberg discontinuity

A

transition zone between Outer Core and Lower Mantle

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66
Q

Mohorovicic discontinuity

A

transition zone between uppermost mantle and crust

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67
Q

Asthenosphere

A

43 to 155 miles down; layer of molten ‘plastic-like’ rock upon which tectonic plates float

68
Q

Igneous rock

A

rock ‘fire formed’ from hot magma

69
Q

magma

A

hot molten rock within the earth

70
Q

lava

A

hot molten rock that reaches the surface of the earth

71
Q

sedimentary rocks

A

these rocks are formed from organic materials or bits of other rocks stuck together by pressure

72
Q

lithification

A

cementation, compaction, and hardening of sediments into sedimentary rocks

73
Q

metamorphic rocks

A

igneous, sedimentary rocks that have been changed by heat or pressure

74
Q

contact metamorphism

A

hot magma ‘cooks’ adjacent rock, changing them into metamorphic rocks

75
Q

foliated metamorphic rocks

A

metamorphic rocks with streaks or lines of minerals

76
Q

Pangea

A

according to continental drift theory, the one continent

77
Q

Laurasia

A

in continental drift theory, the northern half of the one continent

78
Q

Gondwana

A

in continental drift theory, southern half of the one continent

79
Q

seafloor spreading

A

magma flows to surface along mid-ocean ridges, creating more sea rocks

80
Q

subduction

A

denser oceanic rock is pushed underneath less dense continental rock

81
Q

Mariana trench

A

world’s deepest trench -36,198 ft (subduction zone

82
Q

tectonic plates

A

the huge rocks that float on the asthenosphere

83
Q

evaporites

A

chemical sediments left behind when water evaporates. E.g. gypsum, NaCl

84
Q

epicenter

A

area on the surface directly above where the earthquake occurred

85
Q

hypocenter/focus

A

where the earthquake occurs within the earth

86
Q

tsunami

A

giant sea waves can move 600 mph 100ft high

87
Q

fossil fuels

A

main source of energy today

88
Q

reserves

A

fossil fuels that can be extracted with today’s technology

89
Q

resource base

A

includes all stocks of fossil fuels that are too expensive to extract

90
Q

coal

A

most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel

91
Q

china

A

world’s leading coal producer

92
Q

wyoming

A

1 in US coal production (25%) low sulfur coal

93
Q

unit train

A

coal trains with 100 cars carrying coal to power plants

94
Q

anthracite

A

hard coal

95
Q

bituminous

A

soft coal

96
Q

lignite

A

brownish coal, low BTUs

97
Q

black lung

A

progressive debilitating disease caused by breathing coal dust

98
Q

slurry

A

mix of coal and water

99
Q

overburden

A

material to be removed to reach coal

100
Q

highwall

A

cliff-like structures (180 ft tall) results of draglines moving overburden

101
Q

draglines

A

huge shovels used to remove overburden

102
Q

room and pillar

A

a section of coal is left behind to support the mine roof

103
Q

roof bolting

A

roof ceiling is attached to above stable rock strata with rods and cross ties

104
Q

1 barrel

A

42 gallons

105
Q

E.L. Drake

A

drills first US oil well in PA drilled 69 ft down

106
Q

bitumen

A

asphalt-like hydrocarbons from tar sands

107
Q

Athabasca

A

Northern Alberta, Canada. World’s largest commercial production of synthetic crude oil. supplies 10% of Canadian oil

108
Q

Kerogen

A

solid hydrocarbons found in oil shale

109
Q

natural gas

A

least abundant fossil fuel

110
Q

fracking

A

mixture of water and hazardous chemical are pumped through shale to force natural gas out

111
Q

Three Mile Island

A

US nuclear power plant releases radioactive gas in 1979

112
Q

Zimmer plant

A

Ohio power plant intended to be nuclear, switched to coal at last minute

113
Q

Chernobyl

A

reactor core blows up sending radiation around the world in 1986

114
Q

Uranium 235

A

fuels nuclear power plants

115
Q

fission

A

splitting of U-235 atoms to create energy

116
Q

fuel rods

A

hold the U-235

117
Q

Control rods

A

contain boron, slows nuclear reactions

118
Q

reactor core

A

fuel rods and control rods in a reactor vessel, bathed in water

119
Q

containment building

A

4ft thick concrete shell surrounds reactor core

120
Q

light water reactors

A

80% of world’s approx. 420 nuclear plants cooled by water

121
Q

heavy water reactors

A

nuclear power plants cooled by forms of carbon

122
Q

mill tailings

A

radioactive uranium ore dumped near mine sites and rivers

123
Q

fusion

A

nuclear reaction that occurs in the sun

124
Q

Yucca Mountain

A

controversial US storage facility for nuclear waste, in Nevada

125
Q

Biomass

A

wood, plant material, dung, used for heat, cooking

126
Q

digesters

A

small scale plants take methane gas from sewage and feedlot manure, used for cooking and heating

127
Q

Methanol

A

Methyl alcohol can be produced from biomass, coal, nat. gas

128
Q

Ethanol

A

Ethyl alcohol made from grain, sugar, sugar beets, cane, milk prods.

129
Q

Gasohol

A

unleaded fuel; 90% gasoline 10% ethanol

130
Q

Brazil

A

uses sugar cane to produce ethanol

131
Q

Fish ladder

A

allows fish to move around dams

132
Q

Denmark

A

1 in wind energy

133
Q

Active systems

A

solar energy using fans, pumps, to circulate heat

134
Q

passive systems

A

solar energy that collects, stores, transfers heat without mechanical assistance

135
Q

heliostats

A

large solar collectors that provide heat to drive steam turbines to produce electricity

136
Q

photovoltaic cells

A

convert solar radiation directly into electricity

137
Q

geothermal energy

A

heat energy from the earth’s interior is used to generate energy

138
Q

tidal energy

A

using kinetic energy in the oceans’ tides

139
Q

hazardous wastes

A

discarded toxic materials that pose a threat to human health and environment

140
Q

waste stream

A

steady flow of varied waste from domestic garbage, industrial, commercial, and construction refuse

141
Q

open dumps

A

low value land sites, abandoned mines, swamps, floodplains

142
Q

gyres

A

vast circulating ocean current resulting from earth’s rotation

143
Q

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

A

millions of tons of plastic, best known floating debris field, discovered in 1997

144
Q

sanitary landfill

A

excavated pit filled with waste and covered with soil

145
Q

leachate

A

water flows through garbage or hazardous wastes to form this

146
Q

midnight dumping

A

illegal dumping of wastes

147
Q

Love Canal

A

Hooker Chemical Co. toxic waste dump; school and houses built on top; 1974-78 50% of babies had birth defects

148
Q

Times Beach, Missouri

A

Dioxins sprayed on roads to keep dust down, levels 300x greater than danger level for long term exposure

149
Q

Bhopal, India

A

Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) leaks, killing 3,000, disabling 30,000, injuring 25,000

150
Q

Chernobyl

A

1 hazardous waste disaster

151
Q

Carcinogens

A

cancer causing agents

152
Q

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

A

chemicals in old electrical transformers

153
Q

Superfund

A

created in 1980 to clean up worst hazardous waste dumps, today bankrupt

154
Q

secure landfills

A

must include clay/plastic liner, clay dike and cap, leachate collection and drainage, system monitoring wells to check for leaks

155
Q

Deep well injection

A

wastes are pumped into bedrock 2,000 ft below groundwater zone

156
Q

Lust

A

old underground tanks leaking, polluting groundwater

157
Q

NIMBY/Not in My Backyard

A

neighborhoods resisting incinerators, garbage transfer stations, landfills

158
Q

Fernald, Ohio

A

secret Cold War uranium processing plant heavily pollutes area

159
Q

demanufacturing

A

tearing apart discarded electronics to recycle reusable components

160
Q

E-waste

A

discarded electronics, one of the greatest sources of toxic material going into developing countries

161
Q

Brownfields

A

abandoned land not used to its potential due to possible pollution problems

162
Q

Earth First

A

1980s group of radical environmentalists taking active (and illegal) steps to protect the environment

163
Q

Ecoterrorism/Ecotage

A

sabotage in the name of the environment

164
Q

Green party

A

environmental political party

165
Q

Cost benefit ratio

A

expense of action compared to gain provided

GEOG 2400 (3 decks)

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