Ch. 7 Flashcards
In land wetlands
Lands located away from coastal areas that are covered with fresh water all part of the time.
Delta
An area at the mouth of a river built up by deposited sediment and often containing estuaries and coastal wetlands.
Cultural eutrophication
Puts excessive nutrients into lakes.
Eutrophic lake
Lake with a large supply of nutrients.
Oligotrophic lake
Lakes that have a small supply of plant nutrients.
Lakes
Large natural bodies of standing freshwater formed when preparation, runoff, streams, Rivers and ground water see page filled depressions in the earths surface.
Watershed
Land area that delivers runoff sediment and dissolved substances to a stream, lake, or wetland.
Runoff
Surface water that flows or is stored in bodies of water.
Surface water
Fresh water that flows or is stored in bodies of water on the earth surface.
Open sea
The sharp increase in water depth at the edge of the continental shelf separates the coastal zone from the vast volume of the ocean.
Coastal wetlands
Coastal land areas covered with water all or part of the year.
Estuary
Where a river meets sea.
Coastal zone
Is the warm nutrient- rich shallow water that extends from the high -tide mark on the land to the gently sloping, shallow edge of the continental shelf.
Fresh water life zones
Lakes, rivers, streams, and in land wetlands.
Marine life zones
Oceans and their bays estuaries coastal wetlands shorelines coral reefs and man grove forests.
Aquatic life zones
Saltwater and fresh water portions of the biosphere that can support life.
Permafrost
Underground soil in which captured water stays frozen for more than two consecutive years.
Edge effect
The tendency for a transition zone between two different ecosystems to have greater species diversity and a higher density of organisms than are found in either of the individual ecosystems.
Biomes
Large terrestrial regions each characterized by a particular type of climate and a certain combination of dominant plant life.
Rain shadow effect
Does not release much of this moisture and instead tends to dry out plants and soil below.
Green house effect
Natural warming of the lower atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases
Play a role in determining the lower atmosphere average temperature and thus the earths climates.
Ocean currents
Mass movements of surface and deep ocean water.
Weather
A set of physical conditions of the lower atmosphere including temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, and other factors in a given area over a period of hours or days.
Climate
General pattern of atmospheric conditions in a given area over periods ranging from at least three decades to thousand of years.
