chapter 5-6 Flashcards
weather
the average short-term weather conditions (what we see every day, sunny, cloudy, etc.)
climate
is differences are based on long-term differences in weather, mainly precipitation and temperature.
(long-term)
tropical
hotter,warmer
temperate
in the middle
polar
colder
warm front
warm air mass advances and replaces cool air. It rises over the cool air and moistures condense into clouds, sometimes releasing moisture
cold front
cold air mass advances and replaces warm air. It stays close to the ground and wedges beneath the warm air pushing it up rapidly. This causes thunderclouds to form and results in high surface winds.
high pressure system
When air is cool, the molecules move more slowly in relation to each other. This makes cool air dense and heavy. This air descends toward the surface of the earth slowly and warms up. As the temperature rises, water molecules remain in a gaseous state and don’t condense into clouds, bringing fair weather. This is called a high pressure system.
low pressure system
When air is warm, the molecules move more quickly in relation to each other. This makes warm air less dense and light. This air rises, expands, and cools. As the temperature drops below the dew point, moisture in the air condenses and forms clouds. This produces cloudy and stormy weather.
Jet Streams
are powerful winds that circle the globe near the top of the troposphere. Warm air from the equator moves toward the cold air at the poles. The rotation of the earth deflects the air and causes jet streams to flow from west to east.
Incident Angle of the Sun
The incident angle is the angle at which the sun’s energy hits the surface of the earth. When the angle is 90°, or directly perpendicular to the surface, the energy from the sun is the most direct and the strongest.
latitudes
The earth can be separated into horizontal planes called latitudes. Latitude, measured in degrees, is the location between the equator and one of the poles of the earth.
The Coriolis Effect
The faster-moving warm air from the equator expands and moves toward the poles. As it travels north or south, it moves faster than the ground below. This causes the air to get ahead of the surface resulting in it being deflected to the east. This is called the
trade winds
The warm air that rises leaves an area of low pressure at the surface. Cool, dense air moves toward the equator from an area of high pressure to replace the air that left. This convection cycle of air causes cool surface air to travel east to west, opposite of the jet streams
Hadley Cells.
The rising hot air and the cold air that replaces it creates convection currents that circulate from the equator to the Tropic of Cancer at 30° in the northern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn at 30° in the southern hemisphere. These cells of circulating air are called
Ferrel Cells
Cold air from the poles also sinks at the tropic latitudes, which creates a convection cell called, or mid-latitude cells. These cells pull air toward the equator and pushes surface air toward the poles.
Polar Cells
flow in a similar way to Hadley Cells and rotate air between the 60° latitude to the poles.
gyres
Due to the Coriolis Effect, currents flow clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.
heat islands
Motor vehicles and heating and cooling systems of buildings release a large quantity of heat and pollutants. As a result, on average, cities tend to have more haze and smog, higher temperatures, and lower wind speeds than surrounding countrysides. These factors make cities
poly pops
Coral is created by organisms called
Saltwater
71%
Freshwater
2%
Phytoplankton
include many types of algae. Tiny aquatic plants make up the base of most aquatic food chains and webs. Photosynthesize about half of the earth’s oxygen.
Ultraplankton
Bacteria and other tiny aquatic plants make up the base of most aquatic food chains and webs. Photosynthesize about half of the earth’s oxygen
Key Factors Determine Type and Number of Organisms
-temperature
-availability of food
-dissolved oxygen content
-availability of light, nutrients, photosynthesis
algae blooms
occur when the water is overloaded with nutrients. This causes an increase in the population of algae.
turbidity
cloudiness of the water is also caused by soil and other sediments being carried by wind, rain, and melting snow from cleared land and adjoining bodies of water.
ecosystem services
-water purification
-climate regulation
-nutrient cycling
Euphotic Zone
bright, upper zone, phytoplankton carry out 40% of the world’s photosynthesis, populated by large, predatory fish. Low nutrient level and high oxygen level.
Bathyal Zone
dim, middle zone with no producers. Populated by zooplankton and small fish.
Abyssal Zone
dark and cold without light. Little dissolved oxygen with a lot of nutrients that support life. Deposit feeders extract nutrients from mud and filter feeders extract nutrients from water.
coastal zone
is the warm, nutrient-rich, shallow water that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the continental shelf. It contains 90% of the total marine species and most large commercial fisheries. It includes estuaries, coastal marshes, mangrove forests, and coral reefs.
upwelling
An upward movement of ocean water that brings cool and nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the ocean to the warmer surface is called an
Intertidal Zone
organisms living here must be able to avoid being crushed or swept away by waves and survive during low tide when it’s hot and dry. Most organisms hide in protective shells, dig underground, or hold tight to something.
Barrier islands
are low, narrow, sandy islands that form offshore parallel to coastlines. They form sand dunes that are held in place by roots of grasses and other plants. These islands help protect against storm surges and the ravages of the sea.
The biggest threat to marine systems
is climate change
Lentic
(standing) water zones
Lotic
(flowing) water zones
watershed
drainage basin, is the land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to a stream, lake, or wetland. This can come from rainfall, melting snow, and streams.
Limnetic Zone
open, sunlit, away from the shore, to the depth penetrated by light. Most photosynthesis done here due to phytoplankton.
Littoral Zone
near the shore, shallow, sunlit, to the depth at which rooted plants stop growing.
Profundal Zone
deep, between limnetic zone and the lake bottom. Too dark for photosynthesis, low oxygen, cooler temperatures.
Benthic Zone
bottom of the lake. Mostly inhabited by decomposers, detritus feeders, and some bottom-feeding fish like catfish. High nutrient content from falling dead matter and waste and sediment washing into the lake.
Mesotrophic
somewhere
Eutrophic
lakes have a large supply of nutrients. Usually shallow with murky brown or green water. Plants can root and still have access to light. Large amount of nutrient build-up on the bottom. High NPP.
Oligotrophic
lakes have a small supply of plant nutrients. Usually deep with steep banks and are supplied by glaciers and mountain streams nearby. Crystal clear water with small populations of phytoplankton and fish like trout and smallmouth bass. Low NPP.
Cultural eutrophication
is when human inputs of nutrients through the atmosphere from urban and agricultural areas in a lake’s watershed accelerate eutrophication.
