Chapter 9, 10, 11 Study Guide

Question 1

water covers ___% of the Earth’s surface

Answer 1

71%

Question 2

water/water vapor emerge from deep in the Earth

Answer 2

outgassing

Question 3

changes in sea level due to water being stored in glaciers and ice sheets

Answer 3

Glacio-eustasy

Question 4

has operated for billions of years from the lower atmosphere to several kilometers beneath Earth’s surface; a model of Earth’s water systems

Answer 4

Hydrologic Cycle

Question 5

can be used to describe the flow of water and in out of a system
precipitation = actual evapotranspiration + surplus +/- change in soil

Answer 5

water balance equation

Question 6

how to find actual evapotranspiration

Answer 6

potential evapotranspiration - deficit

Question 7

the windshield can reduce on under catch and improve the accuracy of rainfall measurements

Answer 7

precipitation measurement

Question 8

the net movement of free water molecules away from a wet surface into air

Answer 8

evaporation

Question 9

the movement of water through plants and back into the atmosphere; it is a cooling mechanism for plants

Answer 9

transpiration

Question 10

water supply/receipt; PRECIP; the moisture supply to Earth’s surface arriving as rain, sleet, snow, and hail

Answer 10

precipitation

Question 11

majority water expenditure; a combination of evaporation and transpiration

Answer 11

evapotranspiration

Question 12

POTET; the ultimate demand for moisture; the amount of water that would evaporate and transpire under optimum moisture conditions (adequate precipitation and adequate soil moisture)

Answer 12

potential evapotranspiration

Question 13

finding actual evapotranspiration

Answer 13

ACTET = POTET – water deficit

Question 14

if demand exceeds supply, water shortage results

Answer 14

water deficit

Question 15

the volume of water stored in the soil that is accessible to plant roots

Answer 15

soil moisture storage

Question 16

water is inaccessible to plants because it is a molecule-thin layer that is tightly bound to each soil particle by hydrogen bonding

Answer 16

hydroscopic water

Question 17

generally accessible to plant roots because it is held in the soil by surface tension and hydrogen bonding between water and soil. Almost all of this type is available in soil-moisture storage

Answer 17

capillary water

Question 18

has the most available water for plants

Answer 18

loam soil

Question 19

When soil is saturated after a precipitation event, surplus water in the soil becomes this type and percolates to groundwater

Answer 19

gravitational water

Question 20

over-use of ground water; over-pumping, collapsing aquifers, saltwater intrusion

Answer 20

ogallala aquifer

Question 21

Weather patterns over long time scales and broad geographic areas. “averaged weather” – long term

Answer 21

climate

Question 22

areas of similar weather statistics (temperature, rainfall, etc.) these regions form the basis of climate classification

Answer 22

climate regions

Question 23

areas of similar weather statistics (temperature, rainfall, etc.) these regions form the basis of climate classification
natural, self-regulating communities formed by plants and animals in their environment climate oscillates, therefore ecosystems and biomes are in a constant state of adaptation and response

Answer 23

ecosystem

Question 24

large, naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat (ex. Forest, tundra, desert, etc.)

Answer 24

biome

Question 25

world climates are grouped into six basic categories. Temperature and precipitation form the basis of five categories (tropical, mesothermal, microthermal, polar, and highland) and one is categorized by moisture efficiency as well as temperature (dry)

Answer 25

climate types

Question 26

ordering or grouping of data or phenomenon based on statistical data, such as temperature or precipitation

Answer 26

empirical classification

Question 27

ordering or grouping of data or phenomenon based on causative factors, such as the interaction of air masses

Answer 27

genetic classification

Question 28

temperature and precipitation data are measurable aspects of climate and are plotted to display the basic characteristics that determine climate regions

Answer 28

Maps/Climographs

Question 29

A change in solar output of only 1 percent per century alters Earth’s average temp by 0.5-1.0°C

Answer 29

solar variability

Question 30

Caused by huge magnetic storms–Cycle is about 11 years

Answer 30

sunspots

Question 31

Earths orbital cycle/three main Milankovitch cycles

Answer 31

Eccentricity, Obliquity, and Precession

Question 32

plate movement can cause some landmasses to move higher latitudes. Evidence of glaciation in landforms of the Sahara Desert. 465 mya, parts of Africa were centered over the South Pole. Mountain building from plate-plate interactions (Pangea)

Answer 32

continental position and topography

Question 33

Outgassing–Natural greenhouse gases: water vapor, carbon dioxide,..–Correlate with Interglacialsand glacials. Volcanic Activity – combined with ejected particulate matter = blocks insolation!–One of the coldest years in the last two centuries was 1816, the “Year Without a Summer”; Caused by eruption of Tamborain Indonesia in 1815

Answer 33

atmospheric gasses and aerosols

Question 34

proxy climate indicators

Answer 34

two types of proxy records:–Human archives–Natural archives

Question 35

Diaries, letters, personal accounts. Newspapers, almanacs, published sources. Ship logs, naval records. Wine/grape harvests, agricultural sources. Good for the last 100 to 500 years

Answer 35

human archives of climate

Question 36

The study of tree growth rings for climate data is known as dendroclimatology. From about 100 to a few 1000 years of records. Tree are long standing weather stations, constantly recording climate conditions at a set location for long periods of time with annual temporal resolution. What kind of data can tree rings tell us?–Rainfall–Temperature–ENSO, PDO, AMO–Wildfires–Earthquakes–Volcanic Eruptions–Landslides, etc.

Answer 36

tree ring

Question 37

From 500 to about 40,000 years. Via pollen records etc. Past wildfires from charcoal. Past hurricane activity. Past human activity related to climate

Answer 37

lake sediments

Question 38

From about 10,000 to 1 million years into the past. Cores are just like lake sediment cores, but from much deeper depths. Sedimentation rates can be MUCH slower. Microscopic ocean fauna can be used to analyze past climate

Answer 38

ocean sediments

Question 39

From 1000 to 100,000s of years in the past. Antarctic Ice Core project in Antarctica now has climate records for the past 800,000 years! (more info). Past climate from trapped air–Carbon dioxide–Oxygen isotopes (18O/16O)–Methane–Sulfur from volcanic eruptions

Answer 39

ice cores

Question 40

the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity

Answer 40

anthropogenic influence on climate change

Question 41

a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone

Answer 41

greehouse gasses

Question 42

the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface

Answer 42

greenhouse effect

Question 43

Humans disrupt the carbon cycle–Fossil fuel extraction–Fossil fuel combustion–Deforestation. Release carbon and remove carbon sink. Speeds up the soil-atmosphere cycle. More in atmosphere than natural process would allow

Answer 43

carbon cycle

Question 44

a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth’s crust over hundreds of millions of years

Answer 44

fossil fuels

Question 45

average release between 70 and 120 kg of Methane per year. Methane is a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide (CO2). But the negative effect on the climate of Methane is 23 times higher than the effect of CO2

Answer 45

livestock

Question 46

International Panel on Climate Change–Scientific body set up by the World Meteorological Society and the United Nations Environment Programm. Hundreds of scientists who review the work of the entire scientific community–Largest collaborative scientific effort in history

Answer 46

Ippc

Question 47

Elliptical orbit shape varies (by more than 17.1 million km!) on a 100,000 year cycle

Answer 47

Eccentricity

Question 48

Earth’s axial tilt varies from 22-24 degrees on a 41,000 year cycle

Answer 48

Obliquity

Question 49

Earth’s axis “wobbles” on a 26,000 year cycle

Answer 49

Precession