Desert Definitions (E) Flashcards
Desert
Dry, hot landscape fewer than 250mm of rain per year
Desert Margin
An area oh the edge of a desert
Arid
Dry
Aridity index
Number for the indicator of the degree of dryness
Insolation
Energy from the sun (sunlight)
ITCZ
InterTropical Convergence Zone
Band of low pressure at equator
Diurnal temperature range
The temperature range from day to night
Aeolian
Caused by wind
Weathering
Breaking down of material by weather
Erosion
Breaking down of material by wind or water
Saltation
Form of transport, matter to heavy to be carried is dropped repeatedly ‘bounces’
Flash flood
Quick/ sudden flood
Sheet flood
A layer of water covering an area moving together
Cyclonic
Large air mass that rotates
Anticyclonic
An area of high atmospheric pressure
Potential evapotranspiration
The amount of maximum evaporation of water possible
Surface runoff
Water which cannot infiltrate the soil
Prevailing wind
The main direction of wind
Sediment budget
Balance between sediment added and removed
Depositional landforms (2 examples)
Sand dunes , alluvial fans
Erosional landforms
Desert pavements
Messa buttes
Water balance
Balance of water entering + leaving (precipitation and evapotranspiration)
Continentality
The placement of deserts, due to how inland they are
Rain shadow effect
Where mountain ranges block it from raining on one side
Orographic effect
When air is forced to rise due to high topography
Biomass
Amount of alive matter
Xerophyte
Cacti, needs little water
Xerophyte
Cacti,needs little water
Halophyte
Salt tolerant plant
Pyrophyte
Plants adapted to survive fire
Phreatophyte
Long wide root system (large area covered )
Soil
Loose surface matters that covers most land
Thermal fracture
Expansion +contraction breaks rock, cause temperature
Salt weathering
Water evaporates leaving salt crystals behind which as they form cause rock to crack
Groundwater
Water stored underground, aquifers