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Geography > Deserts > Flashcards

Deserts Flashcards

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1
Q

Semi-arid

A

A place receiving 250-500mm of rain per year

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2
Q

Hyper-arid

A

Very dry, less precipitation than needed to support most trees and woody plants

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3
Q

Annual

A

Temperature ranges between the hottest and coldest months

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4
Q

Diurnal

A

Temperature ranges between day and night

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5
Q

Insulation

A

Ground is heated and there are no clouds to block incoming short wave radiation

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6
Q

Re-radiation

A

No clouds to keep long wave radiation escaping back into space

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7
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community of living things

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8
Q

Equilibrium

A

State of balance between things

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9
Q

Xerophytes

A

Plants adapted to survive dry conditions

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10
Q

Halophytes

A

Plants adapted to survive saline conditions

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11
Q

Ephemeral

A

Plants that have a short life cycle and remain dormant until rain

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12
Q

Phreatophytes

A

Plants that have long roots that can reach deep ground

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13
Q

Nocturnal

A

Sleep in the day, awake in the night

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14
Q

Regolith

A

Weathered, underlying parent rock

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15
Q

Humus

A

Decomposed, dead organic matter

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16
Q

Biota

A

Living organisms

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17
Q

Capillary action

A

Draws moisture from the water table up to the surface

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18
Q

Zonal soil

A

A mature soil that reflects the biome it’s in

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19
Q

Leeching

A

Minerals washed out of soil through water movement

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20
Q

Topography

A

The study of the land’s altitude, aspect, and slope

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21
Q

Continentality

A

Where a place is on an island (central or coast)

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22
Q

Hadley cells

A

An atmospheric high pressure zone

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23
Q

Mechanical weathering

A

Rocks are physically broken down

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24
Q

Chemical weathering

A

Chemical processes react with minerals in the rock causing them to break up

25
Q

Biological weathering

A

Actions of animals and plants break down the rock

26
Q

Aeolian

A

Processes caused by the wind

27
Q

Angle of repose

A

Angle above which deposited sand can no longer be held on a slope, so slumps down

28
Q

Suspension

A

Silt and clay particles are carried in the air by wind

29
Q

Saltation

A

Sand is picked up and carried. When deposited, it bumps other grains of sand to move in the direction of the wind. Continuous process

30
Q

Surface creep

A

Particles move along a layer that is loose to the surface

31
Q

Dust storm

A

A large system of wind transported material

32
Q

Loess

A

Wind blown silt; Quartz, feldspar and calcite which is stabilised and accumulates

33
Q

Leeward

A

Side sheltered from wind

34
Q

Windward

A

Side facing the wind

35
Q

Sand dune

A

Mounds of wind-deposited sand

36
Q

Barchan dune

A

Crescent shaped dunes whose tips point towards the wind direction

37
Q

Parabolic dunes

A

Crescent shaped dunes whose tips point OPPOSITE to wind direction

38
Q

Longitudinal/seif dunes

A

Long dunes, parallel with the wind direction

39
Q

Transverse dunes

A

Dunes which a perpendicular to wind direction

40
Q

Sand catcher

A

An obstacle which prevents wind from carrying sand further

41
Q

Barchanoid ridges

A

Transverse dunes which develop into barchan dunes

42
Q

Dune migration

A

Movement of dunes caused when sand moves up the windward side and slopes down the leeward side

43
Q

Rock varnish

A

Thin, shiny coating on rock surfaces from wind blown mineral dust which settles

44
Q

Ergs

A

Broad, flat area of desert covered with wind swept sand and little/no vegetation

45
Q

Red rains

A

Red precipitation due to dust and minerals

46
Q

Blowouts

A

An area where a lot of deflation has occurred

47
Q

Deflation

A

Removal of loose material from base rock by wind

48
Q

Critical velocity

A

Minimum velocity required for a sand particle to be transported by the wind

49
Q

Mesa

A

Elevated area of land with a flat (table) top

50
Q

Butte

A

An isolated hill with steep vertical sides and a small flat top. (Often located next to mesas)

51
Q

Inselburg

A

A more rounded, smooth version of a mess

52
Q

Wadi

A

Dry river bed, formed by an ephemeral river

53
Q

Exogenous river

A

Rivers that flow in and out of the desert

54
Q

Endoreic

A

Streams that flow into the desert but dry up as inland seas

55
Q

Ephemeral streams

A

Intermittent streams that flow after storms

56
Q

Sheet floods

A

River not confined to a channel, spreads out

57
Q

Desertification

A

Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry areas

58
Q

Arid

A

A place receiving

Geography (4 decks)

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