Earth and Space Flashcards
what happens when the permafrost starts to thaw
The land above the permafrost will sink or change shape
explain the carbon cycle
- factories produce combustion
- animals cause respiration
- when plants take in CO2 its photosynthesis
- when plants release CO2 it’s respiration
- when animals die, their waste becomes organic carbon
- humans extract fossil fuels
what is catchment area
A territory surrounding a waterway
what is salinity
A measure of the quantity of salt in a solution
how are salinity and density related
The more soap you add to a solution the more dense it will be
what is ocean circulation
an ocean current is the movement of sea water in a certain direction
what are the two types of marine current
surface currents and deep currents
what are surface currents links to
horizontal circulation
what are deep current linked to
what are deep current linked to vertical circulation
what causes surface currents
wind
what are deep currents caused by
by differences in temperature or salinity of the water
deep currents are caused by what
by different density of water (denser water sinks and causes movement along the ocean floor)
what factors make water denser
Cold water and salty water
what is thermaohaline circulation
The combination of surface and deep currents created in ocean circulation
give an example of thermohaline circulation
The hot water from the equator rises to the polls and the cold water from the poles sink to the equator
how is pack ice formed
Pack ice forms when the surface of water freezes due to cold temperatures. T hey break off into sheets. This is ice floating on the ocean near the pool
how are glaciers formed
glaciers are formed by compressing snow on land, broken pieces of glaciers that fall into the water are called icebergs
what are the effects of melting pack ice
there is no effect, since it is frozen water it does not cause a rise in sea level
what are the effects of melting glaciers
when glaciers melt it decreases the salinity of the ocean because glaciers are made out of fresh water, when the fresh water from the glaciers melt it dilutes the salty seawater
explain the greenhouse effect
- most Sunday’s are absorbed into the ground
- once the ground is heated it emits infrared rays into the atmosphere
- greenhouses gases trap some of the infrared rays and send them back to earth this heating its surface even more
what does the greenhouse effect cause
Global warming
what does global warming cause
changes in weather (stronger storms) and melting of glaciers (this causes rising sea levels and thermohaline)
which sources of energy or non-renewable
fossil fuels and nuclear
what sources of energy are renewable
hydroelectricity, wind, solar, tidal, geothermal
which sources of energy are eco-friendly
geothermal, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind
what is permafrost
permafrost is soil that has been frozen permanently (0°C or lower for over two years)
