Earth Science Flashcards
What are the main layers of the Atmosphere?
List them from the lowest (closet to the ground) to highest ( further away from the ground)
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
- Exosphere
Explain the Characteristics of the Troposphere
- it extends from 8-16 km
- the temperature decreases approximately 6.5° C/km ( due to decreasing pressure)
- contains 75% water vapour in the atmosphere
- climate and weather is located here - rain, clouds, snow
- it is the most dense layer due to 90% of gases are contained here
- the top part of the troposphere is called the Tropopause
- the lowest point of the troposphere is found over the poles and the highest point is found on the equator.
- the lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer, where air motion is determined by the properties of the Earth’s surface
Explain the characteristics of the Stratosphere
- Extend from 10-50 km
- increase of temperature with altitude due to UV Radiation
- temperatures are higher over the summer pole and lower over the winter pole
- Ozone is found here ( O3), the Ozone layer absorbs the suns UV Radiation
- production of CFCs used in refrigerators, spray cans and fire extinguishers have reduced the amount of ozone
- almost no weather occurrences, less dense (less water vapour)
Explain the characteristics of the Mesosphere:
- extends up to 80km high
- temperature decreases with height, reaching minimum -90°C
- there are less gases therefore heat is not contained very well
- the top part of the Mesosphere is the menopause
Explain the characteristics of the Thermosphere
- Extends from 80- 600km
- Temperature increases with height caused the abdication of energetic ultraviolet and X-ray radiation
- ionosphere can be found above 80km whet there are ions, which can reflect radio waves
Explain the Characteristics of the Exosphere
- it is the most outer layer ( not including the magnetosphere)
- can be found above 500km
- contains mainly oxygen and hydrogen atoms which are spaced out, and barely collide, while others will escape into space.
Explain the Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle is the recycling of carbon through a series of process which the carbon compound is interconverted in the environment.
- human respiration produces carbon dioxide ( glucose + oxygen= h20, ATP and Carbon Dioxide) this carbon dioxide is put in the air and is taken by plants for photosynthesis ( carbon dioxide+ h20 = glucose, oxygen) so animals can live.
- the compound Carbon in plants is eaten by animals, which are then eaten other animals. When plants or animals die, they decompose and bring the carbon to the ground which either goes into the atmosphere or provides nutrients for other plants.
- If the death animal or plant is covered up quickly before decomposition underground or under the oceans then it is stored there for millions of years and can be formed into fossil fuels like coal or into stones like diamond. Later humans dig this up for their use.
- the carbon in the atmosphere can be dissolved into the ocean where it balances acidity levels and sustains life as well
What are the main carbon sinks?
- underground Eg tundra, huge sinks of fossil fuels and diamond
- in the oceans
- the atmosphere
- plants
What is the greenhouse effect?
The green house effect is a process which obtains the Sun’s heat energy in the atmosphere to sustain life on earth. The green house gases Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are abundant in the troposphere traps the reflected infra- red Radiation from the ground.
What is global warming?
Global warming is the increase of the earth’s average temperature due to the excessive amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide ( mainly caused by humans). This increases the earth temperature, causes extreme weather events to occur, changes earth’s climate and long term patterns, shifting of wildlife populations due to their habitats changing ( different temp), the rising of ocean level and increase of acidification in oceans.
What causes the global warming ?
It is caused by the excess amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through
- deforestation: where majority of the trees are cute for urbanisation. The lack of trees and plants using the carbon in the atmosphere for photosynthesis to generate it into glucose and oxygen means more carbon is left in the atmosphere.
- mass farming : farming cows on a massive scale means that methane gas is produced by them and enters into the atmosphere
- burning of fossil fuels : when coal, natural gas and oil are burned large amounts of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere
- mass manufacturing: when raw materials are manufactured to use it uses a lot of energy thus releasing more carbon dioxide
- melting of the tundra : when the tundra with greenhouse gases melts through the increase of temperature, it then will also increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.
What are the effects of global warming?
This increases the earth temperature, causes extreme weather events to occur, changes earth’s climate and long term patterns, shifting of wildlife populations due to their habitats changing ( different temp), the rising of ocean level and increase of acidification in oceans and melts the tundras which also has stored greenhouse gases.
What are some solutions to global warming?
- stop deforestation and plant trees
- don’t mass farm cattle
- use renewable energy like solar and wind power
- burn less non-renewable energy like coal, natural gas and oil
- don’t mass manufacture products and only buy what is actually needed
- support your local farmers as they produce the least amount of greenhouse gases unlike large organisations and framing factories
Key points on ocean Acidification
- the oceans are on average 8.0-8.3 on the pH scale ( depending where the water is situated on the earth) , this pH is a healthy balance for ocean water because it sustains marine life.
Ocean acidification is increasing through the excess amount of dissolved carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
CO2 (atmosphere) -> CO2 + water (it dissolves) -> H2CO3 (forms carbonic Acid) -> HCO3 + H+ ( carbonic Acid breaks down to become bicarbonate and a Hydrogen ion which . Hydrogen Ion increases the acidity)
The increase of acidity effects marine life
- especially coral which produce exoskeletons made up of calcium carbonate which then the lack of coral affects the ecosystem
- shellfish, barnacles, urchins, mussels, microscopic planktons ( their outer shells are dissolved thus affecting their protection.)
- fish - burn a lot of energy trying to get acidity out of their system therefore they will be more forgetful, which have not much energy to catch food and digest as well as reproduce.
