ecology 3 Flashcards

1
Q

The process by which water travels in a sequence from the air to Earth and returns to the atmosphere, driven by solar radiation and involving evaporation, precipitation, infiltration, and runoff.

A

Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)

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2
Q

Provides energy for the evaporation of water, driving the water cycle.

A

Solar Radiation

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3
Q

Water vapor in the atmosphere falls to the Earth’s surface in various forms, initiating the water cycle.

A

Precipitation

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4
Q

The process where water is intercepted by vegetation, dead organic matter, or urban structures before reaching the soil, evaporating back into the atmosphere.

A

Interception

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5
Q

The process of water moving into the ground. The rate depends on soil type, slope, vegetation, and precipitation intensity.

A

Infiltration

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6
Q

Water that flows across the ground’s surface when soil is saturated, often concentrating into channels.

A

Surface Runoff (Overland Flow)

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7
Q

Water that seeps down to an impervious layer of rock or clay and is stored underground. It eventually flows into springs and streams.

A

Groundwater

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8
Q

The process of water returning to the atmosphere from the surface of water bodies, soil, and vegetation.

A

Evaporation

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9
Q

The evaporation of water from the internal surfaces of plant leaves, stems, and other living parts.

A

Transpiration

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10
Q

The total evaporation from the surfaces of the ground and vegetation, combining surface evaporation and transpiration.

A

Evapotranspiration

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11
Q

Exchanges of water between reservoirs (oceans, rivers, groundwater) in the water cycle.

A

Fluxes

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12
Q

A small but critical component of the water cycle with only 13 km³ of water, replaced on average every nine days (turnover time).

A

Atmospheric Reservoir

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13
Q

The time it takes for the water in a reservoir to be replaced, calculated by dividing the size of the reservoir by the rate of output.

A

Turnover Time

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14
Q

Includes various reservoirs (oceans, ice caps, glaciers, groundwater) and fluxes (exchanges of water between reservoirs).

A

Global Water Cycle

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15
Q

Bodies of water on Earth, including oceans (97%), ice caps/glaciers (2%), and groundwater (0.3%).

A

Water Reservoirs

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16
Q

The structure of water molecules connected by hydrogen bonds, creating an open, tetrahedral shape.

A

Lattice Arrangement

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17
Q

The property of water molecules to stick together due to hydrogen bonding, resisting external forces

A

Cohesion

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18
Q

The force that acts on the surface of water due to cohesion, allowing small objects and organisms to float or move across it.

A

Surface tension

19
Q

A measure of the force necessary to separate water molecules, which creates resistance to objects moving through the liquid.

20
Q

The upward force exerted on a body submerged in water if its density is less than the water it displaces. Aquatic organisms benefit from near-neutral buoyancy.

21
Q

The amount of light reflected from water depends on the angle of incidence. Lower angles result in more light being reflected, varying diurnally and seasonally.

A

Light Reflection

22
Q

A chemical process in which organisms produce light, an adaptation common in deep-sea species.

A

: Bioluminescence

23
Q

The region of
the vertical depth profile where the temperature declines most
rapidly is called the

A

thermocline.

24
Q

the upper layer of warm, well-mixed, less dense water above the thermocline.

A

Epilimnion

25
the deeper layer of cold, denser water below the thermocline.
hypolimnion
26
when cooler surface water sinks and mixes with warmer, deeper water, circulating nutrients throughout the water column.
Turnover
27
a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances
solution
28
the dissolving agent
solvent
29
the substance dissolved
solute
30
A solution in which water is the solvent
aqueous solution
31
refers to water molecules having a positive charge on one side (hydrogen atoms) and a negative charge on the other side (oxygen atom), allowing them to attract other charged molecules.
permanent dipole
32
measured in practical salinity units (psu), represented as ‰ and expressed as grams of chlorine per kilogram of water.
salinity
33
the general tendency of molecules to move from a region of high concentration to one of lower concentration.
Diffusion
34
the process where warm surface currents move northward and southward, bringing up deep, cold, oxygenated waters from below.
upwelling
35
result from the gravitational pulls of the Sun and the Moon
tides
36
The two bulges caused by the Moon occur at the same time on opposite sides of Earth on an imaginary line extending from the Moon through the center of Earth.
Lunar Tides
37
The Sun also causes two tides on opposite sides of Earth; solar tides are partially masked by lunar tides due to the Sun's weaker gravitational pull.
Solar tides
38
Occur when the Moon is full or new; Earth, Moon, and Sun are nearly in line, leading to exceptionally large high tides with maximum rise and fall.
Spring Tides
39
Occur when the Moon is at either quarter; the pull is at right angles to the Sun's pull, resulting in exceptionally small differences between high and low tides.
neap tides
40
The area between high and low tide lines undergoes dramatic shifts in environmental conditions with daily patterns of inundation and exposure.
Intertidal Zone
41
The place where freshwater mixes with saltwater; temperatures fluctuate considerably both daily and seasonally.
Estuary
42
Occurs when a surface wedge of seawater moves upstream more rapidly than the bottom water, leading to unstable salinity and inverted density.
Tidal Overmixing
43
In the Northern Hemisphere, outward-flowing freshwater and inward-flowing seawater are deflected to the right due to Earth's rotation, affecting salinity distribution.
Coriolis Effect
44