Ecosystems And The Physical Environment Flashcards
Biotic
Living
Pool
A location in which nutrients in a biogeochemical cycle remain for a period of time before moving to another pool
Sink
A pool that accepts more nutrients than it releases
Ocean acidification
The process by which today’s oceans are becoming more and more acidic caused by increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.
Eutrophication
The process of nutrient enrichment, increased production of organic matter, and subsequent ecosystem degradation in a water body
Weathering
The physical, chemical, and biological processes that break down rocks and minerals turnip large particles into smaller particles
Transpiration
The realease of water vapor by plants through their leaves
Run-off
The water from precipitation that flows into streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds, and eventually into the ocean
Albedo
The capacity of a surface to reflect light.
Troposphere
The bottom layer of the atmosphere.
Stratosphere
The layer in the atmosphere above the troposphere and above the mesosphere
Coriolanus effect
The apparent deflection of north-south air currents to a partly east-west direction, caused by the faster spin regions near the equator than of other regions near the poles as a result of Earths rotation.
Convection
A treaty or binding agreement among nation governments
Gyre
A large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by earths rotation
ENSO (El Nino- Southern Oscillation)
A systematic shift in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean
Climate
The pattern of atmospheric conditions fund across large geographic region’s average monthly temperature and precipitation
Microclimate
A small-scale localized pattern of weather conditions
Rainshadow
A region on one side of a mountain or mountain range that experiences arid climate
Weather
The local physical properties of the troposphere, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, cloudiness, and wind over relatively short time periods
Divergent plate boundaries
Where tectonic plates push apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface
Convergent plate boundaries
Where tectonic plates converge or come together
Transform plate boundary
Area where two tectonic plates meet and slip and grind alongside one another, creating earthquakes
Subduction
The plate tectonic process by which denser crust sides beneath lighter crust at a convergent palate boundary. Often results in volcanism
Mass wasting
The downslope movement of soil and rock due to gravity
Tsunami
An immense wave of ocean water triggered by an earth quake, volcano, or landslide, that can travel long distances across oceans an inundate coasts
Abiotic
Non living
