Environmental cycles Flashcards
What is the water cycle?
The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
What is transpiration?
The process by which water is absorbed by plants and released as vapor.
What is condensation?
The process of water vapor cooling and changing back into liquid water.
What is precipitation?
Any form of water, liquid or solid, that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface.
What is surface run off?
Water that flows over the ground surface to bodies of water.
What is infiltration?
The process by which water enters the soil from the surface.
What is ground water flow?
The movement of water through the soil and rock layers underground.
What is an aquifer?
A geological formation that can store and transmit groundwater.
What is evaporation?
The process of turning liquid water into vapor.
What is freezing?
The process of turning liquid water into ice.
What is melting?
The process of turning ice back into liquid water.
What is sublimation?
The process of turning solid ice directly into vapor without becoming liquid.
What is deposition?
The process of vapor turning directly into solid ice.
What is percolation?
The process of water filtering through soil and rock layers.
What is the carbon cycle?
The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.
What are volcanic eruptions?
The release of magma, gas, and ash from a volcano.
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.
What is carbon sequestration?
The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
What is cellular respiration?
The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.
What is decomposition?
The process of breaking down organic matter into simpler substances.
What is fossilisation and unavailable carbon?
The process by which organic material is transformed into fossil fuels, making carbon unavailable for biological processes.
What is limestone weathering?
The process by which limestone is broken down by natural forces, releasing carbon dioxide.
What is combustion of fossil fuels?
The burning of fossil fuels which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
What is deforestation and fires?
The clearing of forests which releases stored carbon into the atmosphere.
What is the nitrogen cycle?
The series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment.
What is atmospheric nitrogen fixation?
The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for plants.
What is assimilation?
The process by which plants absorb nitrogen from the soil.
What is consumption?
The process by which animals obtain nitrogen by eating plants.
What is ammonification?
The process of converting organic nitrogen into ammonia.
What are volcanic eruptions in the nitrogen cycle?
Natural events that can release nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere.
What is denitrification?
The process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas.
What is nitrogen fixation by bacteria?
The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia by certain bacteria.
What is nitrification?
The process of converting ammonia into nitrates by bacteria.
