Environmental Geology (Papa) Flashcards
What are some hazardous earth processes that are related to environmental change?
- Natural disasters
- Rivers and flooding
- Salinization and saline environments
- Coastal hazards and erosion
Where is the Aral Sea located?
in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
What is the environmental issue that has occurred around the Aral Sea?
As the population around the lake has increase, water has been intensively extracted for agricultural and harmful fertilizes have leached into the lake. This has led the size of the lake to greatly decrease and the water has become unsuitable for crops or drinking.
Carrying capacity
the max. population size of a species that can be sustained with an area
S - Curve population graph
the population stabilizes at a carrying capacity
J- Curve population graph
the population stabilizes around the carrying capacity but continues to increase over it and then crash below it.
When the population around rivers increases…
nitrate concentrations in the river increase
3 parts of the Earth
- atmosphere
- hydrosphere
- lithnosphere
Earth is an open system with respect to …
energy
Earth is closed system with respect to …
materials
Silicate weathering controls …
climate change (because it uses up CO2)
Precipitation
when a solid is formed from a solution
How does silicate weathering occur?
(geological time-scale)
Rain contains carbonic acid, when it falls this acid breaks down rocks
Residence time
the total time that a substance has spend within a controlled volume
Coefficient of variation
measures the dispersion of a probability/frequency distribution
Chemicals emitted during mining…
cause erosion and loss of habitats
Layers of the atmosphere in order
Ground (highest temp/) Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere
The sack’s made there.
Energy coming from the sun has a …. wavelength
short
Energy returning to space from the Earth has a … wavelength
long
What is the atmosphere composed of? (top 3)
- Nitrogen
- Oxygen
- Argon
How is the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere, from thousands of years ago, measured?
By collecting ice core samples and analyzing gas bubbles trapped inside
CH4
Methane
The difference in energy outputs vs. inputs is what causes …
global warming
When the sun rays hit the surface (away from the equator) cover a broad range it is ….
winter