Jeopardy Flashcards
The Coriolis effect causes apparent deflection of winds:
Clockwise in the N hemisphere, counterclockwise in the S hemisphere
This type of rock is formed from the cooling of hot, molten magma
Igneous rock
The process by which expanding gases lose heat energy as molecules move farther apart, which explains why mountaintops, with lower air pressure and density, are cooler than valley bottoms.
Adiabatic cooling
This ecosystem is dependent on fire, has a short fire return interval of around 25 years, and mainly consists of scrub oak and shrubs like manzanita and Ceanothus.
Chaparral
These five factors, with a catchy acronym of ClORPT, are the foundations of the theory of soil formation
CLimate Organisms Relief (topography) Parent material Time
An integrated biotic-abiotic unit
An ecosystem
A group of individuals of a single species inhabiting a single area.
A population
This ecosystem is found in the zone of greatest snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, and is dominated by red fir and/or lodgepole pine.
Upper montane
The image to the right shows this phenomenon, where nutrient-poor surface waters are replaced by nutrient-rich deeper water from offshore.
Upwelling
This ecosystem has a distinctive temperature profile: the center of the ecosystem tends to have more impermeable surfaces that reflect heat, causing heat islands to form in the center of the ecosystem.
Urban ecosystem
This is a genetically controlled characteristic or trait that is beneficial to an organism’s survival or reproduction (and therefore is passed on)
Adaptation
As an adaptation to deal with summer heat, some desert plants orient their leaves in this
direction relative to the incoming solar radiation.
Parallel
A reproductive strategy employed by some plants and trees in both forest and chaparral ecosystems to adapt to fire.
Resorting from the root crown
or
Serotinous seeds
This quantifies the tendency of water to move from one area to another. As an example, this measure drives water to flow from soils to plants and out into the air, in most systems.
Water potential
The relationship between coast live oak and mycorrhizae is an example of this, which implies a deep dependence of oaks on mycorrhizae.
Obligate mutualism
This method of gathering gold during the Californian gold rush led to increased sediment loads in the rivers and an increase in the rates of flooding.
Hydraulic mining
What are the 3 types of plate boundaries?
Divergent, Convergent & Transform
Divergent plate boundaries?
Hands flat and together (PULL APART)
What are the two types of Convergent plate boundaries?
Subduction: slide on hand under another
Collision: flat hands together, buckle upward
Transform plate boundaries?
Slide one hand forward, one hand back, index fingers rubbing
How do Sedimentary rocks form?
Formed by consolidation of particles transported from another source
-Particles transported by forces such as wind, water, glaciers
75% of rocks are sedimentary
How do Metamorphic rocks form?
Formed from sedimentary or igneous rocks via heat and pressure
Heat and pressure generated as large blocks of land (plates) move around on Earth’s surface
This ecological concept means that we would be able to harvest biomass from a system in perpetuity
Sustainability
This emerging human-caused challenge has occurred naturally throughout earth’s history, but is happening today at faster rates and higher magnitudes than at any time in the geologically recent past.
Climate change
This ecosystem, globally important for the critical ecosystem services it provides such as water purification, flood control, groundwater recharge, and habitat for diverse species, once covered four million acres in the Central Valley but now only covers 300,000 acres.
Wetlands
One of the most important things that leads to protection of California’s amazing ecosystems.
Education, awareness, appreciation.. etc.
What does Erosion by water cause?
Carves V-shaped river valleys, redeposits boulders, cobbles (rounded) and sediments
What does Erosion by ice cause?
Carves U-shaped glacial valleys, redeposits boulders, cobbles (blocky) and sediments
Glacial outflow carries fine silt – Moraines at edges and end of glacier
What is physical weathering?
Abrasion (Ex. polishing stones in rivers)
Shapes Topography
What is chemical weathering?
CO2 dissolved in water becomes H2CO3
(carbonic acid), which reacts with rock minerals to slowly dissolve the rock
Shapes Topography
What is the lithosphere?
earth’s crust, strongest outermost shell of the Earth that rides on partially molten material beneath
What is the order of the plate tectonics?
Continental Crust
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Where does air pressure occur?
most intense heating at the equator
-Tropic air heat expands and becomes less dense than surrounding air (rises then cools)
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather- the state of the atmosphere at a given point in time & geographic locations (CURRENT)
Climate- broad composite of the average conditions of a region (PREDICTIONS)
What are the big influences of C.A.’s Mediterranean climate?
- Pacific Ocean- bc of major ocean currents & predominant pressure systems blocks storm across C.A.a all year
- Topography- bc mountains act like gloves capturing moisture creating weather and storms
- Latitude- has many different climatic zones
