lecture notes

Question 1

collects, purifies, and distributes the fixed supply of water

Answer 1

the hydrolic cycle

Question 2

driven by specialized bacteria

Answer 2

the nitrogen cycle

Question 3

based on CO2 gas

Answer 3

the carbon cycle

Question 4

slower cycle that doesn’t include the atmosphere

Answer 4

the phosphorus cycle

Question 5

found in the air, taken in directly by plant leaves, and burning fuel moves it to the air from underground

Answer 5

carbon

Question 6

found in soil, bacteria drive the cycle, and fertilizer moves it to soil while burning moves it to air

Answer 6

nitrogen

Question 7

found in rock, no atmospheric content, and fertilizer use adds it to waterways

Answer 7

phosphorus

Question 8

the global water cycle and how it works; the technologies for managing and controlling water use; public policies for governing water use

Answer 8

water quantity

Question 9

water pollution and its consequences; sewage treatment technologies; public policies for dealing with water pollution issues

Answer 9

water quality

Question 10

Water use conflict between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida over the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin

Answer 10

Tri-State Water Dispute

Question 11

any matter or energy released into the water that causes undesirable impacts on the health and well-being of humans or other organisms

Answer 11

water pollution

Question 12

single, identifiable source of pollution

Answer 12

point source

Question 13

poorly defined, diffuse sources of pollution

Answer 13

nonpoint source

Question 14

The entire area of land from which water drains into a particular body of water (i.e. river, lake, stream, or wetland)

Answer 14

watershed

Question 15

• Nutrient that is essential for all life.

- Continuously cycling through plants, animals, and the environment to support life

Answer 15

• Nitrogen/Nitrate

- Phosporus

Question 16

loose particles of sand, clay, silt, and other substances

Answer 16

sediment

Question 17

• Essential minerals required for life

- can harm fish and plant life at highconcentrations

Answer 17

salts

Question 18

• Substances used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons
• Detected in water bodies throughout theworld

Answer 18

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)

Question 19

systematic use of living organisms or their responses to determine the quality of the aquatic environment

Answer 19

biomonitering

Question 20

boundary where air shifts from cooling to warming

Answer 20

tropopause

Question 21

“global sunscreen” - keeps ~95% of harmful UV radiation from reaching earth’s surface

Answer 21

ozone layer

Question 22

short-term atmospheric conditions of any given area

Answer 22

weather

Question 23

result of long-term weather patterns in a region

Answer 23

climate

Question 24

• equatorial
• warm, moist air rising
• heavy rainfall

Answer 24

hadley cells

Question 25

* arid climate - 30º latitude * moist climate - 60º latitude * arid climate - polar regions

Answer 25

ferrel cells and polar cells

Question 26

curving global wind patterns

Answer 26

coriolis effect

Question 27

Small amounts of certain gases in the atmosphere play a role in determining the earth’s average temperatures and thus its climates. These gases allow mostly visible light and some infrared and UV radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere.

Answer 27

greenhouse gases

Question 28

Without the warming caused by these greenhouse gases, the earth would be a cold and mostly lifeless planet

Answer 28

greenhouse effect

Question 29

This pattern acts as a giant conveyor belt, moving water masses from the warm surface to cold depths and back again

Answer 29

thermohaline circulation pattern

Question 30

substances in the atmosphere that have harmful effects on organisms, ecosystems, or human-made materials

Answer 30

air pollution

Question 31

organic chemicals that can vaporize into the air

Answer 31

volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Question 32

very small solid and liquid particles suspended in the air

Answer 32

particulate matter (PM)

Question 33

the suspended particles

Answer 33

aeorsols

Question 34

chemicals or particles directly emitted from identifiable sources

Answer 34

primary pollutants

Question 35

chemicals or particles produced in the atmosphere as result of reactions among chemicals or aerosols

Answer 35

secondary pollutants

Question 36

secondary pollutants whose formation is facilitated by sunlight

Answer 36

photochemicals

Question 37

long-term variations in climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation

Answer 37

climate change

Question 38

gases that efficiently capture heat in the troposphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide)

Answer 38

greenhouse gases

Question 39

the absorption of radiation by greenhouse gases and trapping of that heat in the troposphere

Answer 39

greenhouse effect

Question 40

a level of change in system properties beyond which a system reorganizes, often abruptly, and does not return to the initial state even if the drivers of the change are abated

Answer 40

tipping point

Question 41

a critical threshold when global climate changes from one stable state to another stable state

Answer 41

climate tipping point

Question 42

refers to the phenomena of a stand of trees losing health and dying without an obvious cause

Answer 42

forest dieback