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Science- 5 spheres > Litho/Hydro/Atmosphere > Flashcards

Litho/Hydro/Atmosphere Flashcards

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1
Q

What is permafrost

A
  • Ground that has been for at least 2 consecutive years
  • covers 25% of land in the Northern hemisphere
  • ”active layer” on top of permafrost thaws every summer
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2
Q

What are the dangers of thawing permafrost?

A
  • ecosystem damage
  • infrastructure damage
  • landslides
  • coastal erosion
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3
Q

How is thawing permafrost affecting the atmosphere? (Cycle)

A

Increase in global temperature melts the permafrost which releases CO2 and CH4 (GHG). These trap heat in the atmosphere and increase global temperature.

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4
Q

What is the Lithosphere?

A
  • crust and upper mantle

* source of rocks, minerals and mineraloids

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5
Q

What are minerals?

A
  • inorganic substances (not from living things)
  • naturally occurring on earth
  • ordered structure (crystal shapes)
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6
Q

What are mineraloids?

A

•come from living organisms

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7
Q

What classifies minerals?

A
  • colour (idiochromatic: elements, allochromatic: impurities)
  • transparency
  • hardness
  • streak
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8
Q

Where do you get minerals from?

A

open- pit and underground mines

*removed from the lithosphere as an ore

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9
Q

What are rocks?

A

Heterogeneous solids made of many minerals

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10
Q

What are the different types of rock and where do they come from?

A
  • ingneous, formed by fire
  • sedimentary, layered debris
  • metamorphic, high heat and pressure
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11
Q

What are the layers of soil?

A
  • organic matter (dead, decaying organic matter)
  • top soil (minerals)
  • subsoil
  • fragmented parent rock
  • parent rock
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12
Q

What are the energy resources of the lithosphere?

A
  • geothermal
  • fossil fuels
  • uranium (nuclear)
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13
Q

What is geothermal energy?

A

Energy that comes from the internal heat of the earth

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14
Q

What are the pros and cons of geothermal energy?

A

pros: reduce heating costs and CO2 emissions
cons: very expensive to install

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15
Q

What are fossil fuels?

A
  • coal, natural gas, crude oil

* releases energy when burned

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16
Q

What are the consequences of fossil fuels?

A
  • release CO2 (GHG)

* realease SO2 NO (acid rain)

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17
Q

How does uranium create energy?

A

splitting the nucleus of a uranium atom releases nuclear energy

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18
Q

What are the pros and cons of uranium (nuclear energy)

A
  • pros: does not produce GHG

* cons: can cause extreme damage if there is an accident

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19
Q

What is soil depletion?

A

Loss of soil fertility (decrease in nutrients)

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20
Q

What are the causes of soil depletion?

A
  • erosion
  • overuse of fertilizers and pesticides
  • monocropping
  • changes in pH
  • use of heavy machinery
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21
Q

What is the hydrosphere?

A
  • earths layer of water (ice, water, water vapour)

* 70% of earths surface is water (97% salt, 0.75 fresh)

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22
Q

What are the types of freshwater ecosystems?

A
  • standing water (lakes, ponds)

* running water (streams, rivers)

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23
Q

What are inland waters?

A

Freshwater found on continents (rivers, lakes, ground)

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24
Q

What are watersheds?

A

Areas of land where water flows to the same body of water

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25
Q

What affects water flow?

A
  • topography (slope of the land)
  • geology (types of rocks)
  • climate
  • vegetation
  • human activities (cities, industry, agriculture)
26
Q

Where is saltwater located?

A
  • oceans: major bodies of water between the continents
  • pacific, Atlantic, Indian, arctic and southern ocean
  • seas: smaller bodies of saltwater
27
Q

What does the ocean’s water temperature depend on?

A
  • depth
  • seasons
  • latitude (how far from the equator)
28
Q

What is salinity?

A

Amount of salt dissolved in water

29
Q

What does salinity depend on?

A
  • heat - increase evaporation - increase salinity
  • erosion- increase salinity
  • melting pack ice and glaciers- increase freshwater- decrease salinity
30
Q

What waters sink or rise?

A
  • warm water rises
  • cold water sinks
  • more salt - denser - sinks
31
Q

What is an ocean current?

A

movement of water in a certain direction

32
Q

What is ocean circulation?

A

Combined effects of all currents

33
Q

What impacts ocean currents?

A
  • surface currents (wind)

* subsurface currents (changes due to water density)

34
Q

Describe Thermohaline circulation

A
  • currents around the world
  • hot water rises and moves towards the poles
  • cold water sinks and moves towards the equator
  • very important for climate (stabilizing)
35
Q

What is the Cryosphere?

A

Frozen water on earth

36
Q

What is pack ice?

A

• ice that floats on the oceans at the poles

*melting pack ice doesn’t cause water levels to rise

37
Q

What are glaciers?

A

• huge masses of ice that are formed on land.

38
Q

What impact does melting glaciers have?

A
  • causes water levels to rise

* impacts thermohaline circulation (freshwater less dense - won’t sink as easily)

39
Q

What are the energy resources of the hydrosphere?

A
  • hydraulic energy from hydroelectric dams (energy from moving water)
  • tidal energy from water turbines (energy from tides in the ocean)
40
Q

What are the pros and cons of hydroelectricity?

A
  • pros: renewable source that doesn’t produce many GHG

* cons: floods many ecosystems

41
Q

What is the atmosphere and what is it’s composition?

A
  • layer of air surrounding earth
  • 78% nitrogen (N2)
  • 21% oxygen (O2)
  • 1% other gases
42
Q

What are the layers of the atmosphere from space to earth?

A
  • exosphere
  • thermosphere (absorbs sun rays)
  • mesosphere
  • stratosphere (ozone layer)
  • troposphere
43
Q

Describe atmospheric circulation

A
  • global- scale movement of air surrounding earth
  • warm/humid air rises at the equators
  • cold/dry air sinks
44
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

air doesn’t move in a straight line because of the rotation of the earth

45
Q

What are air masses?

A
  • large sections of the atmosphere with similar temperature and humidity
  • air masses don’t mix when they meet
  • a FRONT is where masses meet
46
Q

What is a cold front?

A
  • cold air meets warm air
  • leads to wind and strong rain
  • happens fast
47
Q

What is a warm front?

A
  • warm air meets cool air
  • cloudy weather
  • happens slow
48
Q

What are Anticyclones?

A
  • areas of high pressure
  • air turns clockwise in northern hemisphere
  • sunny and clear skies
49
Q

What are depressions?

A
  • areas of low pressure
  • air turns counter clockwise in northern hemisphere
  • clouds and rain
50
Q

What are the main greenhouse gasses?

A
  • carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • water vapour (H2O)
  • methane (CH4)
  • nitrous oxide (N2O)
51
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

natural occurrence to keep some of the sun’s energy on earth

52
Q

What are the causes of increased GHG

A
  • combustion of fossil fuels
  • deforestation
  • farming (animal’s digestion, manure storage)
  • continual increase of consumption
53
Q

What impacts are expected if we don’t change?

A
  • increased wildfires
  • water scarcity and more droughts
  • more intense hurricanes
  • coastal cities could flood
  • mass extinction of many species
54
Q

What are the energy resources of the atmosphere?

A
  • Wind energy (wind turbines)

* solar energy

55
Q

What are the pros and cons of wind energy?

A
  • pros: no GHG and renewable

* cons: cannot be stored and there isn’t always wind

56
Q

What is the sun made up of?

A
  • 75% hydrogen (H)

* 25% helium (He)

57
Q

What types of radiation reach the earth’s surface?

A
  • Infared
  • visible light
  • UV rays
58
Q

How can we use the energy from the sun?

A
  • passive heating systems
  • photovoltaic cells (solar panels)
  • solar collectors
59
Q

What are the advantages of solar energy?

A
  • renewable
  • no GHG
  • cheap to maintain
  • supplies energy to remote areas
60
Q

What are the disadvantages of solar energy?

A
  • energy depends on clouds and sun’s position

* costly to install

61
Q

How does the moon affects the earth’s tides?

A
  • gravity from the moon causes the oceans to flow in or out
  • happens 2x a day
  • causes a tidal range used for tidal energy (must be 5m tall)

Science- 5 spheres (2 decks)

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