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Enriched Science > Lithosphere and Hydrosphere > Flashcards

Lithosphere and Hydrosphere Flashcards

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1
Q

The lithosphere is…

A
  • Hard shell of the Earth

- Made up of crust and top upper mantle

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2
Q

What are the environmental damage to soils?

A
  • The use of heavy machinery compacts the soil, which reduces oxygen content and prevents the rain from penetrating: the rainwater runoff carries away the nutrients needed for plant growth.
  • Accelerated crop rotation prevents soils from regenerating nutrients naturally; as a result more fertilizers have to be used.
  • Excessive use of pesticides contaminate the soil and can reduce biodiversity by killing many beneficial microorganisms and insects.
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3
Q

Describe Permafrost:

A
  • Permafrost is ground whose temperature has been 0 degrees celsius or lower for at least two years.
  • Almost 50% of the land in Canada is permafrost
  • Occurs at high altitude or northern regions
  • In certain regions, upper layer of permafrost can thaw in summer plants can grow
  • Active layer

*Permafrost makes agriculture impossible and construction difficult.

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4
Q

What are the consequences of melting permafrost?

A
  • Increasing amount CO2 and methane
  • Soil instability ( leading to landslides)
  • Increasing amounts of vegetation
  • Changing ecosystems
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5
Q

List energy sources that are fossil fuels and explain..

A
  • Coal, Oil and Gas are called “fossil fuels” because they have been formed from the fossilized remains of prehistoric plants and animals.
  • They provide 2/3 of the worlds electricity demands
  • Fossil fuels result from the transformation of organic residue
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6
Q

Explain coal…..

A
  • Coal doesn’t come from marine organisms

* Coal comes from terrestrial plants that grew in swamps

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7
Q

What are the advantages of fossil fuels?

A
  • Very large amounts of electricity can be generated fairly cheaply
  • Transporting oil and gas to the power station is easy
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8
Q

What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?

A
  • Pollution
  • Burning any fossil fuel produces CO2, which contributes to the “greenhouse effect”, warming the earth.
  • Burning coal produces SO2, a gas that contributes to acid rain.
  • Mining coal can be difficult and dangerous
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9
Q

Describe Uranium:

A
  • Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which is. metal found in the Earth’s crust.
  • Nuclear energy is the energy stored in the bonds between the particles in the nucleus of an atom.
  • The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel, and the heat is generated by nuclear fission.
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10
Q

Advantages of Nuclear Power:

A
  • Nuclear power costs about the same as coal, so it’s not expensive to make.
  • Does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
  • Produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel.
  • Produces small amounts of waste
  • Nuclear power is reliable
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11
Q

Disadvantages of nuclear power:

A
  • Heat emitted is accompanied by radioactivity

* Although not much waste is produced, it is dangerous due to its radioactivity

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12
Q

Describe Geothermal Power:

A
  • Hot molten rocks underground contain huge amounts of energy
  • A fluid is circulated deep underground to be heated and then rises tot he surface.
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13
Q

Advantages of Geothermal Power:

A
  • Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution
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14
Q

Disadvantages of geothermal power:

A
  • Very expensive
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15
Q

Are fossil fuels renewable?

A
  • Fossil fuels are NOT a renewable energy resource
  • Nuclear energy from uranium is NOT renewable
  • HOWEVER GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IS RENEWABLE!
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16
Q

Describe the types of pollution and degradation:

A
  • Soil depletion
  • The loss of soil fertility ( i.e loss of minerals, soil compaction, oxygen deprivation)
  • Contamination
  • Abnormal presence of a harmful substance in an environment ( i.e acid rain)
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17
Q

Define the hydrosphere…

A
  • Earth’s outer layer of water (liquid, solid and gas)

* More than 2/3 of the Earth surface is water

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18
Q

Describe inland waters:

A
  • Consists of all of the freshwater bodies of water found on continents, uniting rivers, lakes and groundwater.
  • Watersheds
  • Also called cachement areas or drainage basins
  • Area of land whose lakes and rivers all empty into the same larger body of water. (example in notes)
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19
Q

What are the continents that divide the ocean waters covering the Earth in five main areas?

A
  • Pacific
  • Atlantic
  • Indian
  • Arctic
  • Southern
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20
Q

What is salinity?

A
  • Measure of amount of salt in a liquid
  • Near poles, melting ice and glaciers dilute water to reduce its salt content
  • In areas of extreme heat, water evaporation causes water to increase its salt content
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21
Q

The temperature of water can be affected by :

A
  • Depth
  • Sunlight penetrates the upper layers and warms the water
  • Lower layers are very cold
  • Seasons
  • In the winter, oceans lose some heat that is stored from the summer
  • Latitude
  • Temperature of water is higher at the equator than at the poles
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22
Q

Describe ocean current:

A

Movement of seawater in a certain direction

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23
Q

What are the two types of currents?

A
  • Surface currents

- Subsurface

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24
Q

Describe ocean circulation:

A
  • Combination of all currents across the oceans
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25
Q

Describe surface currents:

A

*Movement of seawater that is mostly wind driven ( move horizontally in the first 400m of water below surface)

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26
Q

Describe subsurface currents:

A
  • Deep currents prevail at lower depths
  • Caused by variations in density.
  • The denser the water the deeper it sinks
  • Colder water is more dense
  • The higher the salinity, the denser the water
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27
Q

Describe Thermohaline Circulation:

A
  • Surface and subsurface currents are closely interrelated and form a “conveyer belt” that moves all water around the world
  • Responsible for the heat transfer around the world
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28
Q

Describe the Crysophere:

A
  • Consists of all the frozen water on Earth’s surface
  • Pack ice (Ice floating on the oceans near the North and South poles)
  • Glaciers
  • A mass of ice on land, formed by compressed snow
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29
Q

What are two energy sources?

A

Hydroelectricity and Hydroelectric dams

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30
Q

Describe Hydroelectricity:

A
  • Energy derived from moving water
  • A dam is built to trap water
  • Water is allowed to flow through tunnels in the dam, to turn turbines and thus drive generators.
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31
Q

Describe Hydroelectric Dams:

A
  • Converts hydraulic energy into electrical power
32
Q

What are the advantages of hydroelectricity?

A
  • Virtually no waste or pollution produced
  • Hydro-electric power stations can increase to full power very quickly, unlike other power stations
  • Electricity can be generated constantly
33
Q

What are the disadvantages of hydroelectricity?

A
  • Building a large dam will flood a very large area upstream, devastating for animals and plants that used to live there.
  • Mercury accumulation in water reservoirs from the soil, introduced into food chain.
34
Q

Is hydro- electric power is renewable?

A

Hydro-electric power is renewable.

35
Q

Describe point sources:

A
  • Pollution can be traced to a well defined site
36
Q

Describe non-point sources:

A
  • Difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of pollution
37
Q

Describe Degradation:

A
  • Living organisms have the ability to degrade certain containments and thus balance the aquatic ecosystems
  • Organisms can no longer compensate when there are too many containments.
  • Plastics, metals and certain pesticides are not biodegradable.
38
Q

Thermal Pollution:

A
  • Discharge of warm water into rivers
  • Warm water alters natural environment by raising the temperature and decreasing the concentration of oxygen in the water.
  • Harmful to aquatic species
39
Q

Eutrophication:

A
  • Natural waters lose their oxygen because of an excessive accumulation of organic matter and nutrients
  • Farming
  • Pesticides and excess fertilizers make their own way into waters
  • Phosphides promote algae growth
  • Algae sink to the bottom of the lake when dead and are eaten by bacteria, that consume the oxygen during the process
  • Eutrophication results.
40
Q

Name some threats at sea:

A
  • Accidental oil spills
  • Oil tankers clean their reservoirs at sea
  • Dumping waste
  • All result in hydrocarbons (carbon/hydrogen compounds) being dumped in water
  • Hydrocarbons float on the water surface and pollute the coastlines
41
Q

Define the atmosphere:

A
  • Layer of air surrounding the Earth
  • Made up of gases essential for life
  • Act as a screen blocking UV rays from the sun
  • Stable climate by retaining heat
  • Oxygen essential for cellular respiration
  • Carbon dioxide essential for photosynthesis
42
Q

Describe the composition of the atmosphere:

A
  • Air is the composition of gases that make up the atmosphere
  • Water vapour
  • Important for cloud formation and precipitation
  • Measured as relative humidity
  • Air contains solid and liquid particles (dust, pollen)
43
Q

Describe the Corilois effect:

A
  • The rotation of the earth causes the atmospheric circulation to change.
  • Winds in the North Hemisphere are deviated to the right
  • Winds in the Southern Hemisphere are deviated to the left.
44
Q

Describe Prevailing Winds:

A
  • Major atmospheric currents that blow in a given direction according to global patterns of movement
  • Trade Winds
  • Westerlies
  • Polar Easterlies
45
Q

Define Jet Streams:

A

*Powerful winds at a very high altitude from west to east between the circulation cells.

46
Q

Define the “Greenhouse Effect”:

A
  • A natural process that allows the Earth to retain some of the heat it receives from the sun due to the greenhouse gases.
  • Greenhouse gases act like a roof in the temperature
  • mainly water vapour (H2O)
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Methane (CH4)
  • Dinitrogen monoxide (N2O)

The concern is that the amount of greenhouse warming will increase with the rise of CO2 due to human activity.

47
Q

Describe climate change:

A

The abnormal modification of the climate on Earth caused by human activity.

48
Q

What does global warming refer to?

A
  • Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans
49
Q

What are the causes of global warming?

A

Greenhouse gases increase through human activity such as:

  • Deforestation- More CO2 in the air because less photosynthesis occurring
  • Use of fertilizers- Produces an increase of N20
  • Burning of fossil fuels- More CO2 produced by combustion reactions
50
Q

What are other substances that are considered atmospheric contaminants:

A
  • Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
  • Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
  • Mercury, Arsenic and Lead
  • From oil and coal combustion
  • Toxic because they accumulate in living organisms
  • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
  • Dust and airborne particles
51
Q

Define Acid Rain:

A

The mixing of SO2 and NO with precipitation to form H2SO4 and HNO3.

52
Q

What can acid rain effect:

A
  • Trees and plants: lose their leaves, damage their bark, and stunt their growth. Buffering capacity of soil is also affected.
  • Lakes, Rivers, Oceans: If the PH of a lake drops below 4.8, it’s plants and animals risk death
  • Buildings and cars: ability to corrode certain materials
53
Q

Explain the ozone layer and the thinning of it:

A
  • Ozone is a molecule composed of 3 Oxygen atoms (O3)
  • The Ozone layer is a part of the atmosphere with a high concentration of O3 which absorb some of the UV rays from the sun.
  • Chlorine atoms from CFCs bond with ozone and form a new molecule that can no longer block UV rays
54
Q

Explain Smog:

A
  • Smog: A thick mixture of fog, smoke and atmospheric pollutants
  • Affected by weather conditions
  • O3 molecules at a low level in the atmosphere are harmful to our health
  • Sunlight reacts with NO to form O3
  • O3 combines with NO2 and SO2 to form smog
55
Q

Explain wind energy:

A
  • We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propeller
56
Q

What are the advantages to wind power:

A
  • Wind is free, cheap
  • Produces no waste or greenhouse gases
  • The land beneath can usually still be used for farming
57
Q

What are the disadvantages of wind power:

A
  • The wind is not always predictable, some days have no wind.
  • Some people feel that covering the landscape with these towers is unslightly.
  • Can kill birds- migrating flocks tend to like strong winds. Splat!
  • Noisy
58
Q

What does the sun provide us with?

A
  • Energy emissions provide us with light and heat
59
Q

What does the moon provide us with?

A
  • Because of it’s proximity with Earth, exerts a gravitational force.
60
Q

Explain Solar Radiation:

A
  • Sun is a star composed of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium.
  • The extremely high temperature of the sun ( 15 000 degrees celsius) causes nuclear reactions that transform hydrogen to helium.
  • The energy produced is dispersed throughout space as radiation.
  • Solar radiation is composed of all the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum
61
Q

Explain Solar Energy:

A
  • The energy that radiates comes from the sun in the form of radiation through the atmosphere
  • Various technologies have been developed to put solar energy to use
62
Q

What are three technologies used to put solar energy to use?

A
  • Passive heating systems
  • Positioning houses so that they absorb the most amount of heat
  • Photovoltaic cells
  • Silicon is hit by light and electrons are set in motion, causing an electric current
  • Solar collectors
  • Large gas panels. Below the panels are copper pipes filled with moving water. Water heats various elements in house.
63
Q

What are the advantages to solar power?

A
  • Solar energy is free
  • It needs no fuel snd produces no waste or pollution
  • In sunny countries, solar power can be used where there is no easy way to get electricity to a remote place.
64
Q

What are the disadvantages to solar power?

A
  • Doesn’t work at night
  • Very expensive to build solar power stations
  • Can be unreliable unless you’re in a very sunny climate.
65
Q

Since the Earth spins, the side facing the …..

A

moon changes throughout the day

66
Q

1)The water masses on the side closest to the moon swell because they are…..
( This is also called high tide)

2) The water masses on the opposite also swell decays they are…

A

1) because they are attracted to the moon.

2) They are attracted tot he moon than the Earth.

67
Q

What is a tide and what is it caused by?

A
  • A tide is a rise and fall of water in the seas and oceans. It is caused by the gravitational force of the Moon and, to a lesser extent, of the Sun.
68
Q

What is the difference in water levels at low tide and high tide called?

A
  • Tidal Range
69
Q

The sun also exerts a gravitational force on the Earth. When the Sun and Moon are aligned with the Earth, the tidal range is at it’s maximum. The extremely high and low tides at these times are called….

A
  • Spring Tides
70
Q

What is tidal energy?

A

The energy obtained from the ebb and flow of tides.

71
Q

Tidal energy works rather like hydroelectricity, except…

A

The dam is MUCH bigger.

72
Q

How is tidal power created?

A

A huge dam is built across a river. When the tide goes in and out, the water flows through tunnels in the dam.
Turbines turn, or water can be used to push air through a pipe, which then turns a turbine. Large lock gates, like the ones used on canals, allow ships to pass.

73
Q

What are the advantages to tidal power?

A
  • Once you’ve built it, tidal power is free.
  • It produces no greenhouse gases or other waste.
  • It needs no fuel.
  • It produces electricity reliably.
  • Not expensive to maintain.
  • Tides are totally predictable.
74
Q

What are the disadvantages to tidal power?

A
  • Very expensive to build

* Only provides power for around 10 hours each day, when the tide is actually moving in or out.

75
Q

Is tidal energy renewable?

A

Tidal energy is renewable.

The tides will continue to ebb and flow, and the energy is there for the taking.

Enriched Science (3 decks)

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