Mid-Term Review Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the distribution of fresh and saltwater on Earth?

A

3% freshwater, 97% saltwater

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2
Q

What is the Hydrologic Cycle (Water Cycle)?

A

The cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and lang, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.

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3
Q

How much of the world is covered in water?

A

75%

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4
Q

What are the 4 characteristics of water?

A
  • Polarity
  • Density
  • Solvent
  • High heat capacity
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5
Q

What is the water table?

A

Located on the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water.

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6
Q

What is Zone of Aeration?

A

The region between the earth’s surface and the water table. The main components of this region are the soil and rocks. Holds mostly air.

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7
Q

What is the Zone of Saturation?

A

The soil or rock located below the top of the groundwater table. Pores are saturated with water.

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8
Q

What is evaporation?

A

liquid to gas

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9
Q

What is transpiration?

A

Evaporation of water from plant leaves/trees.

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10
Q

What is condensation?

A

The change of state from a gas to a liquid.

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11
Q

What is precipitation?

A

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches the Earth’s surface.

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12
Q

What is run-off?

A

Water flowing on the surface.

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13
Q

What is the Earth’s main energy source?

A

The Sun

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14
Q

What is a watershed (drainage basin)?

A

All of the land that drains into a river system.

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15
Q

The Mississippi River is the largest watershed in the US? (true or false)

A

T R U E

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16
Q

What is porosity?

A

The amount of pore space (holes) in sediment.

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17
Q

What is permeability?

A

The ability of materials for water to pass through.

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18
Q

What are some factors that affect surface run-off?

A

Type of soil, condition of the soil, slope, plant cover (infiltration and interception)

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19
Q

What factors affect porosity?

A

shape, sorting, packing

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20
Q

What factors affect permeability?

A

grain size, sorting, connectedness

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21
Q

What are some common causes of groundwater/surface water contamination?

A

Industrial waste, sewage & wastewater, fossil fuels/gasoline, fertilizers/pesticides, road salts, bacteria/viruses

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22
Q

What is a continental glacier?

A

This type of glacier covers large continent sized areas with huge ice sheets.

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23
Q

What is a valley glacier?

A

Forms high in the mountains, moves within valley walls and relatively small.

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24
Q

What is a glacier?

A

A large mass of moving ice and snow.

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25
Q

What is the overall force that causes glaciers to move?

A

gravity

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26
Q

What is glacial till?

A

Unsorted and unstratified rocks, soil, and debris deposited by a retreating glacier.

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27
Q

What is a moraine?

A

Accumulation of glacial till.

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28
Q

What are icebergs?

A

Floating masses of ice that have broken off a glacier.

29
Q

This is a depression formed when glacial ice gets buried and melts.

A

kettle lakes

30
Q

Long, low, tear shaped mounds of till found in clusters are called _________________?

A

drumlins

31
Q

What is the Zone of Accumulation?

A

The area above the firn line, where snowfall accumulates and exceeds the losses from ablation. (more snow falls than melts)

32
Q

What is the Zone of Ablation?

A

The lower part of the glacier generally loses more mass from ablation than it receives from accumulation. (more snow melts than falls)

33
Q

What does an “advancing” glacier do?

A

It moves forward and gets bigger.

34
Q

What does a “retreating” glacier do?

A

Moves backward and gets smaller.

35
Q

What are the 2 types of moraines?

A

lateral, terminal

36
Q

What is sea ice?

A

Frozen seawater that floats on the ocean’s surface.

37
Q

What is an ice age?

A

Time periods where much of the Earth is covered by glaciers.

38
Q

How does sea ice affect climate?

A

Keeps the polar regions cool and moderates global climate.

39
Q

What is snowline?

A

Lowest level of permanent snow.

40
Q

What are the 2 most common elements in the ocean?

A

Sodium Chloride

41
Q

Name the 3 most common gasses dissolved in ocean water.

A

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide

42
Q

What is salinity?

A

The amount of salt dissolved in ocean water.

43
Q

What are the main factors that affect salinity?

A
  • Evaporation and freezing
  • Addition of freshwater
44
Q

Which has higher density? (saltwater or freshwater)

A

saltwater

45
Q

What is the thermocline?

A

An area of transition between the warm layer at the surface and the cooler deep water below. Rapid decrease in temperature.

46
Q

What is the halocline?

A

Separation of ocean layers of different salinity.

47
Q

What is upwelling?

A

The rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water.

48
Q

What are deep ocean currents driven by?

A

Differences in density.

49
Q

What are surface currents driven by?

A

Global winds and the Coriolis Effect.

50
Q

What is the Coriolis Effect?

A

The effect of Earth’s rotation on the direction of winds and currents.

51
Q

What is a gyre?

A

Large system of circulating ocean currents.

52
Q

What are the types of chemical bonds?

A

Ionic, molecule, and covalent

53
Q

What is ionic bonding?

A

Positive and negative charged atoms that attract to each other.

54
Q

What is a molecule?

A

2 or more atoms bonded together

55
Q

What is covalent bonding?

A

Sharing of electrons, the atoms are physically bound together.

56
Q

What is the octet rule?

A

Elements bond together so they can get/have 8 electrons in their outer shell.

57
Q

What does polarity do?

A

Polarity make the water like a magnent.

58
Q

What does ‘universal solvent’ mean?

A

Water is capable of dissolving more substances than any other liquid

59
Q

What does it mean and why is water a ‘buffer’?

A

To be a ‘buffer’ means that water keeps near cities warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

This is due to the high specific heat capacity.

60
Q

True or False: Water can be destroyed.

A

F A L S E

61
Q

What is sublimation?

A

Ice turning from solid to gas

62
Q

What determines the temperature of surface currents?

A

Where the wind is coming from
- Equator = warm
- Arctic = cold
SHAPED BY CORIOLUS EFFECT

63
Q

What are some inputs and outputs of water budgets?

A

Inputs
- Precipitation
- Runoff
Outputs
- Evapotranspirationn

64
Q

Faster rivers more _____________ sediments (bigger or smaller)

A

B I G G E R

65
Q

Low connectedness equals…

A

Low permeability

66
Q

Big sediments have a ___________ porosity

A

B I G G E R

67
Q

Gravel has a __________ porosity

A

L O W

68
Q

Unconfined aquifers are under what layer?

A

A permeable layer