module c Flashcards
ice, pollen, seeds, and trees
what is permafrost?
permanetely frozen ground
what is the positive feedback effect?
gets colder, bigger ice sheet, more heat reflected, gets colder
where to massive ice sheets most commonly occur?
polar regions and high altitudes
what effect of ice causes instabilities in the earth’s mantle?
expanding and receding ice
the deeper/older layers of ice are…
thinner (get thinner over time)
what is an advantage of ice cores??
easily and accurately dated
what is the principle of uniformitarianism?
the present is the key to the past
what is an assemblage?
any group of subfossils
what is the study of the
environmental conditions affecting the
preservation of animal or plant remains?
taphonomy
true or false: an assemblage is a completerecord of the ecosystem it came from
false
what is an analogue assemblage?
reflects environments we have seen before
reflects environments we have not seen before
non-analogue assemblage
what is a pollen analysis?
a technique for reconstructing former vegetation by means of the pollen grain it produces
what is palynology?
takes into consideration not just pollen, but also other microfossils
pollen walls are composed of…
sporopollenin
