Test 2 Flashcards
As climate changes so does
Extreme weather
Heat wave
sustained high temperatures over a period of weeks can devastate a population
Who suffers most from heat and humidity?
children and the elderly
Inter-tropical Convergence zone (ITCZ)
where trade winds from the southern and northern hemispheres meet in the tropics
Rising warm air in the northern hemisphere creates a low-pressure zone called ______
A cyclone
Fronts
The boundaries between different air masses
High temperatures in conjunction with drying conditions can lead to ___
Droughts
2 things droughts that occur for several years can cause
1- Agriculture losses
2- Famine
High temperatures and low humidity can occur from changes in positions of _______ blocking moisture generated in atmospheric convergence zones
Jet streams
Jet stream
Fast-moving belts of air in the upper troposphere that flow towards the east
What are 2 impacts that a long drought can cause
1- Depopulation of a region
2- Change is economies
Why is it expected that droughts will worsen
Due to climate change
Strong wind, or an overwhelming dust storm is known as a ____
Haboob
Humidex
Index which combines temperature and relative humidity. Describes how we feel on a hot day
2 reasons heat kill fewer people in Canada nowadays
1- Air conditioning
2- Health awareness
What are winter storms associated with
Counter-clockwise rotating air masses “lows” often enhanced through jet stream throughs
Nor’easter
Large scale cyclone known for creating storms in Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States
What do the production of winter storms depend on
- Local conditions
- Presence of open bodies of water
Blizzards
Most violent winter storm
- Include strong winds and cold temperatures
4 qualities of a blizzard as described by Environment Canada
1- Wind speed of >40km/h
2- Temperature less then 0deg or windchill >-25deg
3- Visibility of less then 1km
4- Duration of at lest 3-6 hours
Thunder storms are generated from
Tall, buoyant, cumulus clouds of rising moist air
Qualities of an air-mass thunderstorm
- Generated by local heating and uplift of an air mass
- Relatively small (can produce tornadoes)
Qualities of a severe thunderstorm
- Generated by collisions of weather system fronts (along collision zones)
- Typically to the east of jet stream upper level troughs
- A cold front can wedge under warm moist air driving it upwards creating a line of storms
5 storm related things thunderstorms can generate
1- Lighting 2- Thunder 3- Rain 4- Gusty winds 5- Hail
Single cell TS are generated by
warm air rising
Single cell TS have _____ movement
Verticle
Super-cell TS are a
violent and severe type of thunderstorm that forms from a huge updraft of air
A super cell can cover an area with a diameter of _____ and can last up for _____
20-50km
2-4 hours
Super cell thunderstorms known with a mesocyclone can cause
Tornadoes
Rain and hail commonly fall from the leading part of of the super cell, while tornadoes may spin out of the _____
Trailing portion
A major factor in weather related deaths is
Lightning
3 types of significant damage caused by lightning
1- Forest fires
2- Physical damage to structures
3- Physical damage to electronics
_____ are generated by severe thunderstorms and are associated with hurricanes and cyclones
Tornadoes
When do tornadoes occur
When air masses moving in different directions collide
Polar air masses
- Are cold and dry
- Are cool to cold
Tropical (maritime) air masses
- Are warm to hot
- Moist cool or warm
Continental air masses
- hot and dry
Hadley cells
- Huge air circulation patterns
Warm, moist equatorial air rises in giant columns to high altitudes, where it cools and drops its condensed moisture as abundant rain on the ____
Tropics
Hadley/Ferrel interface at 30deg
High pressure zone
Ferrel/Polar interface at 60deg
Low pressure zone
El Nino is caused by
Weather patterns from variation in surface water temps and wind directions primarily off the Pacific coast of South America
El Nino can cause extreme weather such as
Droughts and floods
Trade winds blow warm surface waters westward piling warm water in the ______
Western pacific
Low pressure occurs in the ____, from colder replacement surface waters and upwellings
East
Piled waters from the west flow “downhill” to the east, bringing warm and clouds to the Pacific coast of South America (_____)
El Nino
La Nina
- El Nino’s sister
- Occurs when cooler water moves into the equatorial Pacific Ocean
- Cold air with high precip to northwestern USA and western Canada
4 ideal conditions to generate a hurricane
1- Seawater temp >27deg (adds latent heat to fuel storm)
2- Humid, warm, unstable air (creates convection)
3- Weak upper level winds blowing in same direction as developing storm
4- 500km from equator (needs Coriolis effect to deflect surface winds)
Warm water builds up on the Australian side, if the trade winds change it can build a _____
Cyclone
Off the coast of Africa is the ____
Bermuda high
The Bermuda high can direct ______
Hurricanes
Hurricanes that are _____ can cause more destruction
Stationary
Surges
Temporarily raise sea level over six meters caused by storm winds and low pressure
Saffir-Simpson scale
Measure potential damage
The height of the water is greatest when _______
The speed of the wind is at max
The spinning causes the surge to be the greatest in the _____ quadrant of the storm as it makes landfall
Right
Height is greater if landfall coincides with _____
High tide
A relatively thin shell of gases surrounds Earth is known as the
Atmosphere
Atlantic storms that effect Canada and the USA are caused by
Noreasterns
How is the atmosphere mainly heated
From the ground upward
____________ move along jet streams and have two frontal systems, warm and cold fronts
Low pressure systems
Where is the tropopause located
Below the stratosphere
5 layers of the atmosphere
1- Exosphere (outter most) 2- Thermosphere 3- Mesosphere 4- Stratosphere 5- Troposphere
In what sphere does our weather occur
Troposphere
What is fire
The rapid combination of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen
What 3 things can fire fuel be made up of
1- Cellulose or hemicellelose
2- Lignin
3- Resins, oil, fats, terpines
What is cellulose or hemicellelous made up of and at what temp does it burn
50-75% plant material
Burns at low temps, visible flame
What does lignin do and at what temperature does it burn at
Gives wood its strength
Burns at higher temps, glowing hot coals
Resins, oils, fats, terpines tend to produces other _____ and they flame up ______
gases
suddenly
What percentage of the earths atmosphere is Oxygen
21%
When it is warm, dry (drought) or summer climates what is likely to happen
Fires
What are the 3 stages of fire
1- Preheating
2- Pyrolysis
3- Complete combustion
What 2 things happens in the preheating stage of the fire
1- Drives water out of combustible material
2- Raises temperature
What 2 things happen in the Pyrolysis stage of the fire
1- Thermal degradation into flammable hydrocarbons, plus water vapor, CO, CO2, and mineral residues (carbon rich)
2- Gases may ignite and combustion begins
What is flaming combustion
The max energy release in a fire
What does white smoke signify
Gases are being broke down releasing oxygen and leaving carbon
What does black smoke signify
Incomplete combustion. Unburned wood fragments, ashes, gases
Convection and radiation heat moves
Up and away
Conduction heat moves
Inward
What 3 ways can wildfires spread
1- move along the ground with glowing combustion
2- Advance as a wall along flaming combustion front
3- Race through tree tops as a crown fire
What 4 fire behaviors strengthen the fire
1- Heat creates unstable air conditions
2- Rising air in convection columns
3- May spin off fire tornadoes
4- Wing sucked in at bottom adding oxygen
What are 2 ways to suppress a fire
1- burn back
2- remove fuel, soak with water/chemical
What are 3 weather conditions necessary for a fire
1- Low relative humidity
2- Strong winds
3- Lightening activity
Under natural conditions, frequency of fires depends on _____ and type of _________
Climate
Type of vegetation
What climate will not burn
Tropical rainforest
During the bombardment phase _____ formed from condensation of “degassed” water vapor over _______ ago
Oceans
4 Ga
What percentage of the earths surface is covered in water? Average depth?
Land? Average height?
70% 3.8km deep
30% 830m above sea level
It is thought that H2O and H2 had come from the _____-
Solar nebula
What are concentrations of the oceans salinity affected by
By the evaporation rates or the addition of fresh water
What 2 dissolved atmospheric gases does seawater contain
1- Nitrogen
2- Oxygen
What are the 3 layers of ocean structure and what are their depths
1- Shallow surface zone (to - 450m)
2- transition zone
3- deep zone ( >1500m)
What is the term used for between a transition zone where temperature rapidly falls
Thermocline
What are 2 of the long term changes in sea level
1- Eustatic changes
2- Tectonic related changes
What are the 3 types of water movement
1- Waves
2- Tides
3- Currents
What are the 4 types of water currents
1- Local and regional scales
2- Tidal currents
3 Wave currents - surface movement, wind control
4- Density currents (vertical)
What do density currents produce
Thermohaline circulation
How many years does it take surface waters that move into deeper currents to return to the surface
It can take up to 2000 years
The continuous circulation of earths water supply is called the
Hydrologic cycle
What type of water is the dominant agent of erosion and transport
Surface run off
Bodies of water confined in a channel, moving under the influence of gravity is called a
Stream
What are the 2 types of streams
1- Longitudinal profile
2- Cross-sections
What type of stream begins in a steeper area and flows across gentle plain to ocean
Longitudinal
What type of stream is typically v-shaped cutting into the bedrock of mountainous regions
Cross-sections
What is the term for a ridge of high ground separating basins and an example
Drainage divide
Continental divide
What is it called when a total area is drained by a stream and its tributaries
Drainage basin
What drainage basin covers most of North America
Mississippi River drainage basin
What is the main factor that effects stream erosion or deposition
Velocity
When does the greatest amount of transport and erosion occur
During the flood stage
What is the term for when water level in a river is equal to the height of the banks
Bankfull
The process of deepening a valley is called
Downcutting
What are the 3 stream stages
1- Youth
2- Mature
3- Old age
What stream stage is characterized by rapids, waterfalls, narrow v-shape valleys, steep gradient, little to no floodplain
Youth
What stream stage is characterized by a floodplain formed, meanders develop, lower gradient, smooth profile
Mature
What stream stage is it when the floodplain is several times wider than active meander belt
Old age
7 hydrologic conditions that may lead to flooding
1- rainfall
2- heavy rainfall on frozen/unsaturated ground
3- Rapid snow melt/rain/snow-pack
4- Large drainage area into constrained channel
5- Narrow channel, no floodplain
6- Impervious ground
7- Lack of/removal of vegetation
3 Human influences that can cause flooding
1- Upstream urbanization
2- Channelization
3- Dam failure
Changes in the sun can affect the whole
Planet
What are emitted as plasma streams or a solar wind that moves outward in all directions
Charged particles emitted from the sun
What is produced by nuclear fussion reactions in the sun
Electromagnetic radiation
Especially in the polar regions solar winds may interact with air molecules in the ______
Ionosphere
Charged particles may be concentrated into ____ for example the ____
belts
van allen belt
Mostly solar winds are
Deflected around the earth
Radiation that moves with the speed of light
Electromagnetic radition
Protons and electrons emitted by the sun, which carry energy towards earth are called
Charged particles
A stream of extremely hot ionized gases ejected from the surface of the sun
Plasma streams
Stream of energized charged particles streaming in all directions from the sn
Solar winds
Charged particles from the solar winds are captured by the earths ______
Magnetic feild
Solar storms are caused by
an increase in the solar wind that overpower earths magnetic field
What is a stone or metallic rock that comes from space
Asteroids
What is the name for a dirty snowball from space
Comets
Asteroids that pass through the earths orbit around the sun
Near-earth asteroids
An asteroid, comet, meteor, or meteorite that passes through Earth’s orbit around the sun
Near-earth objects
Scale that measures the risk posed by near-earth objects
Torino scale
3 ways to change earth bound objects
1- nuke them (dumb)
2- deflect them
3- nudge them
What are the 3 continued changes in the Earths characteristics
1- Distribution of land/water
2- Atmosphere
3- Oceans
What occurs in the Phanerozoic Eon to present
Visible life, increasing species
What are 3 things related to plate tectonics that could have caused the extinction of dinosaurs
1- Sea floor spreading rates
2- volcanism
3- continent size and position
What rocks are formed in
warm climates:
Cool conditions:
WC: Coral reefs, limestone, aluminum ore
CC: Glacial erosion and deposits
What is one of the reasons for global change
Jet streams
What are the characteristics of the Mesozoic Era
Pangea
Dinosaurs
Warm earth
What are the characteristics of the Cenozoic Era
55 Ma- cooling trend, CO2 and CH4 removed from atmosphere
44 Ma- Antarctica surrounded by water
14 Ma- Glacial ice sheet Antarctica, mountains NA
2.5 Ma- ice sheets in northern hemisphere
Why are future temperatures expected in increase
due to anthropocentric CO2 emissions -IPCC
What 5 happenings have lead to global change
1- Breakup of Pangea 2- Change circulation patterns 3- Land over poles 4- Increasing albedo 5- Continent to continent collision
The natural process/phenomenon of the Earth that may cause problems for people
Hazard
When significant # of people are involved with a hazard, casualties, societal disruptions, property damage
Disaster
A disaster that can affect an entire country. Needs outside support
Catastrophes
A natural hazard. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, asteroid/comets, land slides
Geological hazard
A natural and human made hazard. Human disease, plant and animal disease (dear ticks -> lyme disease)
Biological hazard
A natural and man made hazard. Floods, droughts, wildfires, weather phenomena, landslides
Weather related hazards
What are the 4 reasons that so many casualties happen when disaster strikes third world countries
1- low infrastructure
2- low emergency response
3- high population
4- poor government
What effects the shape of a rock
Strain
What 4 things did the massive amount of heat during the earths early stages cause
1- Differentiation into layers
2- Primitive crust
3- large oceans
4- Dense atmosphere
When did the earth form
around 4.5 Ga
What is derived from magma made of lighter elements
Felsic rock
What is derived from magma made of heavier elements
Mafic rock
Rock modified by heat, pressure and chemical change
Metamorphosed
What 3 things started the plate tectonics
1- Fracturing due to contraction
2- More intense convection
3- Late stage impacts
In what Eon did multi-cellular life first start to appear
Precambrian
Formed in the Archean Eon ____ formed from the highly metamorphosed rocks of continents with later sedimentary rocks on top forming ______
Shields
Cratons
What are the 2 characteristics of the super-continent Rodinia
1- Most continents together
2- Major ice age
What was the original atmosphere most likely made up of
Helium and hydrogen
In the early earth days there was no available _____
Oxygen
What are the 7 spheres and the make up of the earth
1- Atmosphere 2- Hydrosphere 3- Lithosphere 4- Asthenosphere 5- Mesosphere 6- outer core 7- inner core
What are the 4 basic systems/spheres the earth consists of and their compenents
1- lithosphere/geosphere = the solid earth
2- Hydrosphere = liquid and solid water
3- Atmosphere = gasses and components
4- Biosphere = organic components
At what layer do the 4 spheres converge
The life layer
What rock has the characteristics of solidify fast at the surface, usually fine grain sizes?
Solidifies slowly beneath the surface, usually coarse grained, and can be exposed at the surface by tectonic processes
Extrusive igneous rock
Intrusive igneous rock
Unconsolidated sediments are subject to lithifaction from compaction and cementation, these may become _________
Sedimentary rocks
Previously formed rocks are subjected to metamorphism (heat/pressure/circulating fluids) they may become _________
Metamorphic rocks
Oceanic crust is dense and composed of
Basalt
Continental crust is less dense, thicker and typically composed of
Granite
What is composed of lithosphere broken plates that are in constant motion on the underlying asthenosphere
Plate tectonics
At what boundary do the plates slide past each other (shear) and create large earthquakes
Transform plate boundaries
At what boundary do plates move apart (tension) -this created new crust in early stages and can now create smaller earthquakes
Divergent zones
At what boundary do plates collide (once creating the mountains) and create great earth quakes
Convergent zones
An isolated region of high temperature deep within the mesosphere that can produce volcanoes is called a
Hot spot
Rock deforms _____ under low stress
Rock deforms _____ under high stress
Elastically
Plastically
Waves of energy produced by EQs
Seismic waves
The point in the earth where seismic waves originate
Focus/hypocenter
The point of the earth directly above the focus
Epicenter
Earthquakes are measured with
Richter scales
What are the 4 things that earthquake size depends on
1- Magnitude
2- Distance
3- Materials the wave passes though
4- Directivity of fault rupture
If you are to notice a tsunami what should you do
Get to high ground
4 ways to predict an earthquake
1- Foreshocks
2- Surface bulges
3- Changes in porosity/permeability
4- animal behavior
3 ways to mitigate/control an earthquake
1- Lubricate faults (nuclear explosions
2- Building codes
3- Land use planning
Where are the 3 places volcanoes occur
1- Divergent plate boundaries
2- Convergent plate boundaries
3- Intra-plate (hot-spots)
Material that is explosively ejected from volcanic material composed of ash, lava, and previously hardened debris and gasses
Pyroclastic
Lahar
Water generated flow of unconsolidated pyroclastic debris
What 4 rock types are volcanoes made up of
1- Rhyolite
2- Andesite
3- Basalt
4- Komattite
What volcano has the characteristic of large size, gentle slopes, long life-spans
Shield volcano
What has the characteristics of flank eruptions on sides of larger volcanoes, form pyroclastic material, and are short lived
Pyroclastic cones
What type of volcano has large steep sides, can be inactive for long periods, loose material creates other hazards
Andesitic volcano (stratovolcanoes)
What 4 things can cause a pyroclastic eruption
1- dome collapse
2- Magma surges
3- Lateral explosions
4- Gas/ash cloud (column) collapse
What has the characteristics of very viscous lava, and tend to form plug domes
Rhyolitic explosions
What volcano has the characteristics of super viscous lava, high volatile content, high amounts of pyroclastics, and can leave behind calderas
Supervolcanoes
What are the 5 harmful gases that can be released when a volcano explodes
1- Carbon 2- Sulphur dioxide 3- Hydrogen Sulphides 4- Chlorine 5- Fluorine
The gravitational transfer of earths materials down a slope
Mass wasting (mass movement)
What are the 4 factors that control mass wasting
1- Gravity
2- Slope angle
3- Slope materials
4- Water
When _____ saturates slope materials it can weaken the bond between grains and change its resistance to movement
Water
The attraction between small soil particles that is provided by the surface tension of water between the particles
Cohesion
Water wants to be the same height even on a slope. The water pushes up through the material creating ______
Hydraulic pressure
2 things affecting slope stability
1- Bedding (layers), joints, faults
2- vegetation (binds loose material, but also allows saturation)
4 things that can cause an earthquake
1- Removal of supporting material at the base
2- Overloading (materials on the slope)
3- Water
4- Earthquakes
4 types of mass movement
1- Falls - near vertical free fall of material
2- Slides- Translational or rotational - avalanche
3- Flows- Debris, mud or earth, lahar flows
4- Subsidence - Sinking or collapsing of land
In a _______ slide ground level drops from its previous height
Rotational
4 materials prone to landslides
1- Lacustrine
2- Marine silts
3- Cretaceous shakes
4- clay
6 ways to prevent a landslide
1- Terrain analysis 2- Reduce weight on slopes 3- Flatten/reduce slope angle 4- Plant vegetation 5- Aid water drainage 6- Retaining walls and rock bolts
