Topic 1 Flashcards
Igneous rocks?
Cool/solidified magma, above ground
Sedimentry rocks?
Layers of sediments cemented together under pressure
Metamorphic rocks?
Extreme heat/pressure on rocks, change-v hard metamorphic rocks
What is a geologist?
Studies rocks
What are the parts of the lithosphere?
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
Inner core?
Middle of the earth, more molten and liquid towards the centre, the inner core doesn’t melt or boil due to the weight of the rest of the earth pushing down on it.
Crust?
Made from magma when it cools slowly it settles as uneven, mismatched, rubbing giant plates (tectonic plates)
Mantle?
Top of mantle is semi liquid, tectonic plates float on it, mantle heat and currents slowly stir and move tectonic plates. (2-10cm yr)
What is an earthquake? Where does most damage occur?
Jolting of the earths surface caused by release of built up pressure in the earths plates most damage occurs near epicentre
Tsunami?
Earthquake pushing up water
Volcano?
Vent/hole in Earth where molten rock and other materials escape onto surface
What are volcanic eruptions triggered by?
Tectonic plate movement or build up of pressure within a plate
What is the atmosphere?
A layer of gases that we commonly call air that surround our earth
What gases does the atmosphere contain?
21% oxygen, O2 (respiration), o3 (ozone offers protection), CO2 + other green house gases offer warmth and nitrogen 78% of our atmosphere dilutes oxygen.
What are the parts of the atmosphere?
Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, exosphere
Troposphere?
Bottom layer, we live here, 75% air found here, jets, colder when higher, thicker @ equator, thinner @ poles bc earth spins
Stratosphere?
Extends from top of troposphere, slight temp change, contains ozone layer, no air turbulence, clouds or weather
Mesosphere?
Above stratosphere, temp gets colder, millions of meteors burn up each day
Ionosphere?
Aka thermosphere, thickest layer, temp high 1% air particles, meteor begin to burn up, some space shuttles and satellites orbit, aurora happens.
Exosphere?
Top of atmosphere, merges into space, communication satellites found here.
Poem to remember layers of atmosphere?
Tracy Sees My Incredible Example
Hydrosphere?
Made up of all Earth’s water, covers approx 70%!Earth
Cryosphere?
Part of hydrosphere, made up of frozen water, regulates climates, influences atmosphere and ocean circulation and currents and the amount of moisture in atmosphere and reflects sun rays.
Biosphere?
Made up of all living things on earth, plants, animals and bacteria
Biodiversity?
Bio=life diversity=variety
Biotic? Abiotic?
Living and non living
Where is the troposphere located?
Bottom layer
What percentage of air does the troposphere contain?
75%
Which layer is the ozone layer in?
Stratosphere
Why are temperatures very high in the thermosphere?
They are very high due to the radiation of the sun
How do meteorites burn in the mesosphere?
They are burnt by the heat caused by collisions with gas particles that are contained here
What does the biosphere depend on for energy?
The sun, energy via sunlight, photosynthesis, organisms depend on it directly or indirectly
Biome?
An environment where a particular animal or organism is able to live and survive
Where can you find the hydrosphere?
Surface of the planet, underground, and in the air
What is the water cycle?
Water collects in clouds-falls to Earth via rain/snow-is collected in rivers, lakes, oceans-is then evaporated into atmosphere to start the cycle again
What percentage of salt water makes up hydrosphere ?
97%
Epicentre?
The point on the surface of the earth directly above where the earthquake occurred
What do you call volcanoes that might erupt in the future?
Dormant
How deep is the lithosphere?
80km approx
What do you get from burning organic material?
Co2 water and charcoal
What is a drought ?
Prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall leading to water shortage; relates to hydrosphere and effects all spheres
Why is the inner core solid?
Bc the weight of the rest of the earth is pushing down on it (pressure solidifies it)
Why is cycling water important?
Essential part of life, vital for various body functions, is a global cycle not equally available in all ecosystems, may have too much or too little Aka drought or flood
4 major features of water cycle?
Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection
Evaporation?
Liquid water to water vapour
Condensation?
Water vapour to liquid water
Transpiration?
Liquid water from plant to water vapour
Precipitation ?
Rain, hail, snow
Water vapour?
Water as a gas
Collection?
Run off on land
Infiltration?
Filter into soil and is either absorbed by plants or moves down to groundwater reservoirs
Why is the water cycle a closed cycle?
Does not gain or lose water, same water that existed millions of years ago
Why is cycling of oxygen important?
Needed for cellular respiration (process where organisms obtain energy for life) earth has a fixed supply of useful oxygen even though it is found everywhere.
What are the three reservoirs of oxygen?
Atmosphere (0.49%), earths crust (99.5%), organisms (0.01%)
Photolysis?
Oxygen formed through UV light converting water to oxygen and hydrogen
Why is cycling nitrogen so important?
Needed for synthesis to make proteins and nucleic acids and is a vital building block for all organism s
What do bacteria do with nitrogen?
Bacteria plays a role in changing nitrogen to usable forms, nitrogen fixing bacteria convert nitrogen into nitrate, nitrite and ammonium. Denitrifying bacteria is able to return nitrogen to the atmosphere
What is the lithosphere?
Outermost rocky layer of Earth and made up of the upper mantle and crust (80km down)
Why is cycling phosphorus so important?
Essential component of the energy molecule ATP, approx 80% of phosphorus in humans is stored in bones and teeth
Where is phosphorus often found?
Sedimentary rocks and soils, no gas
What is so important about the copy cling of carbon?
Is the basic component of all living organisms, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids
What is the geological carbon cycle?
Long term cycle over hundreds to millions of years, resulted in bulk of carbon locked in lithosphere as fossil fuels
Biological carbon cycle?
Short term cycle occurs over days, weeks, months, years and involves cycling of carbon via photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
Weather?
Snapshot of what the air and conditions are like in any one place on Earth at any one time
Climate?
Weather conditions @ a particular place over a long period of time
Wind?
Movement of air, result of sideways or horizontal movements of air due to air pressure differences
Coriolis effect?
Is the influence of Earths rotation on the direction of air and water movement
Difference between condensation and precipitation?
Condensation is where water vapour is liquefied to form fog and clouds whereas precipitation is where the cold air can’t hold the condensed droplets any longer and releases them as rain, hail and snow
Why are deep ocean currents like conveyer belts?
Bc they push one way, the differences in temp and salinity drive the movement of large currents of water
What happens to less salty water vs salty water?
Less salty= lighter and rises to the top
Salty= heavier and sinks
Why are currents responsible for global temperature ?
Bc they have the important job of moving warm water from equatorial regions towards the poles, the water then cools, and this colder water travels from poles back to warmer areas and thus regulates water temps
What would happen if the Gulf Stream wasn’t there?
It is a deep underwater current and is important as it heats a vast area of Europe and if the Gulf Stream wasn’t there there would be an ice age within months of the Gulf Stream shutting down.
Humidity?
Is the measure of how much water vapour is in the air. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, so it’s common for humidity to be associated with tropical regions
Where are you likely to find a more humid climate? Adelaide or Darwin? Explain
More likely to find Darwin to be a more humid climate. Darwin is closer to the equator than Adelaide so therefore it woul deceive more sunlight, this means that the overall climate is warmer and warmer air holds more water vapour (humidity)
What are some examples of humans impacting on biogeochemical cycling of water, co2 and other nutrients?
Reduced total mass of fished species, fresh water ecosystems altered e.g. Dams irrigation, farming converted more than half of worlds grasslands
Greenhouse Effect?
Critical for maintaining life on Earth, solar passes through atmosphere and warms earths surface, heat gradually leaves earths surface and is radiated back into space some heat is trapped by greenhouse gases so the temp doesn’t get too low.
Enhanced greenhouse effect?
Increased amount of greenhouse gases since industrial revolution led to too much fossil fuels being released and is warming the planet too much
Carbon sink?
Is any feature of the environment that absorbs and or stores carbon, keeping it from the atmosphere e.f. Forests, oceans
What are the two most significant green house gases?
Co2 and methane
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases?
Because these gas molecules in the earths atmosphere have three or more atoms that can capture outgoing infrared energy from the earth, thereby warming the planet
Is the green house effect a good thing?
Yes bc for lif on earth if it weren’t there temp would drop to -100 at night and rise to 80 in the day, both temps unsuitable to live in
What are fossil fuels?
Natural fuels such as coal, petrol, oil and gas formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms. When they are burnt they release co2 into atmosphere and often burnt to create electricity
Effects of climate change on ecosystems
Change in distribution and abundance in species, irregular migration patterns, species loss, genetic changes, increase weeds and invasive species, damage to reefs, decrease in rainforests, drying of ecosystems, ocean acidification and increased global temps
What is permafrost?
Permanently frozen ground that stores carbon from plant material during last ice age, by 2200 believe 2/3 of earths permafrost to have disappeared, the melt will release thousands of years worth of carbon into the atmosphere
Extreme weather events in regards to global warming?
Increasing, storms greater, more intense tropical cyclones=flooding landslide and infrastructural damage, cyclones intensify over warm waters
Health and disease in relation to global warming?
Increased infectious diseases, heat waves, serious respiratory problems from air pollution
Which wavelength of energy is responsible for global warming?
Infrared, is trapped in atmosphere as the atmosphere is thickened due to pollution
Why do co2 fluctuate up and down each year?
When northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun (1/2 year) vegetation takes in co2 and levels of co2 are lowered (northern hem has a lot more plants than southern hem) when northern hem is tilted away from sun the leaves fall and release co2 which means levels are higher (1/2 yr)
Is there a direct relationship between co2 and temp?
Yes. When co2 levels increase the temperature gets warmer and when co2 levels decrease so does the temp
Why does snow and ice reflect much of the Suns infrared energy while ocean absorbs it?
Snow has the colour white which reflects wavelengths, but water doesn’t have this property so it doesn’t reflect it but absorbs the sun rays and when this happens the water gets warmer and the ice near it melts
Does the shifting temperatures of golf stream affect temps of certain countries?
Yes
How would melting of greenlands glaciers impact gold stream system?
In time it would stop the warm current and eventually create an ice age in Europe
Relationship between global warming and invasive species?
Global warming means less frost,mess frost = increase of invasive species
Give two cities that would be most at risk for rising sea levels
Florida, San Francisco Bay, Netherlands, Beijing, Shanghai, Calcutta India
Why is US greatest contributed to greenhouse emissions?
Using older technology which releases a lot of pollution and have been since late 18th century as they are a developed country and have a booming economy
What is El Niño?
El Niño is an irregular climate pattern where the ocean surface near the equator is abnormally warmer.
Whilst it only occurs in the Pacific Ocean the effects of El Niño affects the whole world, both the atmosphere and the weather.
What are the effects of El Niño?
Warmer temperatures Less rain A shift in temperature extremes Increased frost risk Less cyclones A later monsoon onset Increased fire danger Decreased snow depths in mountainous are
What causes El Niño?
El Niño is associated with the weakening and sometimes even the reversal of trade winds, so instead the wind moves the warm surface water to the East and piles up along the South American Coast.
This irregular warming of the ocean means that there is more tropical rain and cloud development in the central and Eastern Pacific, so the normal rainfall of Northern Australia is pushed towards the central and Eastern parts of the Pacific Basin.
These changes result in abnormal weather patterns.
What are the effects of elnino on Aus farmers
Reduce amount of crop yields, livestock may get heat stress, increases disease infections and invasive species, limits quality of land for grazing livestock, soil not as moist, frost damages crops and plants,
If Greenland were to melt how much would global sea levels rise?
20feet
Four functions of the atmosphere?
Keeps us warm, controls our weather, protects us from the dangers of space and carries sounds
What are tectonic plates?
Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere.
Where do you find volcanoes? Why?
Active volcanoes generally occur close to the major tectonic plate boundaries Many are located along the Earth’s plate boundaries.
