unit 1 Flashcards
carrying capacity
The number of a species which a region can support without environmental degradation.
LIC
- Low levels of health
- shortage of clean water
- high level of emigration
- economy based on selling raw materials
- poor sanitation
HIC
- High levels of health care
- Clean and safe water
- Balance of trade, manufacturing or processing materials
- Stable governments
LIC example
Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Guinea
HIC example
Canada, USA, Hong Kong
Sustainable Development
Development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit og future generations.
To live sustainably, we must meet certain requirements…
- Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover.
- Renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate.
- Non-renewable resources must be used sparingly.
Condensation
Conversion of a gas to a liquid, seen as clouds.
Precipitation
Water in the form of rainfall, snow, hail and dew.
Interception
Water that is caught and stored by vegetation.
Surface Runoff
Water from rain or snowmelt that flows over the ground.
Throughflow
Water which flows through the soil in natural “pipes”.
Transpiration
Process in which water is released from the leaves of plants.
Evaporation
Conversion from a liquid to a gas.
Inflitration
Process by which water soaks into or is absorbed by the side.
Groundwater flow
Water that has infiltrated the ground and eventually is discharged into larger bodies of water.
Evapotranspiration
Combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.
Components of the Atmosphere
Nitrogen - 78%
Oxygen - 21%
Argon - 0.9%
Carbon Dioxide - 0.037%
Water Vapor - 0.1%
Troposphere
0-15 km
temperature decreases as altitude increases
density of air particles - 99% of water vapor, 75% atmospheric gas
Weather occurs here
Stratosphere
15-45 km
temperature increases with altitude
density of air particles increases with altitude
high levels of ozone
Mesosphere
45-85 km
temperature decreases as altitude increases
coldest
density of air particles decreases with altitude
third layer from the earth
Thermosphere
85-100 km
temperature is very high due to filtering x rays and gamma rays
very little density of air particles
contains the northern lights
Stratospheric Ozone
the good ozone, that has been formed when single oxygen atoms hit another O2 molecule.
Tropospheric
the bad ozone created due to car exhaust, factory emissions and more.
