Unit 1 Flashcards
What is the geosphere
Solid portions of the earth (rocks, minerals, landforms etc.)
Earths layers
Crust, mantle, inner core, outer core
Crustal plate movement - how does it happen
Convection currents in the mantle
New crust creation - how and where does it happen
Occurs at mid ocean ridges; old crust destroyed at subduction zones
Why are most volcanoes, earthquakes ect along boundaries between crustal plates
Plate interceptions cause seismic activity and land deformation
Hot spots
Volcanic regions formed by mantle plumes that ride from within the earth and melt the crust
Types of rocks and cycles
Igneous- cooling lava
Sedimentary - compaction of sediments
Metamorphic - heat + pressure on already formed rocks
Ore
Mineral or rock containing valuable metal or material
Tailings
Waste material left after extracting the valuable minerals
Open pit mining
Surface mining method involving digging large holes
Strip mining
Removing vegetation and digging long trenches to mine from
Mountain top removal
Explosives to remove mounting tops to access coal and other ore/ minerals from mountains
Room and Pilar mining
underground mining where miners leave pillars where they’re mining to support the structure so it doesn’t collapse
Placer mining
Extraction of minerals from riverbeds or sediment
Un-Siri mining
Injecting chemicals into ore deposits to dissolve specific kinds of mineral, then extracting the mineral
Mining cons
Land+habitat destruction, water+air pollution, worker safety/ exploration
Haber Bosch process
Synthetic nitrogen production; starts with nitrogen and converts into ammonia
Agriculture percentages- how much stuff do we use for agriculture?
- 44% agriculture
- 70% global fresh water used
- 30% global greenhouse gas emissions created by agriculturet
Environmental issues in agriculture
Deforestation
Hábitat loss
Soil degradation
Pollution
Meat consumption impact
Reducing meat consumption lowers green house gas emissions
Green revolution- what was it? Who started it?
Norman Borlaug
Modified dwarf wheat to be smaller to prevent crops being lost by wind
Agricultural transformation
Mechanization
GMO definition
Genetically modified organism; altered for desired traits
Organic vs. industrial farming
Organic avoids synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and focuses more on sustainability than on high crop yield
Soil erosion causes (Natural)
Wind
Water
Soil erosion causes ( man made)
Deforestation
Agriculture
Climate change
Dust bowl
1930s ecological disaster - huge dust storm from drought, over farming and no preventative measures
Soil conversion methods
- crop rotation
- cover crops (blankets)
Plant goal crops near other crops with stronger root systems
How to decrease environmental damage from mining
Cleaner extraction techniques, waste management, land rehabilitation, stronger environment laws
Agriculture- when and where did it begin
10,000 after Fertile Crescent
Green revolution pros and cons
Pro - Better food production, less famine, tech advances, jobs, food security
Cons- environmental harm, biodiversity loss, chemical use, sustainability concerns
GMO pros+cons
Pros - less water use + pesticides ss, more resilient+ fast growing crops
Cons- biodiversity loss, potential health risk
Organic farming common myths
Organic food is more nutritious
It is more environmentally freindky on large scales
No pesticides are used
How does nitrogen get in soil (Natrual)
Certain tree species, ways of gardening, rice bacteria
How does nitrogen get in soil (synthetic
Nitrogen fertilizes
Cons of excessive fertilizer use
Run- off from fertilizer pollutes the air water and land
Crust
Solid rock
Mantle
Plastic rock
Outer core
Liquid iron and nickel = magnetic felid
Inner core
solid iron and nickel
Where is new crust being formed
Plates separate and liquid is exposed to the surface and cooks
Who is old crus being destroyed
Plates overlap and one is pushed under the other
How do the earths crustal plates move along the surface, what is the mechanism if movement
Convection pushes the outer core out and against asthenospere which moves as liquid pushes against it (forms mountains and Mariana’s trench) upper level of mantle = asthenosphere
Why do we tend to find the most volcanos, earthquakes, and mountain ranges along boundaries between crustal plates?
That is where crust pushes against each other causing mountain ranges, earthquakes and volcanos
Sedimentary
Sediment crushed together or cemented
Igneous
Cooled magma
Metamorphic
High heat or pressure on other rocks
Land alteration from mining
Deforestation, sink holes, dumpings of railings
Water in mine shift
Sulfuric acid
Decrease environmental damage from mining
Fill in mine shafts
Reuse mining waste
Regulations
Who discovered the Haber Bosch process
Fritz Haber
Environmental issues associated with modern agriculture
25% of food is thrown away by America
Erosión
Loss of farm and farm jobs
Pesticides
Deforestation
Loss of crop diversity
Why would it be beneficial if everyone are less meat
Meat fakes a ton of energy, water and crops while also releasing methane
Who started the green revolution
Norman Borlaug
Green rev pros
Saved 1B people from starvation
Increased crop yield
Economic growth
Tech advances
Food security m
Green rev cons
Environmental harm
Social inequality between farmers
Loss of bio diversity
Dependence on chemicals
Heath
Pro GMO
Reduce wager and pesticides
Faster growing crops
More resilient crops
Cons of GMO
Fear, sometimes means more pesticide
Organic farmer is different from industrial farming
Not allowed to use synthetic pesticides or fertilizer
GMOs not allowed
Antibiotics and growth hormones not allowed
Irrigation not aloud
What are natural synthetic ways that nitrogen gets into soil
Legumes naturally convert nitrogen gas from air to soils with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, rice, tree species, same farming practices
Nitrogen fertilizers/ ammonium based fertilizer
What is one environmental problem associated with excessive fertilizer use
Nitrogen run off leads to algae bloom leading to dead zones without oxygen so nothing living can stay there
Causes of soils erosionm
construction, climate change, agriculture development + large feilds, tilling farm land, rivers and oceans
How is soil erosion harmful to the environment
Sediment and chemicals pollute waterways, soil quality and structure worsened increasing flooding, loss of soils desertificación
Planting trees, erosion blankets
When was the dust bowl
1930
What was one environmental step they made to restore land after dust bowl
Planting trees
What are some ways to make agricultural more sustainable
Crop rotations, producing less meat and focusing on sustainable crops. Feeer nuts. Big planting is desees, plant trees, reduce soil tillage
