unit 4 Flashcards
1
Q
core
A
inner = solid, outer = liquid, mostly composed of iron
2
Q
mantle
A
82% of earth’s volume and 67% of earth’s mass, asthenosphere, iron, silica, magnesium, oxygen
3
Q
asthenosphere
A
“plastic rock”, outer molten layer, allows for plate movement
4
Q
crust
A
outermost and thinnest layer, continental crust = 29% of earth’s surface, oceanic crust = 71% of eath’s surface
5
Q
earth’s internal processes
A
gravity, convection currents, mantle plumes, heat from earth (deforms mantle so it flows)
6
Q
heat from earth’s core
A
mantle deforms and flows, plates constantly move, convection cells, mantle plumes
7
Q
convection cells
A
large “bubbles” of heated rock move
8
Q
mantle plumes
A
molten rocks travel up a column, spread in radial pattern near crust
9
Q
where can earthquakes and volcanoes b e found
A
along belts, at hot spots, or at plate boundaries
10
Q
ring of fire
A
pacific plate boundary
11
Q
lithosphere
A
outer shell, 20 plates, made of crustal rock and part of upper mantle
12
Q
alfred wegener 1915 continental drift
A
continents were connected in a super continent (Pangaea) but they broke apart and drifted
13
Q
evidence of continental drift
A
matching fossils found in africa and south america, mountains with similar structure, age, and mineral composition, ancient climates
14
Q
pangaea
A
supercontinent, broke off into Laurasia and Gondwanaland
15
Q
divergeant boundary
A
plates move in OPPOSITE directions, upwelling of material from mantle “sea-floor spreading”, newest land is closest to boundary
16
Q
convergeant boundary
A
plates move together, destroying crust, subduction occurs
17
Q
subduction
A
oceanic crust is denser than continental crust so it sinks under continental
18
Q
oceanic-continental convergeance
A
oceanic and continental crust collide, ocean plate sinks below, plate melts and magma flows up = volcanoes, trench formation
19
Q
oceanic-oceanic convergeance
A
oceanic crust collides from both directions, formation of volcanoes, trench formation
20
Q
continental continental convergeance
A
continental crust collides from both directions, forms highest mountains in the world
21
Q
transform boundary
A
plates grind past one another without producing or destroying crust, NO volcanoe formation
22
Q
hot spot
A
usually hot area in mantle layer
23
Q
hawaiin hot spot
A
pacific plates move past northwest at 9 cm per year, hot spot doesn’t move with plate = chain of volcanic islands produced
24
Q
earthquake
A
vibration of earth produced by rapid release of potential energy caused by plate slipping along a fault
25
fault
large fracture in earth's crust
26
surface waves
slowest, travel along earth's outer layer, all other vibrations of seismogram
27
body waves
primary and secondary
28
primary body waves
travel through solids, liquids, and gases, 1.7 times faster than s-waves
29
secondary body waves
travel ONLY through solids
30
p waves on seismogram
first markings because they travel the fastest
31
s waves on seismogram
first larger waves
32
richter scale
measures wave amplitude and energy
33
time travel graph
used to see how far an earthquake traveled, looks at difference in arrival times of P and S waves
34
wave amplitude
each number is a 10x wave amplitude increase
35
wave energy
30x energy increase between each level
36
primary effects of earthquake
shaking, ground displacement
37
secondary effects of earthquake
rockslides, subsidence, fires, flooding, tsunamis, roads destroyedsoil liquefaction
38
Anak Krakatau
most powerful volcanic erruption in recorded history, located west of sumatra in indonesia
39
where do we find volcanoes
divergeant boundaries, convergeant boundaries, hot spots
40
magma
hot, molten rock that forms beneath earth's surface
41
lava
molten rock that reached earth's surface through volcanic vents
42
what's inside magma
silica = determines viscosity (flow resistance)
43
what decides how violent a volcanic erruption is
temperature, silica composition, amount of gases dissolved; greater pressure = greater violence
44
affect of temperature on volcanic violence
temp increases = more energy in magma, dissolved gasses move faster, more collisions occur and pressure increases
45
affect of amount of gases dissolved on volcanic violence
more gases dissolved = more collisions in magma chamber, greater pressure
46
shield volcanoes
large volcanoes with gently sloping sides, made of liquid lava, usually occur at hotspots, less violent erruptions, shorter time between erruptions, lower viscosity
47
cinder cone volcanoes
small volcanoes with steep sides, frequently occur in groups, made of pyroclastic material
48
pyroclastic material
hot gas and volcanic solid fragments ejected during volcanic erruption
49
composite volcano
fromed by alternating layers of lava and rock fragments, tallest and most violent types, most common, "ring of fire"
50
cryptodome
part of volcano sinks in, sign that erruption will soon occur
51
after volcanic erruption
gases remain in atmosphere and go into clouds, cloud droplets reflect suns energy and help to cool the planet
52
soil
thin covering over most land
53
factors that affect soil formation
parent rock/material, time, climate, biota, soil food web, slope/topography, weathering
54
climate
most influential on soil formation, CO2 + water = carbonic acid in soil, temp affected decay rate, precip affects weathering
55
biota
adds to humus and fertility
56
slope/topography
steep = no soil due to gravity, flat areas = best soil, side of a mountain may block sun or receive more sun
57
slow process of soil renewing
rock weathering, deposit by erosion, decomposition by soil organisms
58
how soil is beneficial
provides nutrients, filters water
59
soil horizons
show layers of soil
60
o horizon
accumulation of plant litter
61
a horizon
topsoil - organic matter and humus
62
b horizon
subsoil - clay and nutrient minerals
63
c horizon
weathered pieces of rock
64
solid parent material
bedrock, unweathered
65
e horizon
heavily leached
66
color of topsoil
can infer soil fertility
67
dark brown and black topsoil
nitrogen rich
68
gray, bright red, and yellow topsoil
low in organic matter, need nitrogen enrichment
69
orange soil
soil is high in iron
70
infiltration
water penetrates soil
71
percolation
water moves downward
72
leaching
minerals and organic matter are carried from upper soil layers to lower soil layers
73
illuviation
leached material in lower layers of soil decomposes
74
spodosol
in colder regions, has good drainage leading to distinct layers
75
alfisols
temperate deciduous forest
76
mollisols
found in temperate, semiarid grasslands, fertile soil
77
aridsols
found in arid and desert regions, lack of precipitation, do not have distinct layers of leching and illuviation
78
oxisols
low in nutrient minerals, in tropical and subtropical areas, lots of precipitation, quick decomposition, lots of vegetation
79
clay
very fine particles, settles LAST
80
silt
fine particles, settles SECOND
81
sand
medium sized particles, settles FIRST
82
gravel
coarse to very coarse particles
83
soil texture
helps determine porosity and permeability
84
loam
best for growth, no one particle dominates over the other
85
porosity
measure of total amount of water soil can hold, clay has largest total volume of pore space = most porous
86
permeability
measure of amount of water that can pass through a substance, more pore space = more permeable, sand has high permeability, clay has low permeability
87
shrink and swell potential
higher porosity = will shirnk and swell more
88
soil depth
how far you can dig until you hit rock, indicates age and fertility
89
fertilizer labels
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium
90
nitrogen
dna and proteins, most limiting factor in plant growth
91
phosphorus
root development and plant maturity, most limiting nutrient in soil
92
potassium
disease resistance, wilting prevention
93
soil pH
pH affects solubility of nutrient minerals, ranges from 4.0 to 8.0
94
pH is determined by
parent material, chemical nature of any water entering the soil, land management practices, activities of organisms living in the soil
95
freshwater usage rates
10% residential, 20% industrial, 70% irrigation
96
watershed
region from which surface water drains into a river, lake, wetland, or other body of water
97
headwaters
origin of a river, usually found at a mountain
98
divide
boundary between two or more watersheds
99
tributary
small stream that empties into a larger river
100
floodplain
area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly over vier sediments and subject to flooding, fertile soil
101
estuary
mouth of a river, freshwater is emptied into ocean, high variability in salinity and temp
102
reliable runoff
amount of water we can generally count of as a stable source of water annually
103
living on a floodplain
fertile soil, plenty of water for irrigation, river transportation, recreation, flatland suitbale for crops or building
104
zone of saturation
zone where all open spaces in sediment and rock are completely filled with water
105
water table
upper limit of zone of saturation
106
zone of aeration
area above the water table where openings in sediment and rock are filled with air
107
unconfined aquifer
groundwater source not trapped by a layer of rock
108
confined aquifer
groundwater trapped by a layer of rock above
109
recharge area
areas that water can get through to reach the zone of saturation
110
discharge area
area that water dumps into flowing runoff water
111
ogallala aquifer
world's largest aquifer, runs from south dakota and wyoming to texas
112
urbanizagtion/urban sprawl
humans cover soil, remove vegetation, and replace with concrete, increasing runoff and flooding and decreasing water infiltration and aquifer recharge
113
agriculture
overuse of fertilizers = eutrophication, contaminated water, overuse of aquifers
114
industrialization
add pollution to water and degrade water quality
115
dams and water diversion projects
causes habitat destruction and flooding, prevents nutrient rich sediment from flowing downstream, prevents fish migration upstream, increased evaporation in reservoirs
116
deforestation
remove vegetation = increases soil erosion, decreases soil fertility
117
atmosphere
thin envelope of gases surrounding the earth, pressure, air density, temp change with altitude
118
trophosphere
inner most layer, weather occurs, biogeochemical cycling occurs, ozone = smog, 75% all atmospheric gases
119
stratosphere
2nd layer, less water vapor, increased good ozone, 95% of uv rays filtered
120
mesosphere
3rd layer, cold, low pressure, most meteors entering earth are burned up here
121
thermosphere
4th layer, temp varies 9close to sun but thin air), satellites orbit earth
122
exosphere
5th layer, space-atmosphere merger
123
weather
average temp and precip over a short period of time
124
climate
avergae temp and precip over long period of time
125
suns rays
more direct = higher avergae temps, stick to earth more intensely, shorter distance to earth = can concentrate on smaller area
126
global wind patterns
convection currents transfer heat from from equator to poles
127
coriolis effect
earth's rotation influences direction of surface winds
128
factors driving ocean currents
wind, coriolis affect
129
heat islands
infrastructure replaces open land and vegetation, surfaces become impermeable and dry = urban regions become warmer than surrounding rural regions
130
urban heat islands cause
less vegetation to shade surroundings, more concrete to absorb heat
131
environmental issues of heat islands
elevated emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, impaired water quality, general discomfort
132
how to reduce heat island impacts
increase vegetation for shade, use green roofs, use cool roofs to reflect heat, use cool pavements to reflect solar energy
133
el nino
warming of eastern pacific, cooling of atlantic, occurs every 5 years, reduces atlantic hurricanes, warmer and drier winters in west US, Asia, and Australia, cool and rainy in southeast US
134
la nina
warming of atlantic, cooling of pacific, occurs on and off with el nino, more atlantic hurricanes, warmer and dried in southeast US, cool and rainy in west US, asia, and austrailia
135
rain shadow effect
windward side of mountain receives precip, leeward side of mountain is dry
