Unit 4 Flashcards
Earthquakes occur on
fault lines
Where is divergent plate boundary located?
Between the Americas & Africa/Europe
PLATE BOUNDARY TYPES:
Moving away from each other, Causes Volcanic Eruption
Divergent
PLATE BOUNDARY TYPES:
Coming together, Folds Mountains
Convergent
Plate Boundry Types
Moving side to side, Earthquakes (Most Famous is the San Andreas Fault)
Transform
Earth Layers in order
Crust
Mantle
Core
Definition
Paleomagnetism
iron in molten rock will point towards magnetic north as it hardens
plates move due to the unequal distribution of heat under the earth’s crust
new rock is in the middle, formed by new lava, & old rock is on outside
Thermal convection
Hawaiian islands are a hotspot for which type of natural disaster
Volcanos
San Andreas fault, is notorious for causing…
earthquakes
a material made of an even amount of sand, clay, & silt
(most effective for crops)
Loam
Soil Horizons in Order
O: Organic Material
A: (Top Soil)
B: (subsoil) Horizon is the zone of accumulation
C: Similar to parent material
Agricultural practices that lead to improved water quality in nearby streams & rivers
contour plowing
border shrubs
using crop rotation in fields
soil filters and cleans water that moves through it
Farm is experiencing crop loss due to high rains causing overly saturated soils. What would help?
Amending the soil with sand to increase the soil permeability
Vocab Word
circulation of all that is not directly attached to the planet due its rotation, causes circular pattern clockwise around a high pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise around a low pressure center in the Southern Hemisphere
Coriolis Effect
Atmosphere Layers in Order
Exosphere
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
(from earth upwards) Try Some Milk Then Eggs
Where is the good & bad ozone
Stratosphere: Protective Ozone Layer
Troposhere: bad/smog ozone
Deserts are located at ?? degrees latitude
30°N & 30°S
High Temperature, lots of convention, Hadley Cells, Rainforests & Consistent Temps refers to an area…
near the equator
An area with defined seasons is likely
further from equator
Convection Currents caused by
air flowing from High to Low pressure
Unequal Heating over earth is caused by…
-Earth’s tilt
-amount of atmosphere the sun’s rays must pass through at that location
(pin prick vs spread out)
Global Air Circulation caused & affected by:
-uneven heating
-Seasons
-The Coriolis effect
La Nina causes
stronger normal conditions
(not temperature but like dryness & wetness)
El Nino causes
Current & weather goes opposite direction, trade winds caused by temperature and salinity
(Thermohaline)
Vocab word
temperature salt circulation, ice is fresh water and the salt stays in the liquid, warmer current is on top, also known as the ocean conveyor belt
Thermohaline
Gulf Stream current is known for
Causing warmer temperatures in the UK
Protocol that reduced GHG emissions
The Kyoto protocol
areas of water storage outside of lange bodies of water
Watershed
Rainforests are located
on the equator
Usable water is most commonly found
in rivers
Reasons that human populations historically have settled in floodplains
-The soil in floodplains is usually fertile
-The terrain in floodplains tend to be flat
-Floodplains are close to rivers for transportation
Why southern Hemisphere has a more regulated temperature
Land heats up & cools down faster
(more water, less land)
What exerts a major influence on Earth’s overall climate?
- The annual amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth’s surface
- The concentrations of the specific gasses in Earth’s atmosphere
- Distribution of land masses & oceans, combined with Earth’s topography
- daily rotation of Earth on its axis, and its annual revolution around the Sun
Angle of the sun’s rays determines the intensity on earth, latitude that is directly horizontal to the sun’s rays is the most intense
Area that receives the highest solar radiation per unit area
Equator
(decreases toward the poles)
The solar radiation a location receives varies based on
Season
What days of the year have the most and least radiation?
Most Radiation = longest day of summer
Least Radiation = shortest winter day
El Nino
-Seasonal patterns (trade winds) weaken
-Caused by Trade Winds pushing warm water to the top of the ocean
-Rainfall moving east is a sign of el nino
-blocked upwelling
El Nino causes
-Coral Bleaching increases
-Seal population decreases
-Europe and most of the US just experiences a bit more rain but not much else
-miscarriages, brain diseases, malaria & invasive species increase
-Fewer hurricanes form in the Central Atlantic
La Nina causes
-Increases upwelling
-Cool ocean upwellings lead to nutrient rich water & higher primary productivity
-phytoplankton production increases
Neutral Conditions imply ??? waters in Australia and ??? waters in Peru
Austrialia: Warm Waters
Peru: Cooler Waters
El Nino effects are focused in the ????? ocean, not the ????? ocean.
El Niño ocean effects are focused in the Pacific Ocean, not in the Atlantic ocean
Mountains trap moisture traveling off the Pacific Ocean on the western flanks, creating a ????
rainshadow: land that is drier because of a high elevation area blocking precipitation (air has less moisture)
many mid-latitude deserts are in rain shadows
Mountain passes act as funnels that ???? wind speeds
increases
(good place for wind turbines)
???? occurs when the normal cooling of air with altitude is reversed, cold air near the ground is overlaid with a layer of warm air, which prevents convection
temperature inversion
Basins enclosed by mountains are more likely to have …..
temperature inversions that concentrate pollutants in the lower atmosphere
(Mexico City & LA)
During an inversion on the mountain it may be sunny and warm while in the valley there is chilly fog
the climate of such coastal regions tends to be
wetter
Bordering an ocean helps…
stabilize humidity
Warm ocean currents bring ???
Cold ocean currents bring ???
warm currents: warm moist unstable air with low pressure (storms etc)
cold currents: cold dry air with high pressure system (clear skys)
Low pressure systems bring:
Storms, hail, show, fog, etc
High Pressure Systems bring:
Clear Skies
Both El Nino & La Nina can be predicted ????? and last anywhere from 2-7 years
a few months before they happen
Atmosphere Layer with Lowest Density
Exosphere
Layer of atmosphere where aurora borealis, & weather occurs
Thermosphere
Atmophere Layer containing satellites & shooting stars
Mesosphere
