Unit 4 Flashcards
Review soil texture diagrams, study wind and water pattern maps
What are the layers of the earth?
Inner core - solid
Outer core - liquid
Mesosphere ( lower mantle ) - hard solid
Asthenosphere ( upper mantle ) - soft solid
Lithosphere ( crust ) - Hard solid
What are the types of plate boundaries and what geological events occur at each type?
Convergent ( subduction zone ) : One plate goes over or under another causing volcanoes, mountains and earthquakes.
Divergent : Two plates move away from each other causing ridges, volcanoes, sea floor spreading and earthquakes.
Transform : Plates slip horizontally past each other causing earthquakes.
What are the soil horizons and layers?
Top
- Organic, organic matter ( O horizon )
- Surface, organics mixed with mineral matter ( A horizon )
- Subsoil, mixture of sand, silt or clay ( B horizon )
- Substrata, mix of materials, parent rock ( C horizon )
- Bedrock, unweathered parent material (R horizon )
What is porosity and permeability?
Porosity : when the particles fit together loosely with many gaps or pore spaces between the grains -> high porosity
Permeability : a measure of the ABILITY of water to move through a soil, the pores must be connected for good permeability.
What gas is the most abundant in the atmoshpere?
Nitrogen
What are the levels of the atmosphere?
Lowest
Troposphere : 0-17km, water vapor, dust particles, cloud formation, birds, storms, commercial jets
Ozone layer : 17-25km, absorbs harmful rays of radiation from the sun, part of stratosphere, weather balloons
Stratosphere : 25-53km, dry, cold, parachutes, jet aircrafts
Mesosphere : 53-83km, cold, gaseous, meteors
Thermosphere : 83-120, outer space, northern lights, hot
Exosphere : 375+km, fades to space, space shuttles, rockets, satellites
What is the Coriolis effect?
When hot air rises and cools to then sink back down to the earth. But since the earth is rotating the movement of the winds shifts and ends up in different places resulting in varying temperatures.
What direction do the N.P and S.P. rotate?
N.P. = counter clockwise
S.P = clockwise
What is an upwelling?
An upward movement of ocean water where cool and nutrient rich water moves to the surface. ( POSITIVE )
What’s El Nino and La Nina?
El Nino : a weakening of normal conditions / warm phase.
La Nina : an intensifying of normal conditions / cold phase
