Unit 4 (Chapters 8 & 9) Flashcards
What percentage does freshwater make up on earth?
3 percent
How much fresh water on earth is accessible to humans?
1 percent
why is only 1 percent of freshwater on earth accessible to humans?
Because only 3-fourths of the freshwater on earth is surface water, and even then most surface water is as ice and glaciers.
A permeable layer of rock and sediment that contains groundwater.
Aquifer
An aquifer made of porous rock covered by soil out of which water can easily flow.
Unconfined Aquifer
An aquifer surrounded by a layer of impermeable rock or clay that impedes water flow.
Confined Aquifer
The uppermost level at which the water in a given area fully saturates rock or soil.
water table
A process by which water percolates through the soil and works its way into an aquifer.
Groundwater recharge
A natural source of water formed when water from an aquifer percolates up to the ground surface.
spring
A well created by drilling a hole into a confined aquifer.
Artesian well
An area lacking groundwater due to rapid withdrawal by a well.
Cone of depression
An infiltration of salt water in an area where groundwater pressure has been reduced from extensive drilling of wells.
Saltwater intrusion
water that exists aboveground and includes steams, rivers, ponds, and wetlands.
Surface water
Where did early human civilizations typically settle?
along major rivers
The land adjacent to a river.
Floodplain
Pavement or buildings that do not allow water penetration.
Impermeable surface
What is essential to global water distribution?
atmospheric water
An enlarged bank built up on each side of a river.
Levee
A structure built to prevent ocean waters from flooding adjacent land.
Dike
A barrier that runs across a river or stream to control the flow of water.
Dam
The water body created by damming river or stream.
Reservoir
A stair-like structure that allows migrating fish to get around a dam.
Fish ladder
A canal or ditch used to carry water from one location to another.
Aqueduct
What does LA and NYC rely on to meet their daily water needs?
Aqueducts
What are consequences of river diversion?
it has devastating impacts downstream. Such as surface area declining.
the process of removing the salt from salt water.
Desalinization
the process of removing the salt from salt water. Also known as Desalinization.
Desalination
A process of desalination in which water is boiled and the resulting steam is captured and condensed to yield pure water.
Distillation
A process of desalination in which water is forced through a thin semi-permeable membrane at high pressure.
Reverse osmosis
What regions have the lowest amounts of available freshwater?
North Africa and the Middle East
The total daily per capita use of freshwater.
Water footprint
What is water most used for around the world?
Agriculture
What is water used for around the world?
Agriculture, Industry, and households.
What types of irrigation are there?
Furrow, Flood, Spray, Drip
a trench that is flooded with water
Furrow
the entire field is flooded with water
Flood
an apparatus sprays water across a field
Spray
a slow dripping hose is laid on or buried beneath the soil
Drip
The cultivation of plants in greenhouse conditions by immersing roots in a nutrient-rich solution.
Hydroponic Agriculture
What is a con for hydroponic Agriculture?
It’s expensive
What are pros for Hydroponic Agriculture?
- requires little to no pesticide use
- Uses up to 95% less water than traditional irrigation
- crops can be grown year-round
What industrial purposes is water required for?
- Generating electricity
- Cooling machinery
- Refining metals
- Making paper
What kind of water use is accountable for 10 percent of water used in the U.S.
Household water
Where is most indoor household water used?
The bathroom
Wastewater from baths, showers, bathrooms, and washing machines.
Grey water
Wastewater from toilets, kitchen sinks, and dishwashers.
Contaminated/Black water
When was earth formed?
4.6 billion years ago
What does the process that formed earth 4.6 billion years ago determine?
The distribution and abundance of elements and minerals today.
What is earth composed of?
concentric layers
The innermost zone of Earth’s interior, composed mostly of iron and nickel. It includes a liquid outer layer and a solid inner layer.
core
The layer of Earth above the core, containing magma.
mantle
what is molten rock called?
magma
The layer of Earth located in the outer part of the mantle, composed of semi-molten rock.
Asthenosphere
The outermost layer of Earth, including the mantle and crust.
Lithosphere
In geology, the chemically distinct outermost layer of the lithosphere.
Crust
In geology, a place where molten material from Earth’s mantle reaches the lithosphere.
Hot spot
How is a hot spot produced?
The heat causes plumes of hot magma to well upward from the mantle and produce hot spots.
What is the high temperature of earths outer core and mantle thought to be the result of?
radioactive decay of various isotopes
The theory that the lithosphere of Earth is divided into plates, most of which are in constant motion.
plate tectonics
The process of one crustal plate passing under another.
Subduction
A vent in the surface of Earth that emits ash, gases, or molten lava.
Volcano
An area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other.
Divergent plate boundaries
An area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates collide with each other.
Convergent plate boundaries
The formation of new ocean crust as a result of magma pushing upward and outward from Earth’s mantle to the surface.
Seafloor spreading
An area where tectonic plates move sideways past each other.
Transform fault boundary
A fracture in rock caused by a movement of Earth’s crust.
Fault
The frequency and intensity of earthquakes experienced over time.
Seismic activity
A large expanse of rock where a fault has occurred.
Fault zone
The sudden movement of Earth’s crust caused by a release of potential energy along a geologic fault and usually causing a vibration or trembling at Earth’s surface.
Earthquake
The exact point on the surface of Earth directly above the location where rock ruptures during an earthquake.
Epicenter
A scale that measures the largest ground movement that occurs during an earthquake.
Richter scale
The geologic cycle governing the constant formation, alteration, and destruction of rock material that results from tectonics, weathering, and erosion, among other processes.
rock cycle
What is the slowest cycle out of all of earth’s cycles?
the rock cycle
Rock formed directly from magma.
Igneous rock
Igneous rock that forms when magma rises up and cools in a place underground.
Intrusive igneous rock
Rock that forms when magma cools above the surface of Earth.
Extrusive igneous rock
In geology, a crack that occurs in rock as it cools.
Fracture
Rock that forms when sediments such as muds, sands, or gravels are compressed by overlying sediments.
Sedimentary rock
what do sedimentary rocks hold?
fossil records
Rock that forms when sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or other metamorphic rock is subjected to high temperature and pressure.
Metamorphic rock
Why had metamorphic rock been important as a building material throughout human history?
Because it is structurally strong and visually attractive
The mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals.
Physical weathering
The breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks, or both.
chemical weathering
Precipitation high in sulfuric acid and nitric acid from reactions between water vapor and sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere.
Acid precipitation (Acid rain)
The physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem.
Erosion
what are 2 processes erosion is the result of?
- Wind, water and ice move materials downslope.
- Living organisms burrow under the soil.
What functions does soil serve?
- A medium for plant growth
- A filter for water
- A habitat for living organisms
- A filter for pollutants
The breakdown of rock and primary minerals from the parent material provides the inorganic matter. The organic matter comes from organisms and their wastes.
soil formation
The rock material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived.
Parent material
The loss of some or all of a soil’s ability to support plant growth.
soil degradation
What are five factors that determine the properties of soil
- Parent material
- climate
- topography
- organisms
- time
layers, which vary depending on soil-forming factors such as climate, organisms, and parent material. Most soils have either an O or A horizon and usually not both. Some soils that have an O horizon also have an E horizon.
soil horizons
The permeability of soil depends on its texture. Sand, with its large, loosely packed particles, drains quickly. Clay drains much more slowly.
soil permeability
The ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations.
Cation exchange capacity (CEC)
The proportion of soil bases to soil acids, expressed as a percentage.
base saturation
Bacteria, fungi, and protozoans account for 80 to 90 percent of soil organisms. Also present are snails, slugs, insects, earthworms, and rodents.
soil organisms
what are 3 organisms that account for most of the biological activity in soil?
- fungi
- bacteria
- protozoans
The average concentration of an element in Earth’s crust.
Crustal abundance
A concentrated accumulation of minerals from which economically valuable materials can be extracted.
Ore
An element with properties that allow it to conduct electricity and heat energy, and to perform other important functions.
Metal
In resource management, the known quantity of a resource that can be economically recovered.
Reserve
What are 4 methods for mining?
- strip mining
- open-pit mining
- mountaintop removal
- placer mining
The removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore.
Strip mining
Unwanted waste material created during mining
mining spoils (Tailings)
A mining technique that uses a large visible pit or hole in the ground.
Open-pit mining
A mining technique in which the entire top of a mountain is removed with explosives.
mountaintop removal
The process of looking for minerals, metals, and precious stones in river sediments.
Placer mining
Mining techniques used when the desired resource is more than 100 m (328 feet) below the surface of Earth.
Subsurface mining
What are some materials that are extracted by subsurface mining?
Coal, diamonds, and gold.
What does convection in the mantle cause?
It causes oceanic plates to spread apart as new rock rises to the surface at spreading zones.
Where is new lithosphere added?
at spreading zones
Where is older lithosphere recycled?
into the mantle at subduction zones?
Why is plate tectonics significant?
Because it relates to so many aspects of nature.
