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Geography > Unit 5: Weather, Climate and Ecosystems > Flashcards

Unit 5: Weather, Climate and Ecosystems Flashcards

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1
Q

How much have temperatures climbed in the past century?

A

Around 1’C

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2
Q

What will the affects of Climate Change be?

A

Socially: Severe Weather, 94 million displaced by sea levels rising, Disease and Famine, Insurance Rise, Pressure on Health Services.
Economically: More pests, Disease and Famine, Severe Weather, Cities Underwater.
Environmentally: Severe Weather, Drought, Desertification, Extinctions.

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3
Q

What are ‘Ice Cores’ and how do they prove Climate Change?

A

Cylinders of ice from Antarctica which have trapped gasses up to 400,000 years. They are melted to reveal the concentration of gasses concealed to see how warm the climate was before.

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4
Q

What is ‘Glacier Retreat’ and why does it prove Climate Change?

A

The increase in rate of the melting of glaciers, which means they exist in warmer temperatures than before.

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5
Q

What are ‘Tree Rings’ and how do they prove Climate Change?

A

Trees gain a tree ring every year. The gap between the rings show the length of growing seasons, a longer season and larger gap shows a warmer climate. (Known as Dendrochronology.)

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6
Q

How do record books prove Climate Change?

A

Historical records, paintings and crop yields can all show how the climate has been previously.

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7
Q

What does the Migration of Birds tell us about Climate Change?

A

The patterns of migration may change in birds, and they may appear in new areas or leave old ones early searching for the right conditions.

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8
Q

What is ‘The Keeling Curve’ and how does it prove Climate Change?

A

The Keeling Curve is a set of data which started in the 1950s which measured a section of the ocean for CO2 levels. It was observed the amount rose every year incrementally, making a curve.

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9
Q

What is a Maritime Climate?

A

A Climate strongly influenced by Air Masses and Ocean Currents.

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10
Q

What is an Air Mass?

A

An air mass is a large portion of the atmosphere which dictates the weather of the area it covers. When two air masses meet a weather front forms, where the two air masses ‘fight’ for supremacy.

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11
Q

What are the 5 Air Masses affecting the UK?

A 
Polar Maritime
Arctic Maritime
Polar Continental
Tropical Continental
Tropical Maritime
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12
Q

What weather conditions does Polar Maritime Bring?

A

long periods of snow and rain, common in winter.

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13
Q

What weather conditions does Arctic Maritime bring?

A

very cold conditions often including snow in winter, brief periods.

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14
Q

What weather conditions does Polar Continental bring?

A

cold and dry conditions, settled and hot in summer, brief periods.

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15
Q

What weather conditions does Tropical Continental bring?

A

hot and dry conditions with sand and dust, occasional.

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16
Q

What weather conditions does Tropical Maritime bring?

A

mild and wet conditions, very common.

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17
Q

What is the Jet Stream?

A

The Jet Stream is a ribbon of wind in the atmosphere travelling at 2m/s and 10000km long, and its position over the UK pushes back air masses.

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18
Q

What is the Gulf Stream?

A

The Gulf Stream is a powerful current from the Gulf of Mexico to Europe, warming up the UK around 5-10’C.

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19
Q

Define Climate.

A

Climate is the usual conditions over a long period of time, typically 30 years or more.

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20
Q

Define Weather.

A

A temporary status of the climate, such as rain or sunshine, subject to change quickly.

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21
Q

What is a Weather Front?

A

A weather front forms when two air masses meet, and they cause different types of weather.

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22
Q

What is a Warm Front and what conditions would it bring?

A

An Air Mass of warm air advances and rises above cold air mass as it is less dense, shown with red semicircles. The conditions are often sunny.

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23
Q

What is a Cold Front and what conditions would it bring?

A

An Air Mass of cold air advances and pushes below warm air mass as it is more dense, shown with blue triangles. Conditions are often rainy.

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24
Q

What is an Occluded Front and what conditions would it bring?

A

A Cold Front catches a Warm front which pushes both fronts together, shown with red semicircles and blue triangles. Conditions would be both sunny and rainy.

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25
Q

How are Clouds shown on a Weather Chart?

A

White Circle: No cloud
Half Black Circle: Partially cloudy
Black Circle: Full cloud

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26
Q

How is Pressure shown on a Weather Chart?

A

An Isobar, depicting pressure, is shown by a solid line and a number.

27
Q

How are different weather types shown on a Weather Chart?

A

Rain: a period
Drizzle: a comma
Snow: a snowflake
Thunderstorm: a zigzag line from a T shape

28
Q

How is Wind Strength shown on a Weather Chart?

A

A short vertical line symbolises 5 knots, while a long vertical line shows 10 knots. They are arrange on a horizontal line, from the left to the right.

29
Q

How is Temperature shown on a Weather Chart?

A

Temperature is shown by a number in a certain area, often in bold lettering.

30
Q

What are the Manmade aspects of Climate Change?

A
  1. Agriculture
  2. Deforestation
  3. Fossil Fuels
  4. Landfills
31
Q

How does Agriculture effect Climate Change?

A
  • Animal excretion and death
  • Plant farms, fertilisers and rice plants releasing methane
  • deforestation in creation of new farmland
32
Q

How does Deforestation effect Climate Change?

A

Less CO2 absorbed in respiration and less oxygen produced.

33
Q

How do Fossil Fuels cause Climate Change?

A

CO2 emission from:

  • Energy
  • Transport
  • Industry
34
Q

How do Landfills effect Climate Change?

A

Slow decomposition of trash releases harmful gasses as well as burning the rubbish.

35
Q

What are the natural causes for Climate Change?

A
  1. Volcanoes
  2. Milankovich mechanism
  3. Solar Output Variation
36
Q

How do volcanoes cause Climate Change?

A

ash from eruptions reflects solar energy in the atmosphere cooling the climate.

37
Q

How does the Milankovich mechanism cause Climate Change?

A
  • wobbles in Earth’s axis can change temperature
  • angle tilt can make areas of the Earth warmer or cooler
  • elliptical orbits can make the Climate warmer
  • circular orbits can make the Climate cooler
38
Q

What is a microclimate?

A

Large cities have microclimates as the materials of the buildings and roads absorb heat, or reflects it with glass, meaning they are often warmer (particularly at night) and wetter (More condensation from higher temperature means more precipitation). Heat is also generated by the cars and industry in the city. Wind is funnelled by the tall buildings, meaning there are strong gusts in some areas and dead spots on the leeward side of buildings.

39
Q

How does Solar Output Variation cause Climate Change?

A

more/less energy released from sun means there is a difference of light and heat energy being absorbed by the Earth.

40
Q

What five factors determine the nature of an Ecosystem?

A
  1. Amount of Precipitation
  2. Temperature
  3. Land Relief and Terrain
  4. Geology
  5. Soil
41
Q

What is the succession of the development in Ecosystems?

A
  • Firstly, a Pioneer Species will colonize the ground
  • Next, the weathering of rocks and plant decay will increase nutrients in soil
  • The soil then becomes deeper which increases biodiversity of plants
  • In time, a Dominant Species (ex. oak trees) invades and makes the Ecosystem stable.
42
Q

What is a Pioneer Species?

A

A Pioneer Species is a pre-existing, hardy plant which will colonize the ground of a new, uninhabited Ecosystem.

43
Q

What is decomposition and why is it important for Ecosystems?

A

Decomposition is the break down of organic matter usually by micro-organisms which enables the recycling of nutrients, which would else be lost in the leaf litter. Sustainable ecosystems and plant growth would be impossible without it.

44
Q

How does the Nutrient Cycle work?

A
  1. Weathered rock releases nutrients to the soil
  2. Water is added to soil by rainfall
  3. Plants absorb nutrients
  4. Herbivores gain nutrients by eating plants
  5. Organisms die and are decomposed
  6. Nutrients are returned to the soil
45
Q

What is a Store and a Flow for nutrients?

A

Stores (biomass, leaf litter, soil) are places where nutrients are kept, and the amount in each is dependant on the environment.
Flows are the ways in which the nutrients are passed to each Store. A flow can also be greater or less than others, depending on the amount of nutrients travelling from one store to another.

46
Q

Where in the Nutrient Cycle is there any loss or gain from outside the ecosystem?

A

Gains from precipitation and weathering

Losses from run-off and leaching

47
Q

What is the Water Cycle?

A

The Water Cycle is the process of water in different areas of an environment.

48
Q

What are the stages of the Water Cycle?

A
  1. Evaporation
  2. Condensation
  3. Precipitation
  4. Interception
  5. Transpiration
  6. Surface Runoff
  7. Infiltration
  8. Percolation
  9. Ground Water Flow
49
Q

What is Transpiration?

A

Transpiration is the evaporation of water from a leaf.

50
Q

What is Precipitation?

A

Rainfall.

51
Q

What is Interception?

A

Organic Matter intercepts the precipitation as it falls and it collects in a thin layer.

52
Q

What is Infiltration?

A

The process of water seeping into the soil.

53
Q

What is Percolation?

A

The movement of water through the ground by gravity.

54
Q

What is Ground Water Flow?

A

The water slowly moves through fractures in rocks or between soil particles.

55
Q

What are the stores of the Carbon Cycle?

A
  • In the atmosphere
  • In plants
  • In the soil
  • Fossil Fuels
  • In organisms
56
Q

What are the processes of the Carbon Cycle?

A
  • Photosynthesis (Air -> Plants)
  • Respiration (Plant/Organism -> Air)
  • Consuming (Plant -> Organism)
  • Death and Decay (Organism -> Air)
  • Conversion of Fossil Fuels (Organism -> Fossil Fuels)
  • Combustion (Fossil Fuels -> Air)
  • Burning forests (Plants -> Air)
57
Q

Why would a high elevation, mountainous environment make it difficult for plant life to grow?

A

A higher elevation makes the temperature lower than lowland areas, no deep soil being able to sustain good nutrients and the growing season may be inconsistent due to the by snow making the soils more infertile.

58
Q

What is a Food Chain and Food Web?

A

A Food Chain is a singular link of organisms showing the consumption of the food chain, whilst a Food Web is an amalgamation of chains to show an entire ecosystem.

59
Q

What do the terms ‘Producer’ and ‘Consumer’ mean?

A

A Producer is a photosynthetic plant producing glucose for an Ecosystem. A consumer is something that eats organic matter in an Ecosystem, usually a predator or herbivore.

60
Q

Why are Rainforests important?

A
  • They contain the most diversity of species of any ecosystem.
  • Rainforests are huge stores of carbon.
  • Many medicine ingredients are found only in rainforests.
61
Q

What do the vegetation layers look like in a rainforest?

A
  1. Ground Layer
  2. Shrub Layer
  3. Undercanopy
  4. Canopy
  5. Emergent Layer
62
Q

What do ‘pyrophytic’ and ‘xerophytic’ mean and how does this relate to a Savannah?

A

Pyrophatic - A resistance to fire, particularly plant based pyrophytes.
Xerophatic - A resistance to long durations of drought, xerophytes.
Both of these attributes are common to Savannah based plants, although many of the grasses are subject to burn each year which releases nutrients to the soil.

63
Q

What is illegal logging and why is it detrimental to the rainforest?

A

80% of rainforest logging recently was done so illegally, which people have done because it gives them a livelyhood, they are otherwise poor. It removes a large portion of the rainforests each year.

64
Q

What ways are there to protect ecosystems that are vulnerable?

A

Creating national parks, making Ayro Forestry wider used (sustainable logging,) using ecotourism to connect and educate travellers, using forest reserves - subjective as they need permission.

Geography (3 decks)

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