GEOS 130 Midterm #2 Study Guide

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Terms in this set (100)
core
inner core is earth's innermost part and is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1220 km. outer core is liquid layer about 2300 km thick and composed of iron and nickel that lies above earth's solid inner core
mantle
layer between crust and outer core. a silicate rock shell with thickness of 2,886 kilmetres
crust
outer most solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite
asthenosphere
the highly viscous mechanically weak and ductilely deforming region of the upper mantle of the earth
lithosphere
solid outer section of earth which includes earth's crust, as well as underlying upper part of upper mantle. depth of 44-62 mi from surface of earth
hotspot
a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction.
ring of fire
a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes around the edges of the pacific ocean. deep ocean trenches and high mountain ranges are also part of the ring of fire
volcanoe
a rupture on the crust of a planetary mass object such as earth that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface
fault
a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock mass movement
earthquake
a violent shaking of the ground, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action
weatheringthe breaking down of rocks soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the earth's atmosphere, biota and waterserosionis the action of exogenic processes such as water flow or wind which remove rock and soil from one location on the earth's crust, then transport it to another location where it is depositeddepositiongeological process in which sediments, rocks, and soils are added to a landform or land mass at the loss of enough kinetic energy building up layers of sediment is depositionsand/silt/claysand- a particulate matter that's larger than silt and smaller than gravel is between .0074 and 2 millimeter. silt- a granular material between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz or feldspar. Clay- soil particles the diamter of less than .0005. clay when wet is plastic and coherent when drysoil porositythe ratio of the volume of pore space in a unit of material to the total volume of materialsoil degradationis the decline in soil quality caused by its improper used. encompasses physical, chemical, and biological deteriorationsoil compactionthe process in which a stress applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grainsoretype of rock that contains sufficient minerals with important elements including metals that can be economically extracted from the rockmetalmaterial that is hard, shiny, malleable, fusible ductile, and has electrical and thermal conductivityphysiographysubfield of geography that studies physical patterns and processes of the earth. understands forces that produce and change rocks, oceans, weather, and global flora and fauna patterns.externalityeconomic concept of uncompensated environmental effects of production and consumption that affect consumer utility and enterprise cost outside the market mechanismreservesknown quantity of a resource that can be economically recoveredmaximum sustained yieldlargest yield or catch that can be taken from a species stock over an indefinite period. aims to maintain population size at the point of maximum growth rate by harvesting the individuals that would normally be added to the populationNEPAnational environmental policy act, law that promotes enhancement of the environmentEISenvironmental impact statements, a document required for certain actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environmentEndangered Species Actof 1973 provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and conservation on which they dependsuburbanlower population density areas surrounding metropolitan centersexurbansimilar to suburban areas but unconnected to any central city or densely populated areaurban sprawlexpansion of human populations away from central urban areas into low density monofunctional and usually car dependant communitiessmart growthurban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth into compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawlrenewable reourceresource which is replaced naturally and can be used again (oxygen, fresh water, solarnonrenewable resourceresource of economic value that cannot be replaced by natural means on a level equal to consumption. (oils, gas, fossil fuels)fossil fuelsburied combustible geologic deposits of organic materials formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to oil, coal, gasnuclear fuelssubstance that will sustain a fission chain reaction so that it can be used as a source of nuclear energyHubbert Curveapproximation of the production rate of a resource over timeradioactive watsewaste contains radioactive material. a by product of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or technologyfusionthe process of joining two or more things together to form a singlepotentially renewable sourcesresources that require special attention and management in order to sustain their renewal for human usenon-depleted sourcessource that offers renewability and is able to replenishenergy conservationrefers to reducing energy consumption through using less of an energy serviceenergy efficiencygoal to reduce amount of energy required to provide products and servicesbiomassbiological material derived from living or recently living organisms.hydroelectricityrefers to electricity generated by hydropower, the production of electrical power through the use of gravitational force of falling or flowing waterpassive solarbuilding design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect store and distribute solar energy in form of heat in winter and reject solar heat in summeractive solarmost cases are flate plate collectors on roofs and absorb solar radiation or energy and transfer it to a fluid such as water or airPV cellsconversion of solar energy into direct current electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the pv effect. employs solar panelsgeothermal heatgeo energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the earth, geo heating is the direct use of geo energy for heating applicationswind energyex. converting of kinetic energy from the wind into electrical powergroundwaterwater present beneath earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in fractures of rock formationsconfined aquiferthose in which impermeable dirt/rock layer exists that prevents water from seeping into the aquifer from the ground surface located directly aboveunconfined aquiferare those into which water seeps from the ground surface directly above the aquiferartesian wellconfined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. causes water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reachedspringa water resource formed when the side of a hill, a valley bottom, or other excavation insects a flowing body of groundwatersurface waterwater on the surface of the planet such as stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean.oligotrophicenvironments that offer little to sustain lifemesotrophichaving a moderate amount of dissolved nutrientseutrophichaving waters rich in phosphates, nitrates, or organic nutrients that promote plant lifeaqueductan artificial channel for conveying waterdead zoneslow oxygen areas (hypoxic) in the oceans and lakes, caused by excessive nutrient pollutants from human activitieseutrophicationthe enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. can be a natural process in lakes occurring as they age through geological timethree cycles in the geologic cycletectonic, hydrologic, rocktheory of plate tectonicstheory that earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above the core. the plates act like a hard and rigid shell compared to earth's mantleWegener's evidence that led to the theory of Continental Drift1. continents look like they could fit together much like puzzle pieces. 2. he proposed that continents were not stationary, but actually were moving or drifting away from one another.three types of plate boundariesdivergent, convergent,and transform. d- occur when two tectonic plates move away from each other. c- when two plates come together. t- two plates sliding past each otherRichter scale magnitudemathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. determined from the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographsrock cyclegroup of changes. igneous change to sedimentary or metamorphic. sedi change to metamorphic or igneous. metamorphic change igneous or sedimentarythree categories of rocks and what they are (how they form)igneous, sedimentary, metamporphic. I- form from cooling of magma. S- form from result of accumulation of small pieces broken off of pre-existing rocks. M- any rock can be meta, been modified by heat pressure and chemical processes while buried deep below earths surface resulting in alteration to the rocktwo types of weatheringphysical: mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals chemical: breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of elements from the rocks, or bothhuman land uses that can increase erosionintensive agriculture, roads, deforestation, climate change, urban sprawlfour ecosystem services provided by soils(pic pg.145)medium for plant growth, breaks down organic material and recycles nutrients, filters water, habitat for a variety of organismsfive factors that determine soil formationclimate, parent material, topography, time, and organismssoil horizonslayer generally parallel to the soil surface, whose physical characteristics differ from the layer above and beneathsoil textureimportant soil characteristic that influences stormwater infiltration rates, tool used in field and lab to determine classes based on texturesoil texture trianglesee fig.6.22 pg.147 soil textures are classified by the fractions of each soil separate(sand silt clay) present in soil. classifications are named for primary constituent particle size or a combo of particle size example sandy clay or silty claywhy do environmental scientists care about soil texture?so they know how fast water, and other substances (such as pollutants) can seep through itrelative soil porosity of sand vs. silt vs. clay(porosity: how quickly soil drains) fast, medium, slowmost common elements in the earth's crustoxygentypes of surface miningstrip mining: removes strips of soil and rock to expose ore. produces waste tailings. open pit mining: creates large pit or hole in the ground that is visible from the surface mountaintop removal: removes the entire top of a mountain with explosives placer mining: search for metals and stones in river sedimentseffects of surface and subsurface miningsee table 6.2 pg 152where is agricultural land vs. non-agricultural landindustrial agricultural practices vs. sustainable agricultural practicesI: production of large amounts of food through use of large machines, large scale application of chemical fertilizer and pesticides and mono-cropping s:intercropping/companion planting, crop rotation, contour plowing, no till agriculture, organic agriculturetragedy of the commons1968 Garrett Hardin-tendency of a shared, unregulated public resource to become depleted by people acting in self-interest for short-term gainexamples of negative externalities that environmental scientists are concerned abouttragedy of the commons no one bears the cost of the damage they causewhat are some consequences of expanding suburban and exurban development?relationship between species richness and % urban land coverspecies richness goes down a percent urban land cover goes updominant fuels used to generate electricity in the USAcoal and natural gasthree major types of fossil fuelscoal, natural gas, oiladvantages and disadvantages of nonrenewable energy(table 8.2)energy conservation vs. energy efficiencyimplementation of methods to use less energy ratio of amount of work done to the total amount of energy introduced to the systemcommon ways to conserve energywhat is the ultimate source of most types of energy?the sunmodern carbon vs. fossil fuelsthree types of solid biomass and two types of liquid biomasswood, charcoal, manure ethanol/biodiesel & soybean/palm oilsmost rapidly growing source of renewable energysolaradvantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources (table 8.3)global water use by sector - agriculture vs. industry vs. householdwhat does industry use water for?raw material, solvent, coolant, transport agent , energy sourceFour types of irrigationditch, terraced, drip, rotarywater use of the Colorado Riverirrigation and domestic usesDifferences between point and non-point pollution sourcespoint is any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged such as pipe ditch ship or factory smokestack. non-point is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. as runoff moves it picks up and carries away natural and man made pollutants