Chapter 7 and 8 Test

Terms in this set (103)

why does climate vary?

patterns of global air circulation and ocean currents distribute heat and precipitation unevenly between the tropics and other parts of the world

3 factors determining how air circulates in the lower atmosphere

uneven heating of the earth's surface by the sun, rotation of the earth on its axis, properties of air, water, and land

regions of the atmosphere

what does the evaporation of water create?

giant cyclical convection cells that circulate air, heat, and moisture

produced by prevailing winds, mass movements of surface water

what do earth's major currents do?

redistribute heat from the sun, that influence climate and vegetation

how does water move?

2 ways the ocean and atmosphere are connected

ocean currents are affected by wind of the atmosphere and heat from the ocean affects atmospheric circulation

example of ocean and atmosphere interacting

when does el nino occur?

when prevailing winds in the tropical pacific ocean weaken and change direction

what contributes to the formation of the 6 convection cells?

earth's air circulation patterns, prevailing winds, and configuration of continents and oceans

where are convections cells?

3 in north and 3 in south

what do convection cells do?

lead to an irregular distribution of climates

what 4 gases play role in absorbing and releasing heat that warms the atmosphere?

water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide

greenhouse gases

Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.

what does the earth do with the solar energy?

absorbs it and transforms it to infrared radiation (heat)

natural greenhouse effect

The absorption of thermal energy by the atmosphere. It keeps the earth's temperature within a certain range and occurs in the troposphere

why does the earths oceans and lakes moderate the weather and climates of nearby lands?

because heat is absorbed and released slower by water than by land

what do mountains do to the climate?

interrupt flow of prevailing surface winds and the movement of storms

what does moist air do when it hits the mountains?

what does drier air do when it hits the mountains?

flows down leeward slopes and warms up and increases its ability to hold moisture

rainshadow effect

The leeward side (back side) of the mountain is dry because the moisture precipitates on the other side of the mountain.

what forms deserts and semi arid places?

rainshadow effect

large terrestrial regions, each characterized by certain types of climate and dominant plant life

how does climate and vegetation vary?

with latitude and elevation

low annual precipitation, lack of vegetation

tropical desert

A type of desert where it is hot and dry most of the year, have few plants and a hard. windblown surface strewn with rocks and some sand.

temperate deserts

daytime temperatures high in summer and low in winter more precipitation than in trop deserts, sparse vegetation consists mostly of widely dispersed drought resistant shrubs or cacti

A type of desert where vegetation is sparse, winters are cold. summers are warm or hot, and precipitation is low.

why does it take deserts so long to recover?

slow plant growth, low species diversity, slow nutrient cycling, and little water

biome composed of large communities covered with grasses and similar small plants

why do grasslands persist?

combination of seasonal drought, grazing by large herbivores, and occasional fires

tropical grassland (savanna)

grasses and scattered trees adapted to a tropical wet and dry climate

temperate grassland

biome characterized by deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports many grass species

what has happened to most temperate grasslands?

converted to farms

cold grassland (arctic tundra)

A type of grassland that lies south of the arctic polar ice cap, are bitterly cold during most of the year, treeless, swept by frigid winds, and covered by ice and snow, have long and dark winters, and scant precipitation falls mostly as snow.

ground that is permanently frozen

human activities in arctic tundra

pipelines and mines

type of tundra that that occurs above the limit of tree growth but below the permanent snow line on high mountains; vegetation is similar to the arctic tundra but receives more sunlight and has no permafrost layer

temperate shrubland (chaparral)

Moderate/warm temperatures, close to ocean/coast, dry summers, mild and rainy winter, never snows, poor soil, dominated by shrubs, frequent fires

land dominated by trees

tropical rain forest

biome near the equator with warm temperatures, wet weather, and lush plant growth

broadleaf evergreen plants

Plants that keep most of their broad leaves year-round. Examples are the trees found in the canopies of tropical rain forests.

NPP of a rainforest

biological diversity of rainforests

temperate deciduous forests

biome, occupy regions that have warm summers, cold winters, and moderate precipitation, shed leaves in winter

broadleaf deciduous trees

These plants are often found in temperate deciduous forests. They survive cold winters by dropping their leaves and becoming dormant throughout the winter.

evergreen coniferous forests (boreal and taiga)

Types of forest that are cold and found just south of the arctic tundra in norther regions across North America, Asia, and Europe and above certain altitudes in the High Sierra and Rocky Mountains of the United States. Have long, dry, and extremely cold winters.

coniferous evergreen trees

conebearing trees found in evergreen coniferous forests

high, steep, rugged land that rises above the surrounding land

aquatic life zones

aquatic equivalent of biomes

distribution of aquatic organisms is determined by what?

2 types of aquatic life zones

saltwater/marine and freshwater life zones

weakly swimming and free floating organism

3 groups of plankton

phytoplankton, zooplankton, ultraplankton

includes many types of algae, "drifting plants," primary producer that support most aquatic food webs

consists of primary consumers which feed on phytoplankton, and secondary consumers that feed on zooplankton, range from single protozoa to large invertebrates like jellyfish

population of smaller plankton, responsible for 70% of the primary productivity near the ocean surface

strongly swimming consumers such as fish, turtles, and whales

consists of bottom dwellers like oysters and sea stars

break down organic compounds in the dead bodies and wastes of aquatic compounds into nutrients that aquatic primary producers can use`

key factors determining the types and numbers of organisms found in these layers

temperature, dissolved oxygen content, availability of food, and availibility of light and nutrients required for photosynthesis

upper layer of aquatic systems where sunlight can penetrate

euphotic or photic zone

excessive algal growth causing cloudiness is called

marine life major life zones

coastal zone, open sea, and ocean bottom

warm, nutrient rich, shallow water that extends from the high tide mark on land to the gently sloping, shallow edge of continental shelf

2 examples of coastal zone aquatic systems

mangrove forests or coral reefs

NPP of coastal zone aquatic systems and why?

high because of sunlights and plant nutrients from the land

where rivers meet the sea-coastal wetland

coastal wetland

coastal land areas covered with water all or part of the year

ocean currents driven by differences in temperature or by coastal winds bring water up from the abyssal zone

dimly lit middle zone, which receives little sunlight and therefore does not contain photosynthesizing producers

dark and very cold, lowest zone

abyssal zone organisms are

deposit feeders (take mud in and get nutrients)

NPP of open sea

NPP of upwelling areas

standing bodies

large natural bodies of standing freshwater formed when precipitation, runoff, streams, rivers, and groundwater seepage fill depressions in the earth's surface

4 zones of deep lakes

littoral, limnetic, profundal, and benthic

top layer near the shore and consists of the shallow sunlit water to the depth at which rooted plants stop growing

open, sunlit layer away from the shore that extends to the depth penetrated by sunlight, main photosynthetic zone of the lake

deep,ocean water where it is too dark for photosynthesis

inhabited mostly by decomposers, detritus feeders, and some species of fish, nourished mainly by dead matter

oligotrophic lakes

poorly nourished lakes

lake with a large supply of nutrients needed by producers

mesotrophic lake

lakes in between the 2 extremes

water that doesn't sink into the ground

surface water that goes into streams

watershed/drainage basin

land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to a stream

source zone, transition zone, and floodplain zone

headwaters, or highland streams are usually shallow, cold, clear, and swiftly flowing, cold water species

transition zone

headwater streams merge to from wider, deeper, and warmer streams that flow down gentler slopes with fewer obstacles, warm water species

floodplain zones

higher temperatures and less dissolved oxygen than water in the two higher zones

an area at the mouth of a river that was built up by deposited sediment and contains coastal wetlands and estuaries

inland wetlands

lands located away from coastal areas that are covered with freshwater all or part of the time

examples of inland wetlands

marshes, swamps, and floodplains

NPP of wetland plants

high because of nutrients

fall and spring turnover

nutrient and water cycling that takes place in a lake; spring - snow melting and fall- end of the summer; massive decrease in temperature

intertidal zone

area of shoreline between high and low tide; organisms must be able to deal with extremes

barrier islands

low, narrow sandy islands that form parallel to nearby coastlines; often have natural sand dunes

human impacts marine

overfishing, oil and natural gas harvesting/drilling, pollution

human impacts on freshwater ecosystems

pollution, overfishing, recreation

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