Exam #3

Equilibrium

A state of balance - inputs=outputs

mathematical and statistical model

Tests out diff. situations and plugs in data

examples of primary pollutants

VOCs ( gasoline) , CO ( carbon monoxide) , NOx ( nitrogen oxide), SO2 ( sulfur oxide ), Lead

dynamic equilibrium

constantly changing relationship among the variables of a system within a range of tolerance around a typical or average state

Windward side of a mountain

cool and moist due to expansion (low pressure)

Ways to reduce environmental impact

stream restoration, use less nonrenewable resources

normal lapse rate

the average rate of temperature decrease with increasing altitude in the lower atmosphere

adiabatic process

A process in which no heat is transferred to or from the system by its surroundings.

Where is air pressure the greatest?

sea level

Earth's average albedo

0.3 or 30%

Benefits of stream restoration

- Improve water quality in the streams - restore the connection between the stream channel and the floodplain -create habitats for aquatic and terrestrial life

Ultisols

-Humid subtropical areas -High levels of leaching and weathering -Red color -Thick clay B layer -dominated by minerals (quartz, kaolinite (clay mineral), iron oxides (what turns our soil red)(hematite) -most nutrients are concentrated in the upper few inches -moderately low capacity to retain additions of lime and fertilizer -infertile -occur in the Southern United States, Ultisols are also found in regions of Africa, Asia, and South America.

ground level ozone

-the pollutant of ozone near the earth's surface - formed: VOC + NOx + sunlight = ozone (smog)

When did the last ice age end?

10,000 years ago

periods of major glaciation

100,000 yr cycle

When was the last glacial maximum?

18,000 years ago

periods of minor glaciation

40,000 yr cycle

Photosynthesis equation

6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy --> C6H12O6 + 6O2

aerobic respiration equation

6O2 + C6H12O6 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy

threshold in a natural system

A condition that if its exceeded ( or not met) will cause a dramatic, often irreversible change in the system ex: elastic limit for eqs and coral reef bleaching

Mollisols

A dark colored surface horizon, high in content of organic matter, quite fertile, under grass in climate, have a moderate to pronounced seasonal moisture deficit -Occurs in the great plains

geyser

A fountain of water and steam that erupts from the ground

USGS (United States Geological Survey)

A government organization that produces topographic maps for all areas in the USA.

Turbidity

A measure of how clear water is.

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed ex: fertile topsoil, fish populations, freshwater, forests, wind and solar energy

nonrenewable resource

A natural resource that is not replaced in a useful time frame. ex: fossil fuels, metallic minerals ( lithium, iron, copper, gold, silver, and aluminum) and non metallic minerals ( sheet mica, salt ( halite), clay, sand, gypsum and phosphate)

Springs

A natural source of water formed when water from an aquifer percolates up to the ground surface.

trophic cascade

A series of changes in the population sizes of organisms at different trophic levels in a food chain, occurring when predators at high trophic levels indirectly promote populations of organisms at low trophic levels by keeping species at intermediate trophic levels in check. Trophic cascades may become apparent when a top predator is eliminated from a system.

keystone species

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem - Critical for life ex: Grey wolf taken out of yellowstone

closed system

A system in which no matter is allowed to enter or leave, only energy is moving in and out -carbon cycle , water cycle Earth as a whole is a closed system

Albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect light

Feedback

An adjustment in one part of a system in response to a change that occurred in another part of the system

Thermophiles

Archaea that thrive in very hot environments, such as volcanic springs. - Produce some bright colors

thermal springs and geysers

Are the result of groundwater being heated to high Tºs either by the thermal gradient or in association with volcanic activity.

why is the wet adiabatic lapse rate less than the dry adiabatic lapse rate

Because of release of latent heat

what causes the hot spring and geysers in yellowstone national park?

Caldera- a crater like feature when a volcano collapses

adiabatic pressure

Change in the air pressure due to the rising and falling of air over a mountain

Coastal Plain

Changes in relative sea level may alter the position and morphology of coastlines, causing coastal flooding, waterlogged soils, and a loss or gain of land. They also may create or destroy coastal wetlands and salt marshes, inundate coastal settlements, and induce saltwater intrusion into aquifers, leading to salinization of groundwater.

The dust bowl region

Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas -Happened due to poor land management -climate is dry and a lot drought

reservoirs within the carbon cycle

Deep oceans = 38,400 gigatons Fossil fuels = 4,130 gigatons Terrestrial biosphere = 2,000 gigatons Surface oceans = 1,020 gigatons Atmosphere = 720 gigatons Sediments = 150 gigatons - Largest is marine sediments and sedimentary rocks altering : burning of fossil fuels

perpetual resource

Essentially inexhaustible resource on a human time scale because it is renewed continuously. ex: wind, solar energy, tides

computer generated model

Google earth

A map showing a large area

Has less detail compared to a map showing a smaller area

sustainable yield

Highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply

Was sea level higher or lower during the last ice age?

It was lower due to the large amount of sea water that had evaporated and been deposited as snow and ice,

100th Meridian Line

John Wesley Powell, a geologist, warned in 1874 that beyond the 100th meridian so little rain fell that agriculture was impossible without massive irrigation -the dividing line between groundwater dominated irrigation in the west and precipitation dominated irrigation in the east

location and formation of the dead zone

Located : Gulf of Mexico Formation: An area of hypoxic water ( not a lot of oxygen) happening because of nitrates and phosphates -These phosphates help feed phytoplankton and algae( producers) - which results in an algad bloom ( increase in producers) -Eventually algae die ( run out of food source) - Bacteria consumes dead algae - They take oxygen out of the water makes it ( hypoxic water)

Clean smokestacks act

Made in 2002 to improve air quality ( in NC) and reduce emissions - Scrubbers were used to reduce but still have air pollution - Pollution shifts from air to water pollution - Benefits: Reduced smog

Inputs of a system

Matter and/ or energy entering a system

outputs of a system

Matter and/ or energy leaving a system

elastic limit

Maximum stress that a material will withstand without permanent deformation.

natural capital

Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support our economies. - Humans use the non and renewable resources

temperate rainforest in the US

Oregon, Washington, California

1862 Homestead Act

Passed in 1862, it gave 160 acres of public land to any settler who would farm the land for five years. The settler would only have to pay a registration fee of $25.

interglacial

Period of glacial retreat; temps are warmer, ice sheets are smaller, and sea level is higher

glacial

Pertaining to glaciers; cold, icy, slow, unsympathetic

negative feedback

Reaction to a change in a system that counteracts that change and leads to dynamic equilibrium in the system -Tends to maintain and stabilize the systemP

positive feedback

Reaction to a change in a system that reinforces that change and leads to imbalance in the system

environmentally sustainable society

Society that satisfies the basic needs of its people without depleting or degrading its natural resources and thereby preventing current and future generations of humans and other species from meeting their basic needs.

natural resources

Substances needed to support life, or are by humans to improve our living conditions - Classified as nonrenewable and renewable

Climate and soil of the Great Plains

The Great Plains have a continental climate. Much of the plains experience cold winters and warm summers, with low precipitation and humidity, much wind, and sudden changes in temperature. More rainfall occurs in summer than in winter, except in some of the northwestern parts of the Great Plains.

relationship between the sahara desert and the amazon forest

The Sahara desert provides nutrients to the Amazon

What happens to air pressure as altitude increases?

The air pressure decreases as you rise, and the air expands which decreases the temp.

Cartography

The design and production of maps, focuses on the many ways to display spatial info

Before

The landscape around Toby Creek has changed significantly over the past several hundred years.Toby Creek is on campus at UNCC.The floodplain of Toby Creek is considered detached from its stream channel.

carbon cycle

The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again

wet adiabatic lapse rate

The rate at which rising moist air cools adiabatically after it has reached its dew point and condensation has begun - varying depending on moisture content from 5ºC to 9ºC for every 1,000 meters it rises.

dry adiabatic lapse rate

The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of dry air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere.

Sea level as the ice age ended

The sea-level rose

Thermoelectric Power

Water is used in generating electricity with steam-driven turbine generators, uses natural resources and coal-fired to fuel it

The name of the prevailing wind that influences weather in the US

Westerlies

ways humans alter the water cycle

Withdrawing large amounts of freshwater at rates faster than nature can replace it Clearing vegetation Increases runoff Draining and filling wetlands for farming and urban development Wetlands provide flood control Absorb and hold overflows of water

photochemical reaction

a chemical reaction in which light provides the energy needed to initiate the reaction

New Madrid Fault Zone

a fault zone which runs through Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi-thick sediments increase eq. shaking-infrastructure "choke point" : a lot of trans.

conceptual model

a mental map/image you have in ur head of the real world

soil conversation

a method to maintain the fertility of the soil by protecting the soil from erosion and nutrient loss -rice paddies reduce erosion

rain shadow

a region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side

environmental overshoot

a situation where the rate of resource use is unsustainable, given the existing supply or renewability of that resource.

artesian spring

a spring whose water flows from a crack in the cap rock over the aquifer

open system

a system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries - most natural systems (human body, food web, ecosystems, plants, hurricanes)

Milankovitch Theory

a theory to explain variations in climate are a result of 1) orbital eccentricity, shape of Earth's orbit around the sun; - 100,000 yr cycle 2) tilt obliquity, the angle that Earth's axis makes in the plane of Earth's orbit; - 40,000 yr cycle 3) axial precession, the change in the direction of Earth's axis of rotation ( where the axis is pointing) - 26,000 yr cyle Developed by Milutin Milankovitch -Helps us to understand why we have glacial periods and why we have interglacial periods - in 11,000 yrs the north will point to vega not the north star

geologic regions in North Carolina

blue ridge, piedmont, deep river basin ( Triassic basin ), coastal plain

Fondation Species

change there environment and create new habitats for others ( beavers)

orographic lifting

cloud formation that occurs when warm moist air is forced to rise up the side of a mountain

systems analysis

determining the parts of a system, the processes involved, and studying how changes in interactions among those parts and processes may affect the system and its operation.

health effects of ozone exposure

injuring respiratory epithelial cells and type 1 alveolar cells with inflammatory mediator. Decreased lung function, chest discomfort, ozone-induced asthma (airway hyper-reactivity and neutrophilia) -coughing -sore throat - lung diseases (asthma)

Oxisols

intensely weathered soils of tropical and subtropical environments, (quartz, kaolinite (clay mineral), iron oxides ), low natural fertility -occurs in tropical rainforest

riparian zone

land next to the stream, starting at the top of the bank, with heavy plant cover on either side

Yellowstone National Park without wolves

no veg. , more erosion , banks are unstable, water quality decreased, turbidity increased, less habitats, coyotes trying to outcompete

examples of secondary pollutants

ozone and sulfuric acid, nitrogen dioxide

feedback loop

path of change as its effect moves through a system until the effect impacts the variable originally experiencing change

ice cores and marine sediments

pieces of ice used to track earths past weather

process of photosynthesis

plants convert the energy of sunlight into chemical energy stored in the bonds of carbohydrates

sources of anthropogenic pollution

point source- single identifiable sources ex: power plant and factories non-point source- many sources that are hard to identify ex: cars, trucks, fertilizer, runoff and pesticides overspray

primary pollutants

pollutants that are put directly into the air by human or natural activity.

secondary pollutants

pollutants that form from chemical reactions that occur when primary pollutants come in contact with other primary pollutants or with naturally occuring substances, such as water vapor.

natural services

processes in nature which support life and human economies ex: water purification, ozone layer, climate control, nutrient recycling, pest control

pictorial and graphic model

representation of a portion of Earth's surface by means of maps, photographs, graphs, or diagrams.

Health effects of pollution

respiratory + cardiovascular illness, cancer risk, headaches, fatigue, nausea, skin irritation, gastroenteritis

leeward side

side of mountain that gets very little precipitation and can be desert like ( warm and dry)

Models

simplified representations of a more complex reality that is useful for analysis and prediction ex: Maps, globe , Google maps

oxygen isotope ratio

the ratio of different isotopes of oxygen in ocean water, varying with the temperature of the water - Used in paleoclimatology

Yellowstone with Wolves back

veg. growed back along stream banks, more habitats, beavers came back, increase in biodiversity

geothermal water

water heated by contact with hot rocks in the subsurface.

economically depleted

when the cost of extracting and using the resource exceeds its economic value.