Exam 3: Study Guide Environmental Science
The greenhouse effect in the atmosphere occurs because a.Clouds reflect sunlight back into space b. CO2, water vapor, methanol, and other gases absorb infrared radiation c.Oceans absorb heat, and then release it slowly at night d. Stratospheric ozone absorbs UV radiation
b. CO2, water vapor, methanol, and other gases absorb infrared radi
What are other strategies for reducing waste? (wk 13)
1. Minimize the amount of waste we generate 2. Recovering discarded materials and finding ways to recycle them 3. Disposing of waste effectively and safely
Know the difference between a mineral and a rock(wk 12)
A rock is any solid aggregation of minerals. A mineral is any naturally occurring solid element or inorganic compound with a crystal structure, a specific chemical composition, and distinct physical properties,
Which of the following would have the highest albedo? a. A snowfield b. A dark forest c. A grass field d. A field of black soil
A snowfield
Energy absorbed at the Earth's surface is radiated back to space in the form of a.Infrared radiation (heat) b. Ultraviolet radiation c. Visible light d. Insolation
A. Infrated radiation (heat)
The Earth's atmosphere is composed mostly of ___ A. Nitrogen and oxygen B. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide C. water and carbon dioxide
A. Nitrogen and oxygen
Cars use ______ to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. a. Catalytic converters b. Scrubbers c. Bag filters d. Electrostatic precipitators
A. catalytic converters
What are causes and consequences of acid deposition? (WK 11)
Acid deposition is when acidic or acid-forming pollutants in the atmosphere deposit on the surface of Earth, and this can occur from any precipitation (such as rain, snow or sleet), but also from fog, gases and dry particles. Acid deposition, commonly known as acid rain, occurs when emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and other industrial processes undergo complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere and fall to the earth as wet deposition (rain, snow, cloud, fog) or dry deposition (dry particles, gas). Rain and snow are already naturally acidic, but are only considered problematic when less than a pH of 5 (see ph scale). The main chemical precursors leading to acidic conditions are atmospheric concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). When these two compounds react with water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and sunlight in the atmosphere, the result is sulfuric (H2SO4) and nitric acids (HNO3), the primary agents of acid deposition. Acid deposition may cause significant stress to lakes, streams, and forest ecosystems, especially to those at higher elevations. Acidification is classified in two forms: • Episodic acidification is characterized by short intense acidic events. For example, winter snowmelt and heavy rains can deliver large loads of acid to ecosystems in a short period of time. These can have significant biological effects that include the loss of biodiversity and changes in community structure. • Chronic acidification generally refers to streams, lakes, and soil ecosystems that have lost their ability to neutralize acidifying events. Base nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and other types of neutralizing chemicals buffer changes in ecosystem acidity. However, when ecosystems are exposed to excessive, long-term acid deposition these chemicals become depleted. This can make the system more vulnerable to episodic acidification events and may lead to chronic surface water acidity.
Understand acid mine drainage. (wk 14)
Acid mine drainage: occurs when sulfide minerals in newly exposed rock surface react when sulfide minerals in newly exposed rock reacts with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid. As the sulfuric acid runs off, it leaches metals from the rocks, and many of these metals are toxic organisms. Acid drainage can affect fish and other aquatic organisms when it runs into streams and can pollute groundwater supplies people use for drinking water or irrigating crops.
What is the difference between active solar power and passive solar power systems? Be able to define and provide examples of both. (wk 15)
Active solar power: makes use of devices to focus, move, or store solar energy. For instance, flat plate solar collectors heat water and air for homes and businesses. Passive solar power systems: this approach, buildings are designed to maximize absorption of sunlight in winter yet to keep the interior cool in summer. South-facing windows maximize the capture of winter sunlight. Passive solar techniques also use materials that absorb heat, store it, and release it later. Such thermal mass can make up floors, roofs, and walls, or can be used in portable blocks. All these approaches conserve energy and reduce cost.
What is albedo and how does it relate to climate? (wk 11)
Albedo: affects how much of the energy from the sun gets reflected Fresh Snow= 80%-90% albedo Water bodies= 10-60% albedo
Understand how greenhouse gases affect the amount of heat leaving the Earth and be able to name the four main greenhouse gases. (wk 11)
As Earth's surface absorbs solar radiation, the surface increases in temperature and emits infrared radiation, radiation with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. Atmospheric gases having three or more atoms in the molecules tend to absorb infrared radiation. These include H2O, CO2, nitrous oxide N2O, and methane CH4. After absorbing radiation emitted from the surface, greenhouse gases re-emit infrared radiation. Some of this re-emitted energy is lost to space, but most travels back downward, warming the lower atmosphere and the surface, the greenhouse effect.
How was wind power used historically? (wk 15) How do modern wind turbines work? (wk 15) What are the environmental advantages and disadvantages of wind power? (wk 15)
As the sun heats the atmosphere, it causes air to move, producing wind, we can harness this as wind power by using wind turbines (mechanical assemblies that convert wind's kinetic energy or energy of motion, into electrical energy Wind blowing into a turbine turns the blades of the rotor, which rotate machinery inside a compartment called nacelle, which sits atop a tower Engineers design turbines to rotate in response to changes in wind direction, so that the motor faces into the wind at all times. Turbines are often erected in groups called wind farm Wind power produces no emissions once the equipment is manufactured and installed. The amount of carbon pollution that all U.S. wind turbines together prevent from entering the atmosphere is equal to the emissions from nearly 10 million cars or from combusting the cargo of a 750 car freight train of coal each and every day. Under optimal conditions, wind power appears efficient in its energy returned on investment. Wind power creates job opportunities Wind power has limitations Wind is an intermittent resource: we have no control over when it will occur. Varies from time to time Varies from place to place Most of North America's people live near the coasts, far from the Great Plains and mountain regions that have the best wind resources.
What are the environmental effects of mineral resource extraction? Give examples. (wk 14)
Because minerals of interest often make up only a small portion of the rock in a given area, very large amounts of material are removed in order to obtain the desired minerals. Strip Mining: Layers of surface soil and rock are removed to expose the resource, obliterates natural communities, pollutes water waterways, creates acid mine drainage Subsurface mining: risk injury or death from dynamite blasts, natural gas explosions, collapsing shafts or tunnels, a respiratory disease for miners. Open mines: Large degree habitat loss and aesthetic degradation, once mining is complete abandoned pits typically fill with groundwater, which become toxic as sulfides react with sulfuric acid. Acidic water harms wildlife and aquifers Placer mining: Environmental destructive because most methods wash large amounts of debris into stream, disrupts stream banks, erosion Mountaintop mining: reshapes ridges, fill valleys, destroys habitats, overburden placed back onto the mountain and into the valley destorying aquatic life
Subduction is the process of a tectonic plate Falling freely into the mantle Melting without moving Sliding alongside another plate Being forced below another plate
Being forced below another plate
Understand the differences between the Earth's core, mantle, and crust. (wk 12)
CORE: dense core made of iron surrounded by molten iron Mantle: surrounds the core, (less) dense than the core, elastic rock asthenosphere: are of upper mantle, softer rock Lithosphere: uppermost mantle and crust Crust: thin, brittle, low-density layer of rock that covers Earth's surface
Understand how geothermal energy can be used for heating or electricity generation. (wk 15)
Can be harnessed directly from geysers at the surface, but most often wells must be drilled down hundreds or thousands of meters toward heated groundwater. Hot groundwater can be used directly for heating buildings and for industrial processes. Iceland is able to heat most of its homes utilizing geothermal energy due to it being located along the spreading of two tectonic plates. Geothermal power plants harness naturally naturally heated water and steam to generate electricity. A power plant brings groundwater at temperatures of 150-370 or more to the surface and converts it to steam by lowering the pressure in specialized compartments. The steam turns turbines to generate electricity. The world's largest geothermal plants, The Geysers in California, provide electricity for 725,000 homes.
How are humans altering the earth's climate? (wk 12)
Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas, causing rising and global weather patterns are changing. Draining Rivers: Our life depends on fresh water, yet, we have depleted over 25% of Earth's by overdrawing groundwater and aquafilers Habitat destruction Vehicle emissions food industry clothing waste food waste
The fundamental characteristic(s) that distinguish(es) a mineral is/are its _______. Chemical composition only Grain size Chemical composition and its crystal structure Organic materials
Chemical composition and its crystal structure
What is an urban heat island? (wk 14)
City residents even suffer thermal pollution, in the form of the urban heat island effect: the phenomenon whereby a city becomes warmer than outlying areas because of the concentration of heat-generating buildings, vehicles, and people, and because buildings and dark paved surfaces absorb heat and release it at night.
Typical patterns of atmospheric conditions in a specific location over years, decades, and longer time periods are described by ________. A. Climate B. sunspots C. alignets of planets D. weather
Climate
How are coal and oil formed? (wk 14)
Coal: Most abundant fossil fuel, hard blackish substance compressed under very high pressure, creating dense solid carbon structures Oil: Sludgelike liquid we know as oil contains a mix of various hydrocarbon molecules. Oil is formed when organic materials are buried under the sedimentary rock; anoxic conditions and intense pressure cause a gradual transformation in petroleum. Most of the components of oil are small algae and zooplankton, although some larger animals like dinosaurs are also in the mix. This process takes hundreds of thousands of years.
Plate tectonic movement results from ________. molten materials from the core escaping to the surface convective movements of rock in the underlying mantle unstable surface rock formations mass wasting
Connective movements of rock in the underlying mantle
How do personal choices affect carbon emissions, water use, and our ecological footprint? (wk 13)
Depending on our diet, clothing choices, transportation, jobs, and overall daily life our personal impact on the environment will be changed.
The type of water pollutant that most commonly threatens human health is/are
Disease causing organisms
What are the main ways we produce energy in the U.S.? In PA? (wk 12)
Globally: coal US: Petroleum 37.1% PA: Natural Gas
How can green infrastructure reduce environmental and human health impacts of urbanization? (wk 14)
Green buildings, structures that are built from sustainable materials, limit their use of energy and water, minimize health impacts on their occupants, control pollution, and recycle waste.
E-wastes are a source of ________. acid corrosives ignitables Heavy metals radioactive material
HEVAY METALS
Understand hydropower generation: a. how does it work b. what are the environmental impacts? (wk 12)
Hydroelectric power/hydropower: kinetic energy of flowing river water to turn turbines and generate electricity Storage technique: impounding water reservoirs behind concrete dams that block the flow of river water and then letting that water pass through the dam. Run-of-river technique: generates electricity without greatly disrupting a river's flow by either diverting a portion of a river's flow through a pipe or channel, passing it through a powerhouse and returning it to a river Pumped storage; water is pumped from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir at times when demand for power is weak and prices are low. Hydropower is clean and renewable, yet has impacts Hydroelectric power has three clear advantages over fossil fuels Renewable Efficient No carbon compounds are burned in the production of hydropower Damming rivers destroys habitat for wildlife as riparian areas above dam sites are submerged and those below often are starved of water Sediments become trapped behind dams, where they begin filling the reservoir Dams also cause thermal pollution by modifying water temperatures Dams usually block the passage of fish and other aquatic creatures, fragmenting the river and reducing biodiversity in each stretch
Which of the following is a consequence of acidic deposition? It increases the likelihood of low-lying ground fogs. It leaches out important minerals from soils. It creates rainwater that can damage skin cells or cause cancers. It results in offshore eutrophication, damaging coral reefs.
It increases the likelihood of low-lying ground fogs.
How is ozone destroyed in the stratosphere? (wk 14)
Its gases experience little vertical mixing, so once substances enter it, they tend to remain for a long time. It warms with altitude because its ozone and oxygen absorb the sun's UV radiation. Most of the ozone concentrates in the ozone layer, absorbing and scattering incoming UV radiation the ozone layer greatly reduces the amount of this radiation that reaches the Earth's surface The ozone hole is caused by ozone-depleting substances that are human-made. Thes substances are primarily halocarbons and chloroflyorocarbons
What is the troposphere? (Wk 11)
Lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, where all weather conditions take place.
On a global scale, harvests of wood for fuel
Make up about half wood harvests
What factors lead to more or less sustainable urban development? (wk 14)
Maximize efficient use of resources Recycle as much as possible Develop environmentally friendly technologies Account fully for external costs Use tax incentives to encourage sustainable practices Use locally produced resources Apply organic waste and wastewater to restore soil fertility Encourage urban agriculture
Rock that has undergone heat or pressure that causes it to change form is called ________.
Metamorphic
What are sources of natural climate variability
Natural changes in Earth's position in relation to the sun (Milankovitch Cycle) Solar output: sun varies in the amount of radiation it emits, estimates place the radiative forcing of natural changes in solar output at only about 0.05 watts/m2 ocean absorption: holds 5o times more carbon than the atmosphere, oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when CO2 dissolves directly into the water and when marine phytoplankton use it for photosynthesis. Oceans are absorbing less CO2 as it warms, because gases are less soluble in warmer water, a positive feedback effect, that accelerates the warming of the atmosphere. ocean circulation: Ocean water exchanges with the atmosphere, and ocean currents move energy from place to place. Milankovitch cycles: Earth wobbels on its axis, varies in the tilt of its axis, and expereices chnage in the shaoe of its orbit. These alter the way solar radiation is distributed over Earth's surface
What are environmental effects of climate change? (wk 14)
Organisms are adapted to their environments, so changes to those environments affect them . As global warming process, it is modifying biological phenomena that rely on temperature. In the spring, plants are now leafing out earlier, insects are hatching earlier, birds are migrating earlier, and animals are breeding earlier. These shifts can create mismatches in seasonal timing. In regions where precipitation and stream flow increase, erosion and flooding will pollute and alter aquatic ecosystems.
Where is the most ozone in the atmosphere? (wk 11)
Ozone is mainly found in the layer that begins between 6 and 10 miles above Earth's surface (tropopause) and extends up to about 30 miles (statosphere). The remaining ozone is in the lower region of the atmosphere (tropopshere).
How is photochemical fog formed? (WK 11)
Photochemical smog is a unique type of air pollution which is caused by reactions between sunlight and pollutants like hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide. Although photochemical smog is often invisible, it can be extremely harmful, leading to irritations of the respiratory tract and eyesThe formation of photochemical smog involves three primary ingredients: nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and sunlight.
Crude oil is derived from All plant matter vast forests animals phytoplankton and algae
Phytoplankton and algae
Sampling lake sediments for __________ shows that in glacial times the vegetation distribution was quite different from what we see today.
Pollen
Know the definitions of sedimentation and weathering (wk 12)
Sedimentation: is the tendency for particles in suspension to settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration, or electromagnetism. Weathering:Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soil and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters.
What are the six criteria pollutants addressed in the Clean Air Act? What are the main sources for each? (wk 11)
Pollutants: Ground-level Ozone (o3): formed through a reaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - known as ozone precursors - in the presence of sunlight. The major sources of NOx and VOCs are industrial facilities, electric utilities, mobile source exhaust, gasoline vapours and chemical solvents. Particulate Matter:PM can be composed of hundreds of different chemicals. "Primary" PM is emitted directly from a source, like a smokestack, an unpaved road, a construction site, an agricultural field or a fire. "Secondary" or "indirect" PM is formed through a complex reaction in the atmosphere of chemicals, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from power plants, industrial sources and mobile sources. Most PM2.5 in the U.S. is secondary PM. Carbon Monoxide:CO, from fuel comubstion (cars esp) Lead: Pb, from smelters/metal industries, combustion of gas in piston engine aircraft, waste incinerators, batteries Sulfur Dioxide: Over 90 per cent of SO2 emissions come from fossil fuel combustion at power plants and other industrial facilities. Smaller sources of SO2 include industrial processes like extracting metal from ore and, to a lesser extent, the burning of high-sulfur fuel by locomotives, marine engines and nonroad engines and equipment, as well as onroad mobile sources, fires, waste disposal, residential wood combustion and solvent use. Nitrogen Dioxide:Nitrogen oxides (NOx) consist of a variety of reactive gases composed of different levels of nitrogen and oxygen and are most typically formed from the combustion of certain fuels (oil, coal, gasoline, diesel) at high temperatures. Industrial processes, power plants and mobile sources (including passenger cars, trucks, buses, ships, aircraft, locomotives and construction and farm equipment) are among the most significant sources of NOx in the U.S. As a contributor to ozone (smog), particle pollution, haze, toxic air pollution, global warming, acid rain and the eutrophication of water bodies, NOx poses considerable threats to public health and the environment and is linked with a large number of adverse impacts on the respiratory system, as well as with the many ill effects associated with all of the pollution problems to which it contributes.
What is the difference between primary and secondary pollutants? (wk 11)
Primary pollutants are emitted directly in a harmful form (soot, CO); while, secondary pollutants are produced by chemical reactants in atmosphere w/ substances already there (photochemical smog)
How do scientists study natural climate variability?
Proxy indicators-- types of indirect evidence that serve as proxies, or substitutes for direct measurement Historical Records Tree rings and corals Ice cores (gases and isotopes) Marine sediments and foraminifera oxygen isotopes Lake sediments Geomorphiological features
Understand the processes behind recycling and how it can reduce the waste stream. (wk 13)
Recycling is the process of collecting used goods and sending them to facilities that extract and reprocess raw materials that can then be used to manufacture new goods. Each year in the U.S. recycling and composting together save energy equal to the amount consumed by 10 million U.S. households in a year, and they prevent carbon dioxide emissions equal to 33 million cars.
What is the stratosphere? (wk 11)
Region of the upper atmosphere extending upward from the tropopause to about 30 miles above the earth, characterized by a vertical chnage in temperature
________ development is the planned utilization of natural resources to meet current needs without degrading ecosystems or jeopardizing the future availability of those resources.
SUSTAINABLE
What are some of the social and environemntal effects we are seeing of modern climate change? (wk 12)
Species ranges are shifting toward the poles and up in elevation Season timing is shifting Some species are declining, and many facing extinction Ocean acidification is starting to affect marine life. Coral reefs could disappear, devastating marine ecosystems. Forests are being altered by drought, fire, and pest outbreaks. Temperatures continue to rise Precipitation has increases Extreme weather Melting ice Rising Sea levels Droughts
Which of the following air pollutants result mainly from burning coal? Carbon monoxide Photochemical oxidants Sulfur dioxide Methane
Sulfur dioxide
The Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The zone where the Mississippi River enters in the Gulf is known as the "dead zone". Here, few (if any) animals are able to live on the bottom of the Ocean. Why is this?
The area has an overload of nutrients from the river, creating an algae bloom. When the algae die, their breakdown causes oxygen depletion.
How are humans altering the carbon cycle? (wk 13)
The largest impact on the carbon cycle is throughout the use of fossil fuels as an energy source. The burning of coal, oil, and natural gas has greatly influenced the flux of carbon from the lithosphere to the atmosphere and has shortened the residence time of carbon in fossil fuel deposits. When people burn forests and fields to clear land for agriculture, the carbon in wood and leaves is released into the atmosphere. Because we have cleared sites have less vegetation, photosynthesis removes less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than before. As a result of vegetation removal and fossil fuel combustion, scientists estimate that today's atmospheric carbon dioxide reservoir is the largest in that past 800,000 years.
Type of rock formed when magma or lava cools
igneous rock
Understand how atmospheric and oceanic circulation distribute heat around the Earth. (wk 11)
There is a surplus of energy at the tropics and a deficit in polar areas. Atmospheric and oceanic circulation redistributes this energy, maintaining the global energy balance. The world's oceans also play an important role in redistributing energy around the globe. Energy is moved from areas of surplus to those of deficit, with warm currents transporting warm water polewards and cold currents taking colder water to lower latitudes. Ocean currents are movements of surface water. Because they cover 67 per cent of the Earth's surface, the oceans receive 67 per cent of the Sun's energy that reaches Earth. It holds onto this heat for longer than the land does and the ocean currents move this heat around, from the tropics to higher latitudes. In total, ocean currents transfer about 25 per cent of the global heat budget. The map below shows the pattern of currents across the world.
What are photovoltaic cells? (wk 15)
They convert sunlight to electrical energy when light strikes one of a pair of plates made primarily of silicon, a semiconductor that conducts electricity. The causes one plate to release electrons, which are attracted by electrostatic forces to the opposing plate. Connecting the two plates with wires enables the electrons to flow back to the orginal plate, creating an electrical current, which can be converted into altering and used for residential and commercial electrical power.
How do temperature inversions contribute to air pollution? (WK 11)
They influence the scope and intensity of the effects of air pollution on a temporary, localized basis as well as long term and globally. Permanent temperature inversions impact long-term, global air pollution. Surface inversions affect short-term, local pollution. These inversions traps pollutants, allowing the concentration to increase.
Understand the main fluxes in the Earth's energy balance are incoming solar radiation and the release of infrared radiation (heat) from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. (wk 11)
Three factors influence climate 1. Sun 2. Atmosphere 3. Oceans
How do we know that human emissions of greenhouse gases are contributing to modern climate change? (wk12)
Timing: a huge increase in atmospheric CO2 after human habitation C14 signatures have been depleted CArbon budgeting and modelling: scaling only natural or only human does not match, but both do.... only about 40% of emission are in the atmosphere, 30% in oceans, 27% on land
What is life cycle analysis?
To identify the total environmental impact of a product it is necessary to do a life cycle analysis. To examine how much a product impacts the environment, it is necessary to account for all the inputs and outputs throughout the life cycle of that product, from its birth, including design, raw material extraction, material production, part production, and assembly, through its use, and final disposal.
how does public transportation contribute to urban sustainability? (wk 14)
Traffic jams on roadways cause air pollution, stress, and countless hours of lost time. To encourage more efficient urban transportation, policymakers can raise fuel taxes, charge trucks for road damage, tax inefficient modes of transport, and reward carpoolers with carpool lanes. Mass transit systems: public systems of buses, trains, subways, or light rail. Mass transit systems move large numbers of passengers at once while easing traffic congestion, taking up less space than road networks, and emitting less pollution than cars. Shown that as long as an urban center is large enough to support the infrastructure necessary, both train and bus systems are cheaper, more energy efficient and cleaner than roadways chocked with cars.
Be able to diagram the rock cycle and understand the process that a. convert igneous and metamorphic rocks into sedimentary rocks b. convert igneous and sedimentary rocks into metamorphic rocks c. form intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks from magma
Types of rock in specific regions affect soil characteristics, and plant community Igneous rock: rock that forms when magma or lava cools At high enough temperatures, a rock will enter a molten, liquid state called magma If magma is released through the lithosphere, it may flow or spatter across Earth's surface as lava Sedimentary rock: formed as sediments are physically pressed together and as dissolved minerals seep through sediments and act as a kind of glue, binding sediment particles Through weathering and erosion, particles of rock come to rest downhill, downstream, or downwind from their sources forming sediments Metamorphic rock: when a rock is subjected to great heat or pressure, it may alter its form The forces that metamorphose rock generally occur deep underground, at temperatures lower than the rock's melting point but high enough to change its appearance and physical properties.
What are the main sectors using energy in the U.S.? in PA? globally? (wk 12)
U.S.: Transportation (coal)- to natural gas PA: (Coal)---natural gas Globally: Fossil fuels (transportation, industry) (natural gas and oil)
A temperature inversion causes air quality to decrease near the earth's surface when: Warm air currents move air pollution into a region from somewhere else Cold air sits over warm air, trapping air pollution closer to the surface Air turbulence causes mixing between layers Warm air sits over cold air, trapping air pollution closer to the surface
Warm air sits over cold air, trapping air pollution closer to the surface
The breakdown of large rocks into smaller pieces is called ___.
Weathering
What is industrial smog, or killer fog? (wk 14)
When coal or oil is burned in a power plant or factory, soot is released, and sulfer contaminants give rise to sulfur dioxide, which may react with atmospheric gases to produce further compounds
Rising sea levels result in all of the following EXCEPT: a. ocean acidification b. saltwater contamination of drinking water supplies c. more dangerous storm surges d. increased flooding from hurricanes.
a. ocean acidification
The most obvious cause of industrial smog is ________. indoor air pollution fires for heating food burning trash burning fossil fuels
burning fossil fuels
The world's urban populations are ________. growing at about the same rate as the rural populations shrinking in developed nations growing faster than the population as a whole
growing faster than the population as a whole
Pressurized fluid and chemicals injected deep into a well are used in a mining process called Hydraulic fracturing High pressure welling Heap-leach extraction Placer mining
hYDRAULC FRACTUCING
All else being equal, increased recycling will ________. cause a sharp rise in the price of metals shift extraction and mining methods to technically recoverable metals increase the lifetime of economically recoverable metals increase the amount of economically recoverable metals
increase the lifetime of economically recoverable metals
Recent research indicates that the variation in solar output _______. has a radiative forces of 20 watts/m2 is greater than all the anthropogenic factors affecting climate change is the major factor driving temperature change is less than any of the anthropogenic factors affecting climate change
is less than any of the anthropogenic factors affecting climate change
Troposphere zone is produced through the interaction of heat and light, with nitrogen oxides and other carbon-containing compounds is a primary pollutant is caused by poor farming techniques protects Earth from most of the harmful UV radiation
is produced through the interaction of heat and light, with nitrogen oxides and other carbon-containing compounds
Understand what plate tectonics is and what the movement of the tectonic plates is driven by convection currents within the mantle. (wk 12)
low-density layer of rock that covers the Earth's surface The movement of lithospheric plates is known as plate tectonics, a process P slow movement has influenced Earth's climate and life's evolution throughout our planet's history as the continents combined, separated, and re-combined in various configuration There are three types of plate boundaries Divergent: tectonic plates pushed apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface, creating new crust as it cools Transform: where two plates meet, they may slip and grind along-side one another This movement creates friction that generates earthquakes along strike-slip faults (fractures in Earth's crust) Convergent: two plates converge or come together, can give rise to different outcomes As plates of newly formed lithosphere push outward from divergent plate boundaries, this oceanic lithosphere gradually cools, becoming denser, eventually becomes denser than the asthenosphere beneath it and dives down into the asthenosphere in a process called subduction
Understand what plate tectonics is and what the movement of the tectonic plates is driven by convection currents within the mantle. (wk 12)
low-density layer of rock that covers the Earth's surface The movement of lithospheric plates is known as plate tectonics, a process f extraordinary importance to our planet. Plate tectonics shapes Earth's geography Earth's surface consists of about 15 major tectonic plates These plates moved at the rates of roughly 2-15cm per year. This slow movement has influenced Earth's climate and life's evolution throughout our planet's history as the continents combined, separated, and re-combined in various configuration Geologists have determined that at least twice, all landmasses were joined together in a "supercontinent" There are three types of plate boundaries There are three types of plate boundaries Divergent: tectonic plates pushed apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface, creating new crust as it cools Transform: where two plates meet, they may slip and grind along-side one another This movement creates friction that generates earthquakes along strike-slip faults (fractures in Earth's crust) Convergent: two plates converge or come together, can give rise to different outcomes As plates of newly formed lithosphere push outward from divergent plate boundaries, this oceanic lithosphere gradually cools, becoming denser, eventually becomes denser than the asthenosphere beneath it and dives down into the the asthenosphere in a process called subduction Tectonics produces Earth's landforms Plate tectonics build mountains: shape the geography of oceans, islands and continents; giving rise to earthquakes and volcanoes The topography created by tectonic processes, in turn, shapes climate by altering patterns of rainfall, wind, ocean currents, and heating and cooling, all of which affect rates of weathering and erosion and the ability of plants and animals to inhabit different regions Tectonics has affected the history of life's evolution; for instance, the convergence of landmasses into supercontinents is thought to have contributed to widespread extinctions by limiting the extent of species-rich coastal areas and by creating an arid continental interior with extreme temperature swings
Metallic or nonmetallic elements or compounds that occur naturally in Earth's crust are
minerals
It costs less to operate an automobile in a small city than in a large city because ________. to drive smaller cars in small cities than in large cities people generally drive fewer miles to and from work in a small city than in a large city people in smaller cities tend to use mass transit more than they do in large cities automobiles generally cost less to purchase in a small city than in a large city
people generally drive fewer miles to and from work in a small city than in a large city
Overburden is:
surface material that lies over valuable deposits of minerals