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Deserts Flashcards

(58 cards)

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1
Q

Semi-arid

A

A place receiving 250-500mm of rain per year

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2
Q

Hyper-arid

A

Very dry, less precipitation than needed to support most trees and woody plants

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3
Q

Annual

A

Temperature ranges between the hottest and coldest months

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4
Q

Diurnal

A

Temperature ranges between day and night

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5
Q

Insulation

A

Ground is heated and there are no clouds to block incoming short wave radiation

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6
Q

Re-radiation

A

No clouds to keep long wave radiation escaping back into space

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7
Q

Ecosystem

A

A community of living things

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8
Q

Equilibrium

A

State of balance between things

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9
Q

Xerophytes

A

Plants adapted to survive dry conditions

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10
Q

Halophytes

A

Plants adapted to survive saline conditions

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11
Q

Ephemeral

A

Plants that have a short life cycle and remain dormant until rain

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12
Q

Phreatophytes

A

Plants that have long roots that can reach deep ground

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13
Q

Nocturnal

A

Sleep in the day, awake in the night

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14
Q

Regolith

A

Weathered, underlying parent rock

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15
Q

Humus

A

Decomposed, dead organic matter

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16
Q

Biota

A

Living organisms

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17
Q

Capillary action

A

Draws moisture from the water table up to the surface

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18
Q

Zonal soil

A

A mature soil that reflects the biome it’s in

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19
Q

Leeching

A

Minerals washed out of soil through water movement

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20
Q

Topography

A

The study of the land’s altitude, aspect, and slope

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21
Q

Continentality

A

Where a place is on an island (central or coast)

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22
Q

Hadley cells

A

An atmospheric high pressure zone

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23
Q

Mechanical weathering

A

Rocks are physically broken down

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24
Q

Chemical weathering

Study These Flashcards
A

Chemical processes react with minerals in the rock causing them to break up

25
Biological weathering
Actions of animals and plants break down the rock
26
Aeolian
Processes caused by the wind
27
Angle of repose
Angle above which deposited sand can no longer be held on a slope, so slumps down
28
Suspension
Silt and clay particles are carried in the air by wind
29
Saltation
Sand is picked up and carried. When deposited, it bumps other grains of sand to move in the direction of the wind. Continuous process
30
Surface creep
Particles move along a layer that is loose to the surface
31
Dust storm
A large system of wind transported material
32
Loess
Wind blown silt; Quartz, feldspar and calcite which is stabilised and accumulates
33
Leeward
Side sheltered from wind
34
Windward
Side facing the wind
35
Sand dune
Mounds of wind-deposited sand
36
Barchan dune
Crescent shaped dunes whose tips point towards the wind direction
37
Parabolic dunes
Crescent shaped dunes whose tips point OPPOSITE to wind direction
38
Longitudinal/seif dunes
Long dunes, parallel with the wind direction
39
Transverse dunes
Dunes which a perpendicular to wind direction
40
Sand catcher
An obstacle which prevents wind from carrying sand further
41
Barchanoid ridges
Transverse dunes which develop into barchan dunes
42
Dune migration
Movement of dunes caused when sand moves up the windward side and slopes down the leeward side
43
Rock varnish
Thin, shiny coating on rock surfaces from wind blown mineral dust which settles
44
Ergs
Broad, flat area of desert covered with wind swept sand and little/no vegetation
45
Red rains
Red precipitation due to dust and minerals
46
Blowouts
An area where a lot of deflation has occurred
47
Deflation
Removal of loose material from base rock by wind
48
Critical velocity
Minimum velocity required for a sand particle to be transported by the wind
49
Mesa
Elevated area of land with a flat (table) top
50
Butte
An isolated hill with steep vertical sides and a small flat top. (Often located next to mesas)
51
Inselburg
A more rounded, smooth version of a mess
52
Wadi
Dry river bed, formed by an ephemeral river
53
Exogenous river
Rivers that flow in and out of the desert
54
Endoreic
Streams that flow into the desert but dry up as inland seas
55
Ephemeral streams
Intermittent streams that flow after storms
56
Sheet floods
River not confined to a channel, spreads out
57
Desertification
Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry areas
58
Arid
A place receiving

Geography (4 decks)

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