Flashcards in Earth's Processes Deck (46)
Loading flashcards...
1
What proportion of incoming solar radiation is reflected back to space?
30%
2
What is the cause of global atmospheric circulation patterns?
The Coriolis Effect and energy/temperature gradients across the earth's surface
3
What are Aquatic Biomes defined by?
Environmental gradients
4
What are Terrestrial Biomes defined by?
Climate gradients
5
What does NEE stand for?
Net Ecosystem Exchange
6
Which elements makes up more than 1.5 % in living things but less than 2% in the Earth's crust?
Carbon, Nitrogen and Hydrogen
7
How can you calculate NEE?
NPP - Rh. or
GPP - Reco. or
GPP - Ra - Rh
8
What is the largest source of nitrogen emissions?
Road Transport
9
Which element is the limiting factor for photosynthesis in the Southern Ocean?
Iron
10
What process is the largest C sink?
Photosynthesis
11
Describe Immobilisation?
The process in which nitrate and ammonium are taken up by soil organisms and therefore become unavailable to crops.
12
Describe mineralisation?
The decomposition of the chemical compounds in organic matter, releasing nutrients to plants.
13
List the different types of plate tectonic boundaries?
Divergent, Convergent, Transformative
14
Why are Ocean's important?
Control climate and weather patterns, circulate heat and dissolved suspended material around the planet, are a large planetary heat sink.
15
What are surface currents influenced by?
Tides, wind, land masses, earthquakes, earth rotation, thermalise circulation
16
What drives thermaline circulation?
Differences in density caused by temperature and salinity
17
What is Albedo?
The measure of how much light is reflected without being absorbed.
18
Give examples of heat sinks?
Oceans, lakes, wet dark soils.
19
What is a heat sink?
Area that absorbs most of the incident radiation.
20
What biomes reflect radiation?
Sea ice, fresh snow.
21
Name the atmospheric circulation cells?
Hadley, Ferrel, Polar
22
How does the rotation of the earth effect air?
Deflects it from it's straight path.
23
What are the four major reservoirs for the carbon cycle?
Atmosphere, oceans, land and fossil fuels.
24
What does NPP stand for?
Net primary production
25
What does GPP stand for?
Gross primary production
26
What does Reco stand for?
Respiration
27
What does Ra stand for?
Autotrophic respiration
28
What does Rh stand for?
Heterotrophic respiration
29
How do you calculate NPP?
GPP - Ra
30
