Lecture #1: Brief History of the Earth System Flashcards
(90 cards)
1
Q
What are the 4 components of the earth system
A
Atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere
1
Q
What is a system
A
An assemblage/combination of interacting components with flows of matter and energy between them
2
Q
Is the earth system closed?
A
Yes
3
Q
In the earth system, matter ___ and energy ___
A
Cycles within the system; exchanged with space
4
Q
The atmosphere contains mostly
A
Nitrogen
5
Q
The atmosphere has approximately 4%
A
Water vapor
6
Q
The atmosphere is 78.084%
A
Nitrogen
7
Q
The atmosphere is 20.947%
A
Oxygen
8
Q
The atmosphere is 0.934%
A
Argon
9
Q
The atmosphere is 0.934%
A
Carbon dioxide
10
Q
How many main atmospheric layers are there?
A
5
11
Q
The layers are classified according to
A
Temperature changes, chemical composition, movement, and density
12
Q
In the earth’s atmosphere, most of the molecules are found in the
A
Troposphere
13
Q
The weather is found in which layer of the atmosphere?
A
Bottom layer
14
Q
Biosphere
A
All living organisms
15
Q
How many species are known
A
about 1.5 million
16
Q
Most of the species on earth are
A
insects
17
Q
True/false: the biosphere includes decaying matter
A
True
18
Q
What are the two types of radiation
A
Short-wave and long-wave radiation
19
Q
Geosphere
A
Rocks and sediments
20
Q
How are the earth’s shells defined
A
By their composition and behavior
21
Q
Lithosphere
A
The upper part of the solid earth which interacts with the other components
22
Q
Hydrosphere
A
The layer of water near or at the earth’s surface
23
Q
The hydrosphere mostly consists of
A
Saltwater
24
True or false: much of the freshwater in the hydrosphere is frozen
True
25
The freshwater is known as the
Cyrosphere
26
97% of earth's water is
saline oceans
27
3% of earth's water is
fresh water
28
68.7% of fresh water comes from
ice caps and glaciers
29
30.1% of fresh water comes from
ground water
30
0.9% of freshwater comes from
other sources
31
87% of fresh surface water (liquid) comes from
lakes
32
11% of fresh surface water (liquid) comes from
swamps
33
2% of fresh surface water (liquid) comes from
rivers
34
Most life on earth is based on which element?
Carbon
35
Residence time
Average time that the material stays in the component
36
Residence time calculation is based on the assumption that
Flow in typically equals flow out
37
How to calculate residence time
Amount within component divided by flow in or out
38
Earth system science is a global view of planet which integrates findings of which two sciences?
Physical and biological sciences
39
Two sources of energy fuel the dynamic earth system. What are they
External and internal
40
What is an example of an external source of energy
Solar radiation
41
Solar radiation drives which three processes on earth?
Hydrological cycle, ocean circulation, weather circulation
42
Hydrological cycle
Continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the earth
43
Ocean circulation
Moves water, heat, and nutrients around the world, affects climate and ecosystems
44
Weather circulation
Large-scale movement of air, another way to distribute thermal energy on the surface of the earth
45
Modifications of earth system's components and their interactions can be caused by both
Natural causes and humans
46
Gradual global change takes
millions of years
47
Catastrophic global change takes
seconds to centuries
48
What is an example of unidirectional global change?
Evolution of life and atmosphere
49
What is an example of cyclic global change?
Supercontinents, glacial-interglacial
50
True or false: global change is a recent phenomenon
False: it is a characteristic aspect of the earth system
51
Why is the extinction of species unidirectional
Because the species do not come back
52
What are some examples of human-induced global change
Population growth, technological/medical advances, humans need energy and resources
53
What are the divisions that earth scientists use for time
Eons, eras, periods
54
Hadeon eon
4,567-4000 Myrs
55
Why is the Hadeon eon called that
The earth was not inhabitable
56
In the Hadeon eon, what were the key characteristics
- The solar system forms from nebula
- The early atmosphere was established with oceans, formed from volcanic gases
- atmosphere, ocean, rocky crust provides potential for life
57
Archeon era
4,000 - 2,500 Myrs
58
The oldest rock is approximately how many million years old
4,025
59
The first life (from chemical evidence was approximately how many years ago
3,800 Myrs ago
60
The first organic filaments were found in Aus approximately
3200 Myrs ago
61
Oldest accepted fossils
2,900 Myrs in South Africa
62
Proterozoic eon
2,500-538 million years ago
63
Bacteria and the first eukaryotic cells first appeared in the
Proterozoic eon
64
What is the oxygen revolution
When photosynthesis puts oxygen first into the ocean and then into atmosphere
65
You can tell that photosynthesis puts oxygen first into ocean from the iron deposited in ocean which is called
banded iron formation
66
you can tell that photosynthesis first put oxygen into the atmosphere from the iron oxidised on land which is called
red beds
67
during the proterozoic eon, what was the name of the supercontinent formed?
Rodinia
68
The supercontinent Rodinia forms and breaks apart during which eon
Proterozoic
69
The proterozoic eon ends with which period
Ediacaran period
70
During the Edicaran period, what happens
Global ice ages and unusual submarine life
71
During the phanerozoic eon, how many eras and mass extinctions were there?
3 eras, 5 mass extinctions
72
The supercontinent Pangea forms during which era
Paleozoic
73
The paleozoic era is part of which eon
Phanerozoic
74
What happens during the paleozoic era
-Radiation starts in oceans, Cambrian explosion
75
The emergence of dinosaurs occurred in which era
Mesozoic
76
What are the three eras in the phanerozoic eon
Paleozoic era, mesozoic era, cenozoic era
77
Jurassic period
first birds, gymnosperms, cycad trees
78
Cretaceous period
high sea level, disassembly of Pangea, huge dinosaurs
79
Triassic period
Emergence of dinosaurs, also swimming and flying reptiles
80
The mesozoic era ends with a
mass extinction
81
The cenozoic era was a time of
mammals and flowering plants
82
Periods of the cenozoic era
paleogene, eocene, neogene, quaternary
83
Paleogene period (cenozoic era)
-Diversification of plants and insects
-rocky mountains form
-sudden global warming
84
Eocene (cenozoic era) was the
climate optimum
85
Neogene (cenozoic era) was the
-continued cooling of planet
-dense forests change to seasonally dry grasslands
-evolution of horses
86
Quaternary (cenozoic era) was when there were
huge mammals and ice ages
87
What is the next supercontinent in the future and when will we have it
Pangea ultima in 250 Myrs
88
When Pangea Ultima forms, the climate will be
too hot for mammals
89
When will the earth cease to exist and why
in 5 billion years, when the sun will run out of fuel and briefly expand into a red giant, the earth will evaporate
