Lecture 4 Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the layers of the Earth?
- core (solid inner core and liquid outer core)
- mantle (lower and upper mantle/magma)
- crust (continental and oceanic crust)
Distinguish between properties of continental vs oceanic crust.
continental crust = land
oceanic crust = water
What are the different types of plate boundaries called? What distinguishes them?
- divergent plate boundary: plates move apart
- convergent plate boundary: plates move toward each other
- transform fault boundary: plates slide in opposite direction
What happens when continental crust meets oceanic crust?
subduction: denser oceanic crust is forced underneath the continental crust
- formation of deep ocean trench
What happens when continental crust meets continental crust?
mountain ranges
Describe the three types of rocks.
- igneous rocks: made by solidified magma
- sedimentary rocks: sediments are pressed together
- metamorphic rock: high pressure/temperature change properties of rock
Define the basic parts of a biogeochemical cycle.
- pools: parts of an ecosystem where matter may reside
- fluxes: rates where matter moves from one pool to another
- capital: mass of material in a pool
- residence time: time an atom remains in a pool
- cycling time: time it takes to move through an entire biogeochemical cycle
Show the pools and fluxes, with water cycle as example. Which pool would have the longest residence time? The shortest?
pools: oceans, glaciers, lakes, rivers, atmosphere
fluxes: evaporation, transpiration, precipitation, runoff
- longest residence time: oceans
- shortest residence time: atmosphere
What are nutrients? Why are they important for living things?
types of things we need to survive (mostly C, H. O, N)
List the layers of the atmosphere starting from the surface of the Earth and working up wards in altitude.
- troposphere
- stratosphere
- mesosphere
- thermosphere
What is vapor pressure? What regions of the Earth would have high vapor pressure?
contribution that water vapor makes to total atmospheric pressure
- higher vapor pressure in humid places
Explain how dew point might vary over the course of a given day.
how much the air is saturated varies throughout the day
- as air cools, it reaches its dew point
Distinguish between weather and climate.
weather = short term atmospheric conditions
climate = long term patterns of weather
What property of the Earth explains why temperatures are warmer at the equator and cooler at the poles?
latitudinal impacts on sunlight
Describe the movement of air in three types of convection cells.
- hadley cells (tropical convection): warm air rises at the equator, flows poleward at higher altitudes, returns toward equator at the surface
- ferral cells: air rises around 60 latitude, moves poleward at high altitudes, moves back toward 60 latitude
- polar cells: cold air sinks at the poles, moves toward the equator, rises at 60 latitude and moves poleward at higher altitudes
How does the Coriolis Effect impact the air in convection cells?
coriolis effect: causes moving air to be deflected due to Earth’s rotation
- trade winds: eastward deflection
- westerlies: westward deflection
- polar easterlies: eastward deflection
How do prevailing winds drive ocean currents?
gyres: oceans move in circular patterns
How does thermohaline circulation drive ocean currents?
ocean water moves between surface and depths through thermohaline circulation
What would happen if the Earth had a greater tilt than it currently does?
seasons would be more extreme
What information is contained in a climatograph?
seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation for a given area
