Midterm 2 Flashcards
(42 cards)
Why is ENSO called El Niño?
El Niño is the periodic warming of surface waters of the tropical east pacific that alters oceanic atmospherical circulation patterns.
Named “little boy” or the Christ Child because the patterns appears and the anchovy fishery crashes right before Christmas
El Niño vs La Niña
During El Niño… water temperature rises off the tropical eastern pacific (Peru) and results in wetter, cooler winters in the southeast US
During La Niña… water temperature cools off the coast of Peru and results in warmer and more dry winters in southern east US
Switches every 3-7 years
What are biomes?
Major ecosystems characterized by a similar climate, soil, plants and animals. Regardless of location.
Tundra
The coldest limit of plant growth
Arctic tundra has permafrost - permanently frozen ground
Has dwarf perennial shrubs, mosses and lichens
Alpine Tundra - high elevation, near equator
Human effect : high! search for petroleum
Tundra Animals
Low animal diversity due to unstable geological history
Large insect presence but slow development
High diversity of migratory birds
Arctic fox, ox, caribou
Taiga
Coniferous or boreal forest - harsh winters and short, wet summers
Largest terrestrial biome
Winter percolation insulates the soils and proactive layer for small mammals
Trees - conifers and spruce - pine
Human impact: logging and mining
Taiga animals
Seed eaters - squirrels, deer, beavers,
Soil is thin and acidic
Temperate Rain Forest
Largely coniferous, characterized by 200-380 cm of rain
Defined seasons
Thick undergrowth
Human impact; logging
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Mid latitude regions, high temp changes, high precipitation,
Soil is rich, abundance of food leads to diverse life
Stratified vegetation, herbs, shrubs
Trees; oak, birch, hickory,
Grassland
Grasses are fire resistant
Deep and rich soil (mulch)
Roots mat together to form sod
Underground invertebrates
Chaparral
Scrubland with scattered individual think leaves trees
Wet winters dry summers
Soil is thin and poor in nutrients
Human impact: urbanization, exotic species, fire suppression
Human impact of deserts
Urbanization, irrigated farmland, off road vehicles, poaching
Savannah
Grassland with scattered individual trees
Three distinct seasons
Soil is nutrient poor with thin humus layer, rapid rain drainage
Ecotone
Where forest and grassland integrate, i.e. Savanah
Tropical rainforest
Greatest biodiversity
Competition for light
Soil is poor due to rapid nutrient recycling
Human impact; deforestation
Tropical rainforest vegetation divisions
Emergent layer - above canopy Canopy Low tree stratum Shrub understory Ground layer
Euphotic vs aphotic
Euphotic is the upper layer where light is sufficient for photosynthesis, aphotic is below and unable
Temperature stratification
Sunlight warms the upper layers of water while deeper remains cold
Occurs in deeper ponds and lakes during summer in temperate zones
Fall Turnover
The lake / pond phenomenon in which decreasing ambient temperatures causes mixing of strata (layers)
*NOT common in tropical lakes / ponds because of no temperature change
Littoral Zone vs Limnetic Zone
Littoral : Shallow, well lighted, warm water CLOSE to shore - floating vegetation
Limnetic Zone : open, well lighted waters AWAY From shore - large fish
Oligotrophic vs Eutrophic Lakes
Oligotrophic Lakes are deep, nutrient poor Lakes and ponds which phytoplankton are NOT productive
Eutrophic Lakes are shallow, nutrient rich with high phytoplankton production
Estuaries
An area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean
The intertidal Zone
Where terrestrial habitat meets the oceans water
The Benthic environment
Refers to the ocean floor at any depth
