Topic 2

Question 1

Earths rotation/tilt and how it gives us seasons

Answer 1

Earth remains tilted in same direction year round as orbit sun. = suns light will shine differently on earth at different times of the year. = therefore, title creates seasons.

Seasons of Northern and Southern Hemispheres are opposite of one another.

Winter in Northern Hemisphere (NH):
North Pole tipped away from Sun - light hits NH at a shallow angle for a short period of time, hence winter weather cooler & short days. Productivity of primer producers (photosynthesizers) drops in high parts of northern hemisphere and in low parts of southern hemisphere.

Spring in Northern Hemisphere (NH): Earth not tilted toward or away from sun = lengths of day & night similar. Productivity of primer producers (photosynthesizers) skyrockets. All ocean life responds to this change and forests grow green.

Summer in Northern Hemisphere (NH): North Pole titled toward sun = sunlight hits more directly and longer days and weather warmer.

Question 2

Global circulation

Answer 2

Global atmospheric circulation caused by earths rotation can explain why all deserts are on a similar latitude, what gives diff parts of world their climates.

Earths tilt means polar regions do not see daylight during winter

global circulation caused by different parts world heating up differently. (Differential heating).

Sun is main source of heat —> Heat travels through space as radiation —> radiation is absorbed by clouds, atmospheric gases and earths surface, with some parts of world receive more radiation than others —> this is b/c of curvature of earth —> at higher latitudes radiation is spread over much larger surface area and travels through a greater depth of atmosphere nearer the poles (more radiation is lost to scattering and absorption by gases and particles in atmosphere = more reflection & less radiation), while the same amount of energy is more concentrated near the equator.

Earth continuously sends out heat to space without any compensation of incoming heat from the sun. Therefore we see lots of snow & ice. Snow, Ice & thick clouds, reflect a lot of suns radiation back into space. This reflectivity (called albedo) of the underlying surface is an important factor in determining how much of the suns radiation is used for heating the earth

Combined effect of all these processes sets up a terms gradient between the equator and the poles.

Global radiation balance is such that polewards of 40° latitude, the outgoing heat radiation from earth exceeds the incoming heat radiation.

Global circulation acts as a air conditioning system, redistributing the heat stopping the equator from becoming hotter and the poles becoming colder, which would result in them being uninhabitable.

Question 3

What produces spatial and temporal variation in precipitation?

Answer 3

If earth didn’t rotate, was a simple landmass & had no oceans = had single circulatory cell in each hemisphere, in which hotter air would rise at equator and flow towards the poles. Air would sink as it cools and then return towards equator.

However, this isn’t the case b/c of the unequal distribution of land, ocean and speed of earths rotation = 3-cell pattern that exists in both hemispheres.

Hadley cells:
- largest cells
- at equator warmer, less dense air rises (height roughly 18 km) then spreads out underneath the tropopause (Acts as a lid to lowest part of atmosphere, which contains all weather). Warm air spreads out towards poles gradually cooling & sinking as it moves, then descends to surface and travels back to equator.

Ferrel cells:
- medium cells
- between Hadley and polar cells
- unlike other cells, not driven by temp. They flow in the opposite direction of Hadley and polar cells, acting like a gear. These circulating cells transport heat from the equator to the poles and result in semi-permanent areas of high and low pressure, due to rising and descending parts of circulation cells, giving us our climatic zones.
- where air is rising, area of low pressure is created, therefore more rainfall (why see largest areas of rainforests are near equator)
- where air is descending, area of high pressure is created, therefore clear skies and little rainfall, leading to desert regions. Not all deserts are hot, Antarctica sits under descending branch of polar cell and is classified as a desert. (Is largest and driest desert overall)

Polar cells:
- smallest cells
- cold, dense air descending in polar regions flows at low levels to about 60° to 70° north or south. As air leaves polar regions it starts to warm and returning to polars at high levels

Question 4

Solar driven air circulation

Answer 4

Polar cells: subtropical and polar air masses meet, creating a moist temperate climate = temperate forests. Around 60° N (northern hemisphere).

Ferrel cells: Dry descending air absorbs moisture, forming deserts. Around 30° N and S.

Hadley cells: Rising air at equator is associated with a moist tropical climate. Around 0° = equator.

Question 5

Coriolis Effect

Answer 5

In addition to being split into 3 cells, the global circulation pattern is at an angle due to earths rotation.

Spin of earth induces an apparent option to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in southern hemisphere = Coriolis effect.

Key to this effect lies in fact that earths surface rotates faster at the equator then at the poles. This is b/c earth is wider at equator, therefore has further to travel in 1 day. Result of this means as air moves away from equator it doesn’t move it a straight line relative to earths surface. Moves in slightly curved direction, due to air flowing from a region that is moving faster to a region that’s moving more slowly. This only happens when objects are in motion.

This deflection is a major factor in explaining why winds blow anticlockwise around low pressures and clockwise around high pressures in northern hemisphere and vice versa in southern hemisphere.

Air flowing toward North Pole, deflected towards the east, and when travel south back to towards equator, its deflected west. Same thing in southern hemisphere.

As air moves away from equator at top of Hadley cells towards higher latitudes, it starts to be deflected by coriolis force. Air moving away from equator speeds up as it gets closer to earths spin axis = process called conservation of angular momentum.

Question 6

Jet streams

Answer 6

Magnitude of corilois force increases towards poles, so by time air reaches 30°to 40° north or south, it’s moving in eastward direction = subtropical jet stream (associated with some of strongest winds on Earth). Jet sits between descending branches of Hadley and ferrel cells, there’s little associated weather

Polar front jet sits between rising branches of polar and ferrel cells, marking boundary between cold polar air and warm tropical air. Primarily is the result of the temp contrast across polar front. Stronger the temp contrast, the stronger the jet. Therefore, is stronger in winter than summer.

Question 7

Climate diagrams

Answer 7

Are a standard tool to summarize climate of regions.

Red dots, left axis: mean monthly temperature, °C.

Blue dots, right axis: mean monthly precipitation, mm. (Elevation (m) on this side too)

X axis is months.

Question 8

Soil characteristics

Answer 8

Soil is the result of interactions between organisms such as insects and decomposers (fungi), parent Mateos, climate, topography

Contains servers layers called horizons

Below these horizons: parent material, such as bedrock or volcanic rock.

Material is added form both top and bottom.

Question 9

O or LFH soil

Answer 9

O = organic
LFH = litter, fermentation, humus

Organic or fresh material,
Ex: leaves, fresh plant materials

Thick = decomposition is slow.
Ex: wet lands Thick b/c organisms need oxygen and H2O restricts them from getting that, resulting in less break down. Or a lot of material added

Thin = decomposition is fast.
Ex: Tropical rainforest soil isn’t good b/c a lot of plants are competing for it.

Question 10

A

Answer 10

Mix of mineral materials and organic materials

Active part of soil (high biological activity)

Question 11

B

Answer 11

Contains minerals leached from layers above it

Question 12

C

Answer 12

Mineral soil that originated form parent material that has weathered away

Question 13

Parent soil

Answer 13

Source if material for the soil

Depending on what it is, like bedrock or volcanic rock, Means different nutrients will be available.

Question 14

At which latitude would you expect to have the following characteristics: A lack of available water. The amount of precipitation varies, with some having drought year- round while others have drought for most of the year. Temperatures are variable.

Answer 14

In a band around the globe at 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S

Question 15

At which latitude would you expect to have the following characteristics: Cold and dry. Very short summers. Low to moderate precipitation.

Answer 15

North of the Arctic circle (which is at about 66 degrees N)

Question 16

At which latitude would you expect to have the following characteristics: Big changes in temperature from winter to summer, low to moderate temperatures in winter, summer is short in length. Moderate precipitation.

Answer 16

Circumpolar from 50 degrees to 65 degrees N

Question 17

At which latitude would you expect to have the following characteristics: Warm and wet year- round, with high precipitation. Temperatures are relatively constant all year.

Answer 17

Most is within 10 degrees N and 10 degrees S of the equator

Question 18

Terrestrial Biomes

Answer 18

Distinguished by predominant plant community & associated with particular climates.

Focus on
- Tundra
- Desert
- Boreal Forest
- Temperate Grassland
- Tropical Rain Forest

Question 19

Tundra

Answer 19

Climate:
-cold and dry
- very short summers, roughly 4-2 months (June- August)
- dry = low to moderate precipitation, roughly 0-65 mm
- on ave winters -30°C and summers just below 10°C.

Geography:
- most of lands north of the arctic circle

Soil:
- low rate of decomposition = thick organic layer
- permafrost: soil that remains frozen year round, fur face may thaw out but lower soil will not.

Biology:
- plants adapted to short growing seasons, mainly grasses, mosses, and low shrubs,
- slow and low growing vegetation
- high below ground biomass (Lots of roots)
-no trees
- supports large mammals
- many migratory bird species

Human influences:
- historically limited but recently exploration and resource extraction
- climate change
- permafrost warms up - mud/land slides, soil has less structure as it once did causes damage to houses

Question 20

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Answer 20

Climate:
- big temp variations
- long winters: low to mod temps (roughly 30°C)
- short summers: not as short as tundra (roughly 15°C)
- moderate precipitation (20-30mm)
- 3-4 months of growing season between march and April

Geography:
- 1st band of vegetation
- 50° - 60° band around globe = circumference
- about 11% of land area
- large portion of Canada

Soil:
- variable
— thin acidic
— thick organic
— low fertility
— high fertility

Biology:
- dominated by coniders trees (keep leaves on winter)
- deciduous trees present (lose leaves in winter)
- bigs and fens common (wetlands)
- resident year round and migratory species
- species adapted to survive the enviro
— long legs of moose
— hare —> wide feet to allow them to walk on snow, fur changes colours for camouflage
— lynx —> bust and boom cycle with hares, wide feet, many kits = means pop of hares is high

Human influences:
- recent increase in logging, oil extraction
- resource extraction
- lines made in forests, stop animals from moving b/c there is no protection from plants to hide, predators are smart and walk along it.
— habitat fragmentation —> humans cut sections of ecosystems

Question 21

Temperate Grassland

Answer 21

Climate:
- mod temps
- mod to high precipitation
- can experience drought
- growing seasons are much longer (between may and October) —> impacts what species can live there
- Winter temp around -15°, summer temp around 20-25°

Geography:
- Isn’t just a line around the globe —> globally widespread in mid latitudes (not Just in the extremes)

Soil:
- Consistently fertile
- Rich in organic materials —> affects what kind of species live there
- Important for agriculture and food production

Biology:
- dominated by herbaceous (grasses and shrubs, etc) vegetation
- natural disturbances, prevent trees from growing except along rivers or streams
- Used to support herds of large herbivores and their predators
- Grazing of herds impact plants, which they can handle but trees can’t handle.

Human influences:
- most critically endangered biome
- Historically, abundant wildlife have been reduced or extirpated b/c of European settlers.

Question 22

Desert

Answer 22

Climate:
- lack of available water
— available = estimate of water based on precipitation and water on land
- Low precipitation —> droughts are common, sometimes year long
- Temperatures are variable, because biome occurs in many parts of the globe
- growing season can be year-round or a couple months

Geography:
- 30° N and 30° S of equator
- 20% of land surface

Soil:
-Mostly sand and rock
- Low in organic material
- Very sensitive to living organisms
— burrowing animals
— plants, organic materials, clump around them causing mini ecosystems
- Some have high salt concentration, which makes it hard for organisms to live

Biology:
- vegetations sparse
- Plants adapted to reduce evaporation loss
- Some plants only grow when there is enough rain
- Animal abundant slow, but can be high diversity
- Animals have adaptations to heat
Ex: super bloom

Human influences:
- humans increasing desert through desertification
— caused by overgrazing of animals, and resource mismanagement
- Increasing temperature causes issues
— impacts biodiversity
- Humans have a harder time in this biome because there’s less water

Question 23

Tropical Rain forest

Answer 23

Climate:
- high precipitation
- Warm temperatures year round
— relatively consistent
- Growing season year-round

Geography:
- 10° from the equator

Soil:
- Tend to be nutrient poor
- Acidic
- Low in organic matter
- Very fast decomposition —> due to organisms being able to do it quickly

Biology:
- trees dominate can grow very tall height
- Very high diversity especially of treason insects, (ex, one hectare of rainforest may have 300 species where is one hectare of temperate forest we have a few dozen species)
- Epiphytes common (plants that live on top of another plant)
- Trees are often shall rerouted because the soil is nutrient poor
—> buttress roots = big roots on the bottom, helps prevent them from falling down

Human influences:
- many staple food and drugs, derived from tropical plants
- Destruction of timber minerals, unsustainable agriculture
- Timber logging is illegal because they cut trees down, burn the area and then put an agricultural plot there. The burning stops many plants from growing back.

Question 24

mountain climates

Answer 24

Elevation increases, Temperature decreases, Precipitation increases

Climate:
- higher elevation
–growing season shorter
– high precipitation
– low temp
- lower elevation
– growing season longer
– less percip
– warmer temps

Biology:
- vegetation changes with elevation
- isolation of populations –> unique species adaptions or gene pools (distinct)

Human Influences:
- resource extraction
- used for grazing animals

Question 25

Ecozones

Answer 25

Large sub-continental geographical division with distinct representative biotic & abiotic features.

• more specific than biomes
• Canada has 15 ecozones
• ex: ecozones to canada

Question 26

Ecoregions

Answer 26

An ecoregion is an area of similar climate, physiography, vegetation, soil, water, fauna and land use characteristics. Climate strongly influences many of the other
characteristics in an ecoregion, such as soils, vegetation, water, fauna and land use.

• even more specific
• to better understand what’s going on in regions
• ex: ecoregions to alberta

Question 27

Big Concepts

Answer 27

• Geographic distribution of terrestrial biomes corresponds
  closely to variation in climate, especially prevailing temperature
  & precipitation
• Understand how global location and climate of biome is related
  to its biological characteristics (e.g., thick layer of permafrost in tundra)
• The hydrologic cycle exchanges water among reservoirs.
• The biology of aquatic environments corresponds broadly to variations in physical factors such as light, temperature, and water movements.

Question 28

Hydrologic Cycle

Answer 28

how h2o cycles around the world

Reservoirs:
- where h2o collects and how it connects to each other
–> oceans (most here)
–> atmosphere
–> ground h20
–> ice ( a lot here)

How h20 moves
–> evaporation
–> precipitation
–> River flows

Question 29

Ocean Circulation: Gyres

Answer 29

surface ocean currents, big influence on climate (even on land)

Ex: N. Equatorial (in pacific ocean) comes from equator and moves up north along china and japan, bringing warm water, then turns directs to go south along Us bringing cold water to equator.

This is why some regional climates are colder or warmer than youd expect.

Question 30

Ocean Circulation: Structure

Answer 30

Horizontal

Littoral/Intertidal Zone:
- influenced by the rise and fall of tides

Neritic Zone:
- from the intertidal zone to continental shelf
- to about 200m deep

Open Ocean:
- beyond the continental self

Vertical

Oceanic Zone:
- from surface to bottom
- decrease light and temp, increase pressure the further you go down
- subsets are Mesopelagic (200-1,000 m), bathypelagic (1,000-4,000m), abyssal (4,000-6,000), hadel (rest is this)
- some animals cannot be brought u b/c there isnt enough pressure to keep them alive

Benthic:
habitats on the bottom of the ocean

Pelagic:
habitats off ocean bottom

Question 31

Ocean Circulation: Physical conditions

Answer 31

• 80% of light absorbed in 10m
• very little reaches below 600m
  – results in photosynthetic organisms only living at the surface of the ocean, ex: coral reefs, phytoplankton
• lack of light drives a lot of reasons as to why we see organisms where the are in the ocean

Upwelling:
- where nutrient-rich deep water moves rapidly to the surface caused by winds
- Support high levels of 1° & 2° productivity (fertilizer!) esp on costal regions

Question 32

Ocean Circulation: Human influence

Answer 32

• upwelling can influence where ppl put fishers
• pollution
  – mainly plastic
• oil spills
• over fishing

Question 33

Shallow Marine Waters: Kelp Forest and Coral Reefs

Answer 33

Kelp Forests:
- Vertical structuring ~ terrestrial forests
- Canopy
- Stems (Stipes):
- Holdfasts: structures that anchor stems to seafloor
- analogous to Forest on land
- prefer cold water
- sandy shores of east coast of NA exclude kelp forests
- Humboldt current is cold, kelp forest extend into subtropics along west coast of SA, an exceptions
-Grow along rocky shores in regions where max temp is 20 C

Coral Reefs
- circle the plant in a ban centered on the equator
- prefer warmer water
- coral reefs are absent from shores silted by runoff from large rivers on northeast cost of SA.

Question 34

Shallow Marine Waters: Human Influences

Answer 34

• use kelp as a thickening agent for many products
• increase temp = corals struggle
• humans cause damage to reefs by breaking bits off
• coral bleaching occurs when reefs are put under a lot of stress and are in the process of dying

Question 35

Intertidal Zone

Answer 35

• Covered by waves at high tide,
  exposed at low tides
• One of the most dynamic environments in biosphere
  – Light
  – Temperature
• animals are adapted to be dry at low tides and during those times to handle the temp changes and to be wet during high tide

Physical Conditions:

Question 36

Lakes and Ponds

Answer 36

• fresh H2O
• Similar to oceans; much smaller scale
• sunlight and temp decreases further you go down
• oxygen will also decrease as you go down

Horizontal

Littoral zone: (like ocean)
- shallow, aquatic plants, rooted in ground grow

Limnetic zone:
- instead of open ocean its open lake
- beyond the edge of land

Vertical

Epilimnion:
- sunlight penetrates and warms water

Metalimnion:
- temp and other physical and chemical factors change rapidly with depth

Hypolimnion:
- water is cold and may lack dissolved oxygen

Question 37

Lakes and Ponds: Human
Influences

Answer 37

Eutrophication:
- nutrients dumped into lakes, acting as a fertilizer for alga growth, resulting in them taking a lot of oxygen and potentially killing the lake

Invasive species:
- species introduced to places they don’t originate from and do well to the point they take over and other organisms struggle against them

Question 38

Peatlands: Bogs & Fens

Answer 38

Peat:
- decomposed plant material that builds up in poorly drained wetlands.

• takes up a lot of land in Canada
  – 5% of land on earth, 40% in America, 15% of Canada
• diff between bogs and fens is how stagnate the water is
• deep organic layer of soil

Biology:
- Wide variety of plant species
- Dominant moss layer; home to variety of carnivorous plants, e.g. pitcher plant
–> b/c decomposition is slow = low nitrogen availably, therefore plants get N from insects

Question 39

Peatlands: Human Influences

Answer 39

• Peat mined for fuel & soil ingredient for greenhouses/ gardens

Human-caused climate change:
- increase in temp, consequence is higher decomposition rates, peat starts to disappear and dry up, resulting in more CO2 in the air, which further contributes to climate change