APES Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources

Earth's core

The extremely hot and dense center of the earth, which is believed to be composed of iron and nickel

Earth's mantle

the part of the earth between the core and the the crust, about 2,900 km thick and makes up nearly 80 percent of the Earth's total volume.The mantle is made up of magma and rock.

Earth's crust

earth's outermost layer of rock made up of both dry land and ocean floor

Lithosphere

A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.

Asthenosphere

The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.

convection currents

a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid

Magma

A molten mixture of rock-forming substances, gases, and water from the mantle

Lava

Liquid magma that reaches the surface; also the rock formed when liquid lava hardens.

plate tectonics/ contiental drift

The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.

plate boundaries

At plate boundaries, Earth's crust is broken (fault) and rocks slip past each other in one of 3 types of plate boundaries.

convergent boundary

A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.

subduction zone

in tectonic plates, the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental or oceanic plate.

Mariana Trench

The location of the deepest trench on earth made from two oceanic crusts converging.

divergent boundary

A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.

rock cycle

A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another

sea-floor spreading

The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor

igneous rock

a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

divergent boundary in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

sedimentary rock

A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together

East Pacific Rise

This is an example of sea floor spreading at a divergent boundary.

metamorphic rock

A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.

Great Rift Valley

the largest rift in the earth's surface

weathering and erosion

rocks breaking down by wind and water

transform boundary

A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions

Sediment Deposition

Solid bits of weathered rock are eroded, then deposited by wind, water, ice, and gravity

earthquake

The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.

soil

The loose, weathered material on Earth's surface in which plants can grow.

seismic activity

the frequency and intensity of earthquakes experienced over time

parent material

the rock material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived

Epicenter

Point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus

Soil horizons in order

O, A, E, B, C, R

Richter scale

a logarithmic scale of 1 to 10 used to express the energy released by an earthquake

Organic Layer (O-horizon)

The uppermost layer; it is rich in organic material.

Volcanoes

an opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected.

humus layer

incomplete decomposition on top of the soil, layer of dark brown or black material formed

Pacific Ring of Fire

Ocean-girdling zone of crustal instability, volcanism, and earthquakes resulting from the tectonic activity along plate boundaries in the region.

top soil

Mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals that forms the crumbly, topmost layer of soil.

sand

the coarsest soil, with particles 0.05,2.0 mm in diameter.

silt

fine particles of fertile soil

clay

A natural, earthly material that retains its shape and hardens when fired

soil triangle

a graphic explanation of the proportions of sand, silt, and clay in soil

Loam

Rich, fertile soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt.

Porosity

the volume of open spaces in rock or soil

Permability

The ability of rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces or pores.

climate

Overall weather in an area over a long period of time

weather

The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Tropsphere

starts at the earths surface, where all weather occurs, temp falls

Stratosphere

second layer of the atmosphere, 12 to 50 km, Ozone held here, absorbs UV radiation

Mesosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere

Thermosphere

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases

Exosphere

The outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space.

solar radiation

Transmission of energy from the sun in the form of electromagnetic waves.

Insolation

incoming solar radiation

infrared radiation

-Radiation felt as heat.

-Absorbed by earth's surface, gases, and particles

-Heats our atmosphere.

-Long, less dangerous wavelength

Water holding capacity

how well soil can retain water (sand is low, clay is high)

visible light

Electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the unaided eye

ultraviolet radiation

a type of energy that comes to Earth from the Sun, can damage skin and cause cancer, and is mostly absorbed by the ozone layer

intertropical convergence zone

An area of Earth that receives the most intense sunlight; where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge.

Albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect light

Atmospheric convection current

global patterns of air movement that are initiated by the unequal heating of Earth

Hadley Cell

a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.

Ferrel Cell

A convection current in the atmosphere that lies between Hadley cells and polar cells

Polar cell

Cells of air circulation occurring between 60 degrees north and south and each pole.

Coriolis effect

Causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere due to Earth's hemisphere.

rain shadow effect

Precipitation falls on the windward side of a mountain range, resulting in lush vegetation & a warm, moist climate on one side, but a desert area on the leeward side.

Gyres

Huge circular moving current systems dominate the surfaces of the oceans.

Upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface

thermohaline circulation

Movement of ocean water caused by density difference brought about by variations in temperature and salinity. As ocean water freezes at the poles it concentrates salt, and the colder, denser water sinks.

Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

Is a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. The great ocean conveyor moves water around the globe.

ENSO

El Niño Southern Oscillation, see-sawing of air pressure over the S. Pacific

La Nina Effect

a change in the eastern Pacific Ocean in which the surface water temperature becomes unusually cool

El Nino

an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December.

Watershed

An ecosystem where all water runoff drains into a single body of water

Floodplain

The area subject to flooding during a given number of years according to historical trends.

watershed divide

the line that separates neighboring drainage basins