SUPA Earth system science chapter 1

environment

a collection of systems including all living and nonliving things on earth that sustain all life. Made up of ecosystems

biotic

living things

abiotic

nonliving things

system

made up of interacting components that produce patterns of behavior over a period of time

ecosystems

a collection of many natural systems

ecosystem services

the earth's natural resources (oxygen, water and energy) that are used for human survival

Anthropocene Epoch

the current epoch of earth's history that includes humans

Sustainability

managing natural resources that allow them to be used but not destroyed for future generations (Living within the regenerative capacity of earth)

the 3E's

Environment, Economy, Equity

ecological resilience

a measure of how well a system recovers after disruption occurs

climate change

the long term change in climate conditions such as temperatures and precipitation

An example of ecosystem services would include

wetlands that naturally purify water

how would you describe the Anthropocene epoch

it is marked by conspicuous human effects on the planet and is happening now

examples of human activities that have environmental effects include

throwing plastic bottles out the car window, using excess fertilizers to increase plant growth, consuming beef products multiple times each day, using plastic bags at the grocery store.

the first step of the scientific method

observe a problem

Second step of the scientific method

Form a hypothesis

Third step of the scientific method

experiment

Fourth step of the scientific method

Analyze data

Fifth step of the scientific method

conclusion

Sixth step of the scientific method

Communicate results

controlled experiment

researchers intentionally manipulate one aspect of a system to determine if this changes the outcome of the results

what are coral an example of

an ecosystem service

algae inside of coral

zooxanthellae

the cause of coral bleaching

the temperature raising in the ocean

what happens when coral are bleached

zooxanthellae leave the coral leaving it white and brittle

challenges to good science

fraud and pseudoscience

bias

an unreasonable weighting inclination or prejudice of one's thinking that leads to misunderstanding based on our backgrounds

misinformation

false or incorrect information that may be spread intentionally or unintentionally

peer review

a process for refining research design and ensuring that conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented

values

reflect our understanding of how we want things to be or what we desire aim for or demand

trade-offs

considering the pros and cons or benefits and costs of alternative courses of action

incentives

influences our choices

footprint analysis

measures the personal effects that translates our actions into an estimate of total natural resources needed to live our current lifestyles

what can I do

consider topics in environmental science that shape our individual and collective actions

environmental companies

TOMS and Patagonia

Biomagnification

increasing concentration of a toxin as you go up a food chain

Why does biomagnification occur?

the toxins are non-soluble and stored in fat

10% rule

10% of the energy is transferred while 90% goes to the environment

pcb

polychlorinated biphenyls

model

A simplified concept or representation of a complex process that is designed to help understand interactions among different factors