Terrestrial Ecosystems and Earth's Geologic & Biological History Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering terrestrial biomes, atmospheric circulation, soil formation, geologic timeline, biological evolution, and course concepts from BIOL 163.

Tropic of Cancer

The line of latitude located at $23.5^\circ\text{ north latitude}$.

Tropic of Capricorn

The line of latitude located at $23.5^\circ\text{ south latitude}$.

Spodosol

The soil type associated with the boreal forest (taiga) biome.

Mollisol

The soil type associated with temperate grasslands, such as prairies.

Influences on Soil Formation

The five primary factors governing soil development: climate, parent material, time, biota, and topography.

Rain Shadow Deserts

Deserts formed when warm, moist air expands, cools, and drops rain on the windward side of mountains, leaving dry air that compresses and warms on the leeward side.

Hadley Cells

Atmospheric circulation cells featuring equatorial low pressure at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) at $0^\circ$ and subtropical high pressure at $30^\circ$ latitude.

Subtropical Highs

High-pressure atmospheric zones located at $30^\circ$ North and South latitude where major global deserts are concentrated.

Terrestrial Land Percentage

The proportion of Earth's surface occupied by land today, which is approximately $30\%$, with the Northern Hemisphere containing the bulk of terrestrial land.

Axial Tilt

The inclination of the Earth that produces seasonal changes and global heat distribution patterns; without it, seasons would not exist.

Near-Surface Permafrost Region

Regions located north of $45^\circ\text{N}$ that contain near-surface permafrost subject to thawing and global carbon loss.

Anaerobic Organisms

Organisms that lived without oxygen during the first billion years of Earth's biological history.

Eukaryotes

Nucleated cells that developed between $1.8\text{ ba}$ and $2.0\text{ ba}$ ($1.8\text{ to }2.0\text{ billion years ago}$).

Filamentous Photosynthetic Bacteria

Primitive prokaryotic photosynthetic organisms evidenced in the fossil record dating back $3.5\text{ ba}$ ($3.5\text{ billion years ago}$).

Cambrian Diversification Event

An evolutionary event occurring around $540\text{ Ma}$ ($540\text{ million years ago}$) marked by rapid diversification of sea life and the origin of all modern phyla.

Cosmic Calendar: Modern Humans Evolution

In the cosmic timeline metaphor scaling Earth's history to a calendar year, the time on December 31 when modern humans evolve ($6\text{ minutes before midnight}$).

Cosmic Calendar: End of Last Ice Age

In the cosmic timeline metaphor, the moment on December 31 when the last ice age ends and agriculture begins ($26\text{ seconds before midnight}$).

Dr. William Sobczak

The instructor for Intro to Biological Diversity (BIOL 163) with office hours on MWF from 7-8 am or 10-11 am.

Intrinsic Geographical Bias

The natural variability in global biological productivity and geographic distribution, such as the uneven concentration of terrestrial land in the Northern Hemisphere.

Photosynthesis

The fundamental biological process at the core of food webs that produced atmospheric oxygen starting around $2\text{ billion years ago}$, saturating aquatic bodies.