APES Unit 4

Earth’s layers, most to least shallow

Lithosphere, asthenosphere, lower mantle, outer core, inner core

Divergent plate boundaries

• Plates move away from eachother

• Often create ridges, volcanoes, mountains, happens underwater as well, causes sea floor spread

Strike-slip/transform boundaries

Slide past eachother, cause shallow but frequent earthquakes

Convergent

• Push towards eachother

• Volcanoes (subduction zones) and earthquakes

Continental plate boundaries

Less dense and create volcanoes, island arcs, earthquakes, hotspots and faults

Tsunamis

Starts with an earthquake, happens with long sea waves or underwater landslides

Earthquakes

Occur at plate boundaries, fault lines release build up stress and energy causing an earthquake

Soil horizons in order

• Q - organic matter

• A & B subsoil

• C substrate/bedrock

Factors affecting the creation of soil

• Topography, climate, parent material, time

Human affects on soil erosion

Tillage, fertilizers/pesticides, overgrazing, monocultures

Sheet erosion

Surface is removed by, ground cover helps

Rill erosion

Small channels of water flow, strip cropping help

Gully erosion

Water leaves from rill erosion, diverting water helps

Clay, silt and sand types

Sand 2 mm-0.05 mm

Silt 0.05 mm-0.002 mm

Clay >0.002

Atmosphere composition

78% N2, 21% O2, 1% trace gases

Exosphere

600 km-space, temperature drops

Thermosphere

85-600 km, temperature rises

Mesosphere

50-85 km, temperature drops

Stratosphere

20-50 km, temperature rises

Troposphere

0-20 km, temperature drops

Coriolis affects

Hot rising air is also rotating with the earth and causing more variation

Watershed

Sectioned based on the highest parts of the surrounding valley that drains into a lake

Delta

Where rivers dump into lakes

Insolation

Incoming solar radiation

Latitudes in order

• Arctic/north pole (60 N)

• Tropic of Cancer (30 N)

• Equator (0)

• Tropic of Capricorn (30 S)

• South pole (60 S)

Autumunal equinox & Vernal equinox

Equally night and day length

Summer solstice

Longest day of the year, midnight day

Winter solstice

Shortest of the year, polar night

Rainshadow

Cold wet air rises on one side of a mountain (windward side) causing it to be more lush, while the on other side (leeward side) becomes less so due to hot and dry air falling down

ENSO

La Nino and Nina

Regular winds

Wind flows from the East to the West and causes an upwelling in the West around South America

La Niño

Winds are reversed, the upwelling is suppressed in South America

La Niña

Everything is enhanced, causing a greater upwelling