APES Chapter 4

What landforms form at divergent plate boundaries?

Volcanoes, ridges, seafloor spreading, rift valley, possible earthquakes

What landforms form at convergent plate boundaries?

Volcanoes, mountains, earthquakes, island arcs, trenches

What landforms form at transform plate boundaries?

Earthquakes, tsunamis

What does the lithosphere consist of?

Crust and upper solid mantle

What is important about the asthenosphere?

It allows techtonic plate movement

How does subduction cause volcanoes?

One plate slides under the other and melts, which brings magma up to the surface

Label the focus and epicenter

How does a trasform boundary cause earthquakes?

The plates lock up as they are sliding past each other, building up stress and energy. The plates suddenly slide past each other, releasing the large amount of energy.

Is oceanic or continental plate more dense?

Oceanic

How do earthquakes cause tsunamis?

When an earthquake is underwater and close to shore, its energy can cause the ocean floor to suddenly move up or down, which displaces water, creating a tsunami

Subduction

When one plate slides beneath the other

Another term for transform boundary

Strike-Slip

Negative impacts of tsunamis

Loss of habitat, flooding brings in saltwater, species can drown

O soil layer

Organic; Layer of organic matter

A soil layer

Surface/topsoil; Layer of humus and minerals

E soil layer

Layer of clay, sand, and silt

B soil layer

Subsoil; layer of minerals, clay, and less organic matter than above

C soil layer

Substra; Layer of weathered rock, most closely resembles parent material

R soil layer

Bedrock

Which biomes don’t typically have O soil layer?

Deserts

Which biomes typically have E soil layer?

Forests

Soil layers from top to bottom

OAEBCR

How is soil formed from the bottom?

Weathering of parent material produces small fragments that make up the inorganic part of soil

How is soil formed from the top?

Breakdown of organic matter adds humus to soil; Erosion deposits soil particles from other areas

Weathering and the types

The breaking down of rock into small pieces that form soil; Physical (wind and rain), biological (tree roots crack rocks), chemical (acid).

Erosion

The transportation of weathered rock by wind or rain

Deposition

When soil is deposited at new location

How does climate impact soil formation? (2 types)

Warmer weather makes organic matter break down faster. More rain leads to more weathering, erosion, and deposition.

What is topography and how does it impact soil?

The shape and length of a slope; Impacts the drainage and erosion

What causes topsoil loss and what is the effect?

Turning of soil for agriculture (tilling); dries out soil, removes nutrients, leading to more erosion

What causes soil compaction and what is the effect?

Machines, grazing livestock, humans; reduces soil’s ability to hold moisture, dries soil, leading to more erosion

What causes soil nutrient depletion and what is the effect?

Repeatedly growing crops with the same soil; removes nutrients, reduces the ability to grow crops in the future

Soil parent material

Rock

How does deforestation impact soil?

Lack of roots holding down soil, which leads to more erosion

How does overgrazing impact soil?

Livestock overeats, destroying O horizon and killing roots. Compacts soil. Both lead to increased erosion.

Ways to decrease soil erosion

No till farming, which doesn’t disturb the soil as much and keeps it in tact. Contour farming, where farming is gently sloped to slow water runoff

Oceanic-Oceanic convergent boundary

One plate slides beneath, forcing magma up. Forms volcanoes, island arcs, off-shore trenches

Continental-Continental convergent boundary

Plates push up and create mountains

Continental-Oceanic convergent boundary

Oceanic is more dense so it sinks under, melts into magma. Forces magma up, creating mountains, volcanoes, trenches, tsunamis

Porosity

The amount of pore space a soil has; directly related to permeability

Permeability

how easily water drains in soil; directly related to porosity

Conditions for high water holding capacity

Low porosity/permeability (inversely related)

Factors that increase soil nutrients

Organic matter, humus, decomposers, clay, bases

Factors that decrease soil nutrients

Acid, excessive rain, excessive farming, topsoil erosion

Factors that increase water holding capacity

Aerated soil, humus/organic matter, clay, root structure

Factors that decrease water holding capacity

Compacted soil, topsoil erosion, sand, root loss

Ideal soil for plants and whatnot

Loam: it balances porosity and H20 holding capacity

Chemical soil tests

Nitrogen (nitrates), phosphorus (phosphates), pH (acidity)

Physical soil tests

Soil composition, water holding capacity

Biological soil tests

Earthworms, bacteria

Infiltration

Movement of ions or chemicals through percolation

Percolation

Movement of water into the ground

Humus

Broken down leaves, dead animals, waste

Atmosphere levels from the ground up

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere

Which atmosphere layer contains the ozone layer

Stratosphere

Which is the most dense atmosphere layer

Troposphere

How does temp change as you go up in troposphere and why

Temp decreases because air is further from the warmth of eath's surface

How does temp change as you go up in stratosphere and why

Increases bc warmth of UV rays and ozone

How does temp change as you go up in mesosphere and why

Decreases bc density of air decreases so it can't absorb the sun well

How does temp change as you go up in thermosphere and why

Increases, it is absorbing so much solar radiation

Hottest atmospheric layer

Thermosphere (3100 F)

Coldest atmospheric layer

Mesosphere (-150 F)

Temperature gradient image

How much of earth is nitrogen

78%

How much of earth is oxygen

21%

Other 3 gasses in earth's atmosphere

Argon, water vapor, carbon dioxide

Does warm or cold air rise

Warm

Does warm or cold air hold more moisture

Warm

Explain Hadley Cell

Sun heats the most at the equator. This warm, moist air rises and cools, and since cold air cant hold as much moisture there is precipitation. The dry cold air expands and sinks back down along 30 degrees on either side, then travels back to the equator.

Why are most deserts at 30 degrees

Hadley cell

Equator is high or low pressure?

Low

Which direction does earth spin

East

Diagram of wind patterns

How does having more vegetation impact a watershed?

better soil fertility and filtration=more infiltration and groundwater recharge

filtration

When soil filters water

infiltration

When water goes into the ground

groundwater recharge

When water seeps into the ground and replenishes underwater aquifers

How does a greater slope impact a watershed?

Faster runoff+more soil erosion

How does nutrient pollution impact a watershed?

Excessive algae decreases the sunlight to the plants below the surface so they die, the bacteria uses up all of the oxygen to decompose them, which leads to hypoxia (low oxygen), and dead zones

What is nutrient pollution (watersheds)

Too many nutrients are added to the water, causing excessive algae growth

Major sources of nutrient pollution

Discharge from sewer treatment plants, animal waste, synthetic fertilizer

Impacts of clearcutting on watersheds

Soil erosion (which makes water cloudy because it gets deposited there), temperature (loss of tree shade increases temp of soil and water), Landslides (compacts the ground), flooding (contaminates water supply

Insolation

Incoming Solar Radiation: amount of solar energy recieved by earth's surface

Unit of insolation

solar radiation/area= W/m^2

When is autumnal equinox

Sept 22-23

When is summer solstice

June 20-22

When is winter solstice

December 21-22

When is vernal equinox

March 20-21

Albedo

Proportion of light reflected by a surface

Does ice/snow have low or high albedo

High

Does water have low or high albedo

Low

Factors that determine climate

Insolation, latitude, geography (mountains+oceans)

How does latitude determine climate

High latitude-less insolation=cooler, less precipitation

Equator-more intense insolation=higher temp, high precipitation

Windward side

Has greenery and precipitation

Leeward side

Dry air

Rain shaddow effect

Warm moist ocean air evaporates and hits windward side. Air rises and cools, causing precipitation on windward side. The now dry air goes down the leeward side, warming as it sinks.

How do mountains impact climate

They disrupt wind and produce rain shaddow effect

How do oceans impact climate

They moderate temperature and add moisture to the air

Climate @60 degrees

Warm air from lower meets cold air from poles, causing alot of precipitation and forests

Air @ 90 degrees

Cold and dry