UNIT 4 TEST (ENVIORMENTAL)

What landforms are created by different plate boundaries? (starts with d and moves awa…)

Divergent

• Plates move away from each other

• Rising magma plumes from mantle force plates apart

  • Forms: mid-oceanic ridges, volcanoes, seafloor spreading, and rift valleys (on land

What landforms are created by different plate boundaries? (starts with c and moves towar…)

• Convergent

• Plates move towards each other 

• This leads to subduction (one plate being forced beneath another)

  • Forms: mountains, island arcs, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

What landforms are created by different plate boundaries? (slippery slide)

• Transform / Slip Strike

• Plates slide past each other in opposite directions

• Used to link other faults

  • Forms: earthquakes

What correlation is there between earthquakes and plate boundaries? 

Tectonic plates collide along fault lines in Earth's crust. They occur when plates are subducted, spreading, slipping, or colliding. Pressure builds up as the plates grind together. As a result, the plates break apart under the pressure.

Why do they create such extreme earthquakes?

Plates sliding past each other in opp. directions create a fault (fracture in rock surface), resulting in a lot of pressure/something they get stuck to each other put onto the sliding plates. Making extreme Earthquakes.

What are the components of soil?

A mix of geologic (rock) and organic (living) components

• Sand, Slit, Clay

• Humus

• Nutrients

• Ammonium

• Water and Air

• Living organisms

What are the purposes of the major nutrients and PH within soil?

Soil pH is important because it affects the availability of nutrients to plants.

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. R

• R – THE ROCK IN WHICH ALL SOIL ABOVE IT COMES FROM

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. C

• C – ROCK THAT HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY ALTERED, CALLED THE PARENT MATERIAL OF SOIL

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. O

• O – DECOMPOSED ORGANIC MATERIAL, MOST PRESENT IN FORESTS

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. A

• A – ORGANIC MATERIAL WITH MINERAL MATERIAL, PLACE FOR MOST BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. E

• E – NOT ALWAYS PRESENT, ONLY IN ACIDIC SOILS. A DEAD ZONE WHERE NUTRIENTS HAVE BEEN LEACHED ELSEWHERE

List the characteristics of each of the soil horizons. B

• B – MINERAL MATERIAL; ACCUMULATION OF METAL IONS AND NUTRIENTS

What soil properties are found in different types of clasts?

• FUNGI, BACTERIA, PROTOZOANS = 80-90%

• RODENTS, EARTHWORMS, SNAILS, SLUGS (DETRITIVORES)

• MIXING, BREAKDOWN OF MATERIAL

• NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA

What are the practical effects of the different properties of soil? (hint: too much…)

• Soil that is too sandy (too permeable) drains water too quickly for roots + dries out.

What are the practical effects of the different properties of soil? (hint: so heavy can’t breathe 😮‍💨)

• Clay-heavy soil doesn’t let H₂O drain to roots or waterlogs (suffocating them) 

What are the practical effects of the different properties of soil? (hint: it is better for soil in the end and rhymes with foam)

• Ideal soil for most plant growth is loam, which balances porosity or drainage, with H₂O holding cap

How do you read a soil triangle?

• Clay – read diagonal up

• Silt – read diagonally down

• Sand – read straight

  ex;  35% CLAY, we read that as that because we start seeing the word clay after sand at 35%. Not directly after it, but in between. Another example, 20% SAND is because that’s where the sand on the pyramid ends.

Which layer of the atmosphere is responsible for: Weather, Ozone Layer, Meteores, and the Aurora Borealis?

The troposphere is the layer where the weather occurs.

Which layer of the atmosphere is responsible for: Weather, Ozone Layer, Meteores, and the Aurora Borealis?

Stratosphere is where the ozone layer occurs.

Which layer of the atmosphere is responsible for: Weather, Ozone Layer, Meteores, and the Aurora Borealis?

Mesosphere is where the meteors occur.

Which layer of the atmosphere is responsible for: Weather, Ozone Layer, Meteors, and the Aurora Borealis?

The thermosphere is where the Aurora Borealis occurs.

The Troposphere

Tropo = change (weather occurs here) - 0-16 km (52,000ft), most dense due to pressure of other layers above it

• Most of the atmosphere’s gas molecules are found here

• Ozone (O₃) in the troposphere is harmful to humans (respiratory irritant) & damages plant stomata, and forms smog (From VOC and NOx)

Stratosphere

 “S” for second - 16-60 km; less dense due to less pressure from layers above

• The thickest O₃ layer is found here; absorbs UV-B & UV-C rays which can mutate the DNA of animals (cancer)

Mesosphere

Meso = for middle; 60-80 km, even less dense

Thermosphere

Therm = hottest temp; 

• absorbs harmful X-rays & UV radiation 

charged gas molecules glow under intense solar radiation producing northern lights (aurora borealis)

Exosphere

Outermost layer where atm. merges with space

What is the cause of global atmospheric circulation? How does it work? What patterns can we see?

Caused by the rotation of the Earth and the amount of heat different parts of the globe receive. Pattens we see are heat is being transported from tropical to polar latitudes by world-wide winds. Each hemisphere has three cells (Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar).

How do global wind patterns affect rainfall at major latitudes?

Rising air and low pressure creates rain and wet environments at 0° and 60° latitudes, while high pressure, sinking air creates drier conditions at 30° and 90° latitudes.

How are watersheds defined? 

Determined by slope; ridges of land divide watersheds (diff. runoff directions)

How can watersheds show the movement of water in a given area?

 All of the land that drains into a specific body of water (river, lake, bay, etc.)

How can alterations to a watershed affect the surrounding area?

• Loss of tree shade increases soil temperature

• Soil has lower albedo than leaves of trees

• Loss of tree shade along rivers & streams warms them

What are the causes of localized weather?

solar radiation, Earth's large ocean, diverse landscapes, and motion in space.

What factors affect an area's climate?

1. Latitude / Solar Insolation

2. Proximity to Oceans (Wind Patterns and Rain Shadow)

3. Albedo (Reflection of Insolation/ Urban Heat Island)

4. Elevation (Expanding Cold Air)

How do global ocean currents affect water temperatures around the world? How do water temperatures affect their local climates?

transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics.

What are the causes and effects of El Niño and La Niña?

• Suppressed upwelling & less productive fisheries in South America

• Warmer winter in much of North America

• Increased precipitation & flooding in Americas (West coast especially)

• Drought in Southeast Asia & Australia

What are the causes and effects of El Niño and La Niña?

• Stronger upwelling & better fisheries in South America  than normal

• Worse tornado activity in US & Hurricane activity in Atlantic

• Cooler, drier weather in Americas

• Rannier, warmer, increased monsoons in Southeast Asia