APES UNIT 4 REVIEW

Earth's spheres

lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere

Earth's core levels

- inner core; solid
- outer core; liquid
- mantle
- asthenosphere
- lithosphere (earth's surface)

Earth's surface composed of...

continental crust and oceanic crust

Which is denser, oceanic crust or continental crust?

oceanic

Plate tectonics theory

a model of movement of Earth's crust

Convection currents exist in cells in the...

lower mantle and the upper mantle (asthenosphere)

Wilson Cycle (1960's) Theory

Wilson proposed that land masses repeatedly join to form a supercontinent, and then split apart

Why are fossil remains significant to proving continental drift?

fossil remains provide evidence from continent to continent that they were once connected

divergent boundary

spreading apart
constructive (oceanic lithosphere created)
forms ridge/rift
volcanic activity (sea floor spreading)

Convergent boundary

subduction destructive (oceanic lithosphere destroyed)
forms trenches
volcanic activity

transform boundary

lateral sliding
neutral (doesn't create or destroy)
doesn't form anything
NO volcanic activity (earthquakes)

define faults

fractures in the earth's crust caused by stress

Types of faults

Type 1: normal fault
Type 2: reverse fault
Type 3: Strike-slip fault (on same plane)(ex: San Andreas Fault)

factors that effect soil formation

parent material, climate, topography, organisms, time

How is soil made?

weathering from wind, rain, hail, ice

Agents of erosion

gravity, water, wind, glaciers

2 types of soil erosion

normal (geologic) and accelerated (interference of man)

Porosity (of soil)

percentage of the total volume of rock consisting of voids

permeability (of soil)

capacity of a rock to transmit fluids

Most common gas in atmosphere

nitrogen

most common greenhouse gas

Water vapor

levels of atmosphere

(from closest to farthest from surface)
troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
thermosphere
exosphere

troposphere characteristics

WHERE WEATHER FORMS
75% of atmosphere

stratosphere

where protective ozone layer floats
20% of molecules in the atmosphere

mesosphere

where shooting stars blaze
where space debris burns up

thermosphere

where temperature rises
thin air but absorbs solar radiation

Exosphere

farthest layer from earth
little to no air

where is the ozone layer

Stratosphere

process of ozone

1. oxygen molecules photolyzed (slow)
2. ozone and oxygen atoms react due to solar radiation
3. interconversion begins where UV radiation converts to thermal energy (heating)
4. ozone atom is lost due to reaction

UV protection by ozone layer

UV-B is strongly absorbed. UV-A (visible light) is not absorbed

(UV-B are harmful)

Greenhouse effect

some infrared radiation passed through some is absorbed by greenhouse gases and admitted in all directions (effect is warming earths surface)

cryosphere

polar ice-caps, seasonal snow cover, mountain glaciers

rising air results in...

low pressure

sinking air results in...

high pressure

define wind

movement of air due to a difference on atmospheric pressure caused by different heating of land and water masses by solar radiation

2 different wind cells

Hadley cell (middle), polar cells, Ferrel cell (in between hadley and polar)

what happens to cold/warm air

cold- sinks
warm- rises

where is the intertropical convergence zone?

equator

characteristics of watershed

area, length, slope, soil, vegetation types

what is incoming solar radiation called

insolation

what is earths main source of energy

insolation that depends on season and latitude

what does the angles of earths sun rays determine?

the intensity of the solar radiation

what part of the earth recieves the most intense solar radiation

the latitude because it is directly horizontal to sun

highest/ lowest solar radiation is at

high- equator
low- poles

what is rain shadow?

region of land that has become drier because a higher elevation area blocks precipitation from reaching land

climate vs weather

climate- established pattern of weather over long period of time (30 years or more)
weather- the day to day variations of condition of atmosphere

factors that determine climate

latitude, altitude, air pressure, solar radiation, ocean currents, terrain

what effect local climates

interactions between land and oceans and disruptions of airflows by mountains

el nino and la nina

a phenomena associated wit changing ocean surface temps in PACIFIC ocean

what is upwelling

-process in which currents bring deep and cold water to surface
- is a result of winds and rotation of earth (west to east), coriolis effect

What directions to winds move in north/south hemisphere (coriolis effect)

North- right
south- left

el nino upwelling creates a reduced supply in nutrients resulting in...

a decrease in plankton concentration

what are ocean currents driven by

combination of temp, gravity, prevailing winds, coriolis effect

define gyres

large scale patterns of water circulation that redistribute heat in ocean

thermohaline circulation

- warm water flows from gulf of mexico to north atlantic
-remaining water (denser and saltier) sinks to bottom
-cold water circulates back to north atlantic

normal circulations are also called

the walker circulation

the walker cell

a vertical circulation in tropics

el nino vs la nina

el nino- warm water
la nina- cold water