UWEC GEOG 104 Exam 2

Natural Region

An area homogenous with a defined criteria

Science

Solving problems and answering questions with evidence

What do geographers do?

Work to ensure our home is livable for all

Dipolar properties of water

Adhesive

Cohesive

Capillarity

Some properties of water

Latent Heat Exchange with Phase Changes (Hurricane)

High Specific Heat

Universal solvent

Chemical Catalyst

Common in all three phases of matter

What's the number one geomorphic agent on earth?

Water

What is water a major controller of?

Earth-Sun Energy Balance

Weather and Climate

Huge roll in all Natural Regions

What are the four storage facilities of water?

Surface Water

Groundwater

Organic Tissue

Soils

Global Fresh Water Supply Stats

3% is fresh water

.003% is readily available

Why is water where it is? (2)

Water is always moving through the hydrologic cycle

Soils tell precipitation on and where to go

What is infiltration?

When water can seep in

What is runoff?

When water doesn't soak in

What are the controls on water movement? (2)

1. Capillary Forces (Adhesion and cohesion)

2. Gravitational force

What is porosity?

How much you can put in, the total volume of available pore space in soil or sediment.

Which has more porosity?

Clay is more, sand is less

What is Permeability

How fast water can move in and out - the ability of a soil or sediment to allow water to pass through it

What is the saturated soil moisture state?

What is the Field capacity moisture state?

What is the Wilting point moisture state?

What is the percent clay, silt and sand in the triangle?

What is the field capacity, available water, wilting point and unavailable water of the soils?

In order - Sand, Sandy-loam, Loam, Silt-loam, Clay-loam, Clay

What are the three reasons for water being the soil and water gate keeper?

1. Control how much soaks in (Infiltration) versus how much runs off (Runoff, causes erosion and flash floods)

2. Control how much water is held by capillary forces (Available soil water - extractable by plants)

3. Control how much free or gravitational water can recharge (percolate to) groundwater - soil pores must be saturated

What is percolation?

Soil recharging from ground water

Field capacity and wilting point are capillary forces - what is the water plants can use equation?

Field capacity - permanent wilting point = available water

Where does free of gravitational water go?

Into the groundwater

What is a major storage facility in the hydrologic cycle?

Groundwater

What is the groundwater system?

Stream diagram

Where does 40% of stream flow come from?

Baseflow - Groundwater discharge-derived

What is cool, clean, steady and oxygenated?

Baseflow groundwater

What do most streams receive?

Runoff + baseflow input

What is "flashy"?

Runoff dominated waterflow

What causes more frequent and more severe flooding?

More runoff

What are four properties of runoff?

Warm

Sediment-laden

Nutrient enriched

poorly oxygenated

What are the inputs and outputs in the Saturated Zone?

Inputs (percolation)

-Aquifer recharge

Outputs

-Aquifer discharge (baseflow, springs)

-Some plants under some conditions

What are some streams that loose water to groundwater?

Exotic stream - nile and CO

What's the BIG groundwater problem?

Unsustainable withdrawal

What is the other big groundwater problem?

Groundwater contamination

What is the definition of climate?

The average long term weather of an area, a region's general pattern of atmospheric conditions including seasonal variations, weather types, and extremes

What is a climate region?

An area with homogeneous atmospheric conditions

Water Table Diagram 1

Water Table Diagram 2

How much of the Ogalla Aquifer's water has been pumped?

30%

How large would the Ogalla aquifer be if it was above ground?

Twice as large as all of the great lakes

How much of US cattle, corn and cotton does the aquifer sustain?

205

What are the three causes of sinkhole collapse?

Erosion, Groundwater withdrawal, Surface loading

What's the difference between unconfined and confined groundwater in WI?

Mostly Unconfied - thin glacial outwash

Mostly confined - bedrock

What are the two big us groundwater problems?

Near the coast - saltwater intrusion

in the west and florida - Subsidence

What are some groundwater pollutants? (3)

Industrial Chemicals

Domestic and Municipal Chemicals

Agricultural Chemicals

What are some other controls on temperature? (4)

Specific Heat (continentality versus maritime influence)

Latent Heat Exchange with Phase Change (Hurricane)

Ocean currents and global circulation patterns

Elevation

What is required for precipitation? (2)

Moist air masses

Lifting mechanisms (Descending air, no precipitation)

What are lifting mechanism? (4)

Orographic lifting

Convergent lifting

Frontal lifting

Convectional lifting

What is orographic lifting?

What happens when surface winds blowing toward mountains are forced to rise

What is convergent lifting?

What happens when surface winds blow into the same area from different directions

What is frontal lifting?

WHat happens when a cold/warm air advances into a warm/cold mass

What is convectional lifting?

What happens when unequal surface heating creates bubles of air that are warmer than the surrounding air

What clouds are caused by convectional lifting?

Cumulus and Cumulonimbus

North American Climates

Who is Alexander von Humboldt?

Modern Climatology and Instrumentation

Who founded the isotherm?

Alexander von Humboldt

What is the Koeppen system?

Biogeographic link between climate regions that fit to vegetation regions

Climate controls on Biome Distribution

What are A climates?

Tropical, hot humid year round

What are B climates?

Arid Climates, annual moisture-deficit

What are c climates?

Warm, humid climates. seasonally hot

What are d climates?

Cold, snow-forest climates

What are e climates?

Poloar Climates

What are h climates?

Highland climates

What are Af, Aw, and Am climates in order?

No Dry Seasons, short dry season, dry winter

What are the Bs, Bw climates in order?

Semiarid, Arid

What are the Cf, cw, and cs climates in order?

No dry season, dry winter, dry summer

What re the df and dw climates in order?

No dry season, dry winter

What is Dynamism?

Change is the norm

What are three responses to change beyond tolerance limits?

Adapt, Migrate, Die

What is a biome?

A large, regional scale, stable terrestrial ecosystem complex characterized by specific plant and animal communities

What does climate trigger in plants?

A metabolic response

What does climate trigger in animals?

homeostatic, physiological and behavioral response

What does climate control?

The available water/energy available to run ecological systems

Biome Triangle

What is climate a major control on?

Biomass, NPP, biodiversity

What did Alexander von Humboldt study?

Phytogeography with a main focus on plants

Why are all plants autotrophs?

Only they convert solar energy to chemical energy

What are all creatures?

Heterotrophs

WHat forms the base of the ecological pyramid?

Plants

What causes the size of the biome pyramid?

The size of the pyramid base is a funciton of available energy and water ergo climate is the major driving mechanism

What is plant's link to the hydrologic cycle? (4)

The major biological storage facility

Input from soils

Output to atmosphere

Influence groundwater recharge (influence on infiltration ratio)

What is plant's link to the lithosphere?

Protect soils from erosion

What is plant's link to soils (pedosphere)?

Organic matter in soils comes mostly from plants

How many plant species are there?

> 420,000

What are lianas?

Vines

What are epiphytes?

Plants growing on other plants to get closer to the sun

What are bryophytes?

Mosses

What is stratification?

The number of canopies

What are the periodicity? (3)

Deciduous

Evergreen

Semi-deciduous

What leaves are cold adapted?

Needles

What are features of hot and wet adapted plants?

Big and broad, oriented , drip point, waxy

What are some qualities of dry adapted?

Tiny, dusty

North American Terrestrial Biomes

What letters are for Forest biomes?

A, C, D

What letters are for Savanna biomes?

A, C, D transitional to/adjacent to B