PHYS 203 - Earth in Space Final Exam

terrestrial

environment on continents

marine

environments at bottom of oceans (most landscapes, since most of earth is oceans and not much is known)

transitional

shores, environments where oceans meet continents

equator

terrestrial environments; hot temp, high humidity, low aridity due to equatorial low

poles

terrestrial environments; cold temp, low humidity, high aridity due to polar highs

high temp, high humidity, low aridity

conditions at equator

equatorial low

reason for conditions at equator

cold temp, low humidity, high aridity

conditions at poles

polar highs

reason for conditions at poles

30° latitude

terrestrial environments; high temp, low humidity, high aridity due to subtropical highs

high temp, low humidity, high aridity

conditions at 30° latitude

subtropical highs

reason for conditions at 30° latitude

60° latitude

terrestrial environment; low temp, high humidity, low aridity due to subpolar lows

low temp, high humidity, low aridity

conditions at 60° latitude

subpolar lows

reason for conditions at 60° latitude

tropical rainforest

landscape at equator

hot deserts

landscape at 30° latitude (hot & arid near subtropical highs)

boreal forests (taigas)

landscape at 60° latitude (cold & humid near subpolar lows)

permafrost

landscape at poles (cold & arid near polar highs)

forests, woodlands, shrublands, grasslands, steppes, deserts

progression of landscapes

savanna

hot grassland

prairies

midlatitude grassland

tundra

permafrost steppe

permafrost

continental ice sheets

woodlands

fewer trees than forests

shrublands

bushes and shrubs but no trees

grasslands

grass but no bushes or shrubs

steppe

less humid, just outside of deserts

deserts

most arid (least humid)

summer and winter

midlatitude seasons

cause of midlatitude seasons

alteration between more direct sunlight and less direct sunlight due to obliquity of the Earth as it orbits the sun

summer

more arid midlatitude season

winter

more humid midlatitude season

movement of sun

can be interpreted as causing the midlatitude seasons

june 21st

sun appears to be on top of the tropic of cancer (21 1/3 N)

south

movement of sun from june to september

september 21st

sun appears to be on top of the equator

south

movement of sun from september to december

december 21st

sun appears to be on top of the tropic of capricorn (23 1/3 S)

north

movement of sun from december to march and march to june

high-sun, low-sun

seasons at equator (hot throughout the year)

high sun

which is more humid? high or low sun season

low sun

which is more arid? high or low sun season

high sun season

June, July, August (north of equator); December, January, February (south of equator)

low sun season

December, January, February (north of equator); June, July, August (south of equator)

daytime, nighttime

seasons at poles (cold throughout the year)

daytime

which is more humid? daytime or nighttime

nighttime

which is more arid? daytime or nighttime

daytime season

June, July, August (north pole); December, January, February (south pole)

nighttime season

December, January, February (north pole); June, July, August (south pole)

latitude

primary variable in determining the characteristics of terrestrial landscapes, but variables such as ocean-current effects, marine-vs-continental effects and orographic effects also play a role in exceptions

treeline/timberline

elevation where trees can no longer grow

geomorphology

study of how and why environments change

geomorphologist

someone who studies the evolution of environments

geomorphic agent

anything that changes environments

aeolian process

action of wind on environments

mass wasting

action of gravity on environments (pulling rocks and sediments downward)

landslides

events of mass wasting

mass wasting

can be triggered by heavy rains, snowmelts, seismic activity, forest fires (no violent event is necessary)

angle of repose

maximum steepness that a hillside can endure before gravity can finally move regolith downward

Regolith

moving primarily made of rock, debris, earth or mud

avalanche

mass-wasting event not necessarily glacier-related

lahar

mudflow composed of pyroclastic materials down the side of a volcano

talus slope

accumulation of sediments at the base of a hill after mass-wasting event

scarp, escarpments

avalanche may leave behind a steep cliff

fluvial processes

most important geomorphic agent

groundwater process

geomorphic agent of underground water

glacial process

geomorphic agent of glaciers

degradation (weathering)

geomorphic agent changing a landscape by destroying the existing landscape; action of breaking down rocks into sediments

erosion

transportation of sediments from one place to another

aggradation

geomorphic sediment to build a new landscape

mechanical weathering

degradation of landscapes without compositional changes; always executed through physical force

exfoliation, frost wedging, salt wedging

examples of mechanical weathering

chemical weathering

degradation of landscapes with compositional changes in the rocks and sediments

carbonation, oxidation, hydrolysis

examples of chemical weathering

Arrhenius Theory of Acids and Bases

reaction of an acid and base yields a salt plus water

Acid (Arrhenius definition)

solution with an excess of hydronium cations (H3O+)

Base (Arrhenius definition)

solution with an excess of hydroxide anions (OH-)

Bronsted-Lowry Theory of Acids and Bases

reaction of an acid and base yields the conjugate base of the acid plus the conjugate acid of the base

Acid (Bronsted-Lowry Definition)

solution with an excess of hydronium cations

Base (Bronsted-Lowry definition)

solution that is deficient of hydronium cations

Acid (Lewis Theory)

solution that is deficient of electron pairs

Base (Lewis Theory)

solution with an excess of electron pairs

pH

measure of whether a solution is an acid or base

pure water

pH of 7

pH less than 7

carbonation - dissolving of carbon dioxide into water yielding carbonic acid (acid rain)

biological weathering

degradation of landscapes by lifeforms

differential weathering

degradation of different parts of a landscape at varying rates

regolith

(dirt) result of weathering, thin layer of sediments over the entire planet

soil

most important regolith for human survival

agriculture

domestication of plants and animals near a supply of "fresh" water to provide a steady source of food; impossible without soil

soil

particular regolith that is a mixture of inorganic minerals, water, air and organic materials (both living and decomposing)

geosphere

solid inorganic part of the earth

hydrosphere

sum of the total of all water of earth

atmosphere

sum total of all air of earth

biosphere

sum total of all life on earth

pedosphere

sum total of all soil of earth (where all the other earth spheres meet one another)

gravel, sand, silt, clay/mud

wentworth scale

texture of soil

determined by inorganic mineral component

loam

roughly equal grained soil