Cyanobacteria
Brought oxygen to the Earth through photosynthesis
Supercontinent
All land masses come together to create one big continent
Differentiation
When substances within the geosphere are separated by density
Outgassing
Gas escapes Earth’s crust and travels into the atmosphere
Meteoroid
Small rock in outer space
Red Bed
Iron turns red due to free oxygen
Biogeochemical Cycles
The process of how life, Earth, and elements of compounds interact
Mechanisms / Fluxes
How a substances moves through a cycle
Reservoir / Sinks
Where a substance is stored in a cycle
Polarity (water)
When water’s shape is a little bubble
Heat Capacity (water)
Water takes a lot of heat to heat up
Expansion Upon Freezing
Water expands as it freezes
Universal Solvent (water)
Mostly anything dissolves in water
Evaporation
When a substance changes from a liquid into a gas
Transpiration
The release of water vapor through plants
Condensation
When a substance changes from gas to liquid
Precipitation
When water builds up in clouds and begins to fall
Collection
When water falls to Earth and collects in a body of water or the ground
Runoff
When water does not soak into the ground but instead runs into a body of water
Percolation
The movement to water in soil
Infiltration
When water soaks into the ground
Photosynthesis
The process when plants take in sunlight and CO2 and create glucose and O2
Cellular Respiration
Breathing or photosynthesis
Nitrogen Fixation
the process by which bacteria takes N2 gas and turns it into usable N compounds
Weather
What it’s like outside day to day
Climate
The weather of a place over a longer period of time
Eccentricity
The ovalness of Earth’s orbit
Precession / Wobble
The time of year the Earth is tilted to/away from the sun
Tilt
The amount the Earth is angled
Influences on Climate (Global)
Earth’s Orbit, Axis Tilt, Mountain Ranges, Oceans, Differential Heating, Latitude, Greenhouse Effect, Volcanism
Differential Heating
The Earth isn’t heated the same amount all around
Climate Change
A long-term shift in the weather patterns
Sequestration
The process of capturing and storing Carbon Dioxide
Acidity
When the ocean takes in CO2 and creates H2CO3
Salinity
How much salt is in the ocean water
Temperature
Average Kinetic Energy
Natural Atmospheric Change
Something that changes the atmosphere naturally
Artificial Atmospheric Change
Something that humans/organisms do to cause the atmosphere to change
Nuclear Energy
Lots of energy in a little reaction
Chemical Energy
Small amounts of energy released through chemical change
Carbon Footprint
How an individual/community impacts the Earth
More electric vehicles, public transportation, less factories, walking, going vegetarian, etc
What can be done about Climate Change?