Geography Ch. 13

Acid rain

Burning fossil fuels releases oxides of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere where chemical reactions turn them into sulfuric acid and nitric acid

These corrosive acids return to Earth in the form of acidic rain

Aquifer

a zone of water-saturated sands and gravels beneath the Earth’s surface; the water it contains is called groundwater

Biocides

chemicals designed to control unwanted organisms and thus they have potentially toxic properties

Biodiversity hot spot

areas with an exceptionally high number of endemic species (those that occur nowhere else) and that are at high risk of disruption by human activities

Biological Magnification

the accumulation of a chemical in the fatty tissue of an organism and its concentration at progressively higher levels in the food chain

Biosphere

Thin film of air, water and earth within which we live

May be subdivided into ecosystems.
• Self-sustaining units that consist of plants, animals, and physical features existing together in an area.

Bycatch

accidental captures by crews fishing for other species

Channelization

another method of modifying river flow, is the construction of embankments and dikes and the straightening, widening, and/or deepening of channels to control floodwaters or to improve navigation

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

a family of synthetic chemicals

includes halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform

Cultural Eutrophication

Eutrophication occurs naturally when page 376nutrients in the surrounding area are washed into the water; but when the sources of enrichment are human activities, it is cultural eutrophication

A Dead Zone

an area of oxygen depletion in which fish, crabs, and other aquatic creatures cannot survive

Decomposers

break down organic matter—animal carcasses and droppings, dead vegetation, waste paper, and so on

Desalinization

removing salt from seawater

Ecology

Study of how organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment

Ecosystem

self-sustaining units that consist of all the organisms (plants and animals) and physical features (air, water, soil, and chemicals) existing together in a particular area

Endemic species

those that occur nowhere else

Environment

Environmental racism

refers to any policy or practice that differentially affects or harms individuals, groups, or communities because of their race or color

E-Waste

consists of discarded consumer electronic products used for data processing, telecommunications, and entertainment in private households and businesses

Exotic species

Extinct

no longer exists

Food chain

Sequence of organisms through which energy and materials move within an ecosystem

Hazardous waste

discarded material that may pose a substantial threat to human health or to the environment when improperly stored, transported, or disposed of

Hydrologic cycle

System by which water is continuously circulated through the biosphere.
Water changes form as it circulates through the cycle.
• Evaporation.
• Transpiration.
• Precipitation.

Incineration

facilities designed to burn waste

Invasive species

consume or outcompete native species

IPAT Equation

Impact of humans on ecosystems has increased
IPAT equation (I = PAT)
I (impact on the environment) = P (population) × A (affluence)
× T (technology factor).
Growing populations and rising standards of living both
contribute to greater strain on the environment.
• Technologies can increase or decrease impact.

Leachate

chemically contaminated drainage

Niche

place within an ecosystem

Nutrients

the minerals and other elements that organisms need for growth, are never destroyed; they keep moving from living to nonliving things and back again

Ozone layer

ozone forms a protective blanket which shields all forms of life on Earth from overexposure to lethal ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (“forever chemicals”)

synthetic “forever chemicals”

pH factor

the measure of acidity/alkalinity on a scale of 1 to 14

Photochemical smog

This type of air pollution is created when nitrogen oxides react with the oxygen present in water vapor in the air to form nitrogen dioxide

Phytoplankton

microscopic plants

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Recycling

the recovery and reprocessing or reuse of previously used material into new products for the same or another purpose

Scarcity

describes the water supplies in parts of both the developed and developing world

Source reduction

producing less waste in the first place so as to shrink the volume of the waste stream and lower the monetary and environmental costs associated with landfills and incinerators

Smog

Strip mining

replacing underground mines as a means of mining coal

Subsidence

the settling or sinking of a portion of the land surface

Surface mining

involves the removal of vegetation, topsoil, and rocks from the Earth’s surface in order to get at the resources underneath, has had perhaps the greatest environmental impact

Temperature inversion

magnifies the effects of air pollution

Thermal Pollution (due to electric power plants)

occurs when water that has been heated is returned to the environment and has adverse effects on the plants and animals in the water body

Transboundary River Basin

areas where two or more countries share a river system

Troposphere

the thin layer of air just above the Earth’s surface, contains all the air that we breathe

Water deficit

consume more than their annual renewable supply, usually by pumping groundwater faster than it is replenished by rainfall