World Geography Chapter 2

Study these terms broskitoito

anthropogenic

Caused by human activities.

biodiversity

The array of species, both flora and fauna, found in an ecosystem or bioregion.

bioregion

A spatial unit or region of local plants and animals adapted to a specific environment such as a tropical savanna.

climate

The average weather conditions for a place, usually based upon a minimum of 30 years of weather measurements.

climographs

Graphs of average annual temperature and precipitation data by month and season.

continental climate

The term describes inland climates with hot summers and cold winters. The interior portions of North America, Europe, and Asia have continental climates.

convergent plate boundaries

Boundaries outlining plates that move toward one another, as opposed to divergent plate boundaries that surround plates that move apart.

divergent plate boundary

A place where two tectonic plates move away from each other. Here, magma often flows from Earth’s interior, producing volcanoes on the surface such as in Iceland. In other divergent zones large trenches or rift valleys are created.

greenhouse effect

The natural process of lower atmosphere heating that results from the trapping of incoming and reradiated solar energy by water moisture, clouds, and other atmospheric gases.

greenhouse gases (GHGs)

The gasses that create an envelope around the earth trapping the warmth from incoming and outgoing solar radiation. These include such natural constituents as water vapor, carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4 and ozone O3. Although the composition of these natural GHGs has varied somewhat over long periods of geologic time, it has been relatively stable since the last ice age ended 20,000 years ago.

insolation

Incoming solar energy that enters the atmosphere adjacent to Earth.

lithosphere

Earth’s outer layer, consisting of large geologic platforms, or plates, that move very slowly across its surface. Driving the movement of these plates is a heat exchange deep within Earth.

maritime climate

Climate moderated by proximity to oceans or large seas. It is usually cool, cloudy, and wet, and lacks the temperature extremes of continental climates.

monsoon winds

Near Earth’s surface, these are continent-scale winds that flow from high to low pressure areas in places such as Asia and North America; summer monsoons bring rainfall to the dry areas of interior India and the Southwest United States.

nonrenewable energy

Those energy sources such as oil and coal with finite reserves.

orographic effect

The influence of mountains on weather and climate, usually referring to the increase of precipitation on the windward side of mountains, and a drier zone (or rain shadow) on the leeward or downwind side of the mountain.

plate tectonics

The theory that explains the gradual movement of large geological platforms (or plates) along Earth’s surface.

rain shadow

A drier area of precipitation, usually on the leeward or downwind side of a mountain range, that receives less rain and snowfall than the windward or upwind side. A rain shadow is caused by the warming of air as it descends down a mountain range; this warming increases the ability of an air mass to hold moisture.

renewable energy

Energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydro, that are replenished by nature at a faster rate than they are used or consumed and generally have a low environmental impact.

subduction zone

Areas where two tectonic plates are converging or colliding. In these areas, one plate usually sinks below another. They are characterized by earthquakes, volcanoes, and deep oceanic trenches.

transform fault

An earthquake fault where the ground on each side of the fault moves in opposite directions because of tectonic forces.