Physical Geography Exam 3

What is “f” a letter code for

moist

What is “W” a letter code for

dry

What is “m” a letter code for

monsoon

What is “s” a letter code for 

steppe (shortgrass plain) 

What is “k” a letter code for

cold

What is “h” a letter code for

hot

Where is the Tropical Humid Climate located 

At or near the equator- A

Where is the Dry Climate located 

Subtropics- on either side of the tropic lines (deserts)- B

Where are the Mild Midlatitude Climates found

In midlatitudes, closer to water- C

Where are the Severe Midlatitude Climates found

In midlatitudes, continental interiors- D

Where are Polar Climates found

At the poles- E

Where are Highland Climates found

On mountain ranges or places of steep elevation grades- H

What climate type is Wayne in

Dfa (Severe Midlatitude Climate, moist, warmer)

What were the 3 climate types that the early Greeks had

Torrid, Temperate, and Frigid. Starting at the equator and moving poleward

What are time scales

show different climate patterns from “millions” of years ago

What are four ways past climates can be studied

Dendrochronology (tree rings), pollen analysis (radiocarbon dating), fossil coral reefs (height), and ice cores ocean sediments (past atmospheric composition) 

What started countries down the path of reducing greenhouse gases

The Kyoto Protocol of 1997

How is the biota in Australia unique

They have a lot of eucalyptus trees, monotremes (mammals that lay eggs, platypus), and marsupials (underdeveloped baby is held in a pouch, kangaroos)

Xerophytic vs. Hgrophytic

Plants adapted to very little water vs. a lot of water

Loam

even mix of soil, including sand, silt, and clay

Regolith

layer above the bedrock, the very top part of the regolith is soil 

Four forms of soil moisture

Gravitational, capillary (remains after gravitational moisture drains away from surface tension), Hygroscopic (thin film of moisture that sticks to soil particles), Combined (held in a chemical combination with minerals) 

Eluviation & Illuviation

Eluviation- as water filters downward it picks up particles and carries them along

Illuviation- these particles being deposited

Colloids in soil

very tiny soil particles that soak up water

Soil profile

vertical section into the ground that shows the soil horizons

Soil horizons

recognizable layers; usually in this order: O (organic), A, E (eluviation and illuviation), B, C, R (bedRock)

What is a pedogenic regime 

environmental settings that form different soils (there are 5)

Laterization

hot & moist; red soil from high iron and aluminum

Podzolization

wet & cool; gray soil

Gleization

wet & cold; waterlogged

Calcification

warm & dry; dry prairies of North America 

Salinization

hot & dry; salt is left behind from evaporation, leaving white 

What are all of the Earth’s layers

Crust (thin), Mantle (most volume), Liquid Outer Core, Solid Inner Core

How many of the 4,000 minerals make up Earth’s crust

20 minerals make up 95% of Earth’s crust

Igneous rocks

formed from solidified molten rock (lava or magma)

Plutonic rocks (intrusive)- cool underground

Volcanic rocks (extrusive)- cool on Earth’s surface 

Why do some igneous rocks have larger crystals and some examples of each

They had more time to cool underground, like Granite or Quartz, unlike Basalt or Obsidian 

Sedimentary rocks and examples

formed from compaction and cementations of sediments- Shale (mud), Sandstone (sand) Limestone (coral skeletons), Coal (dead plant material)

Metamorphic Rock and examples

a preexisting rock is changed by heat or pressure- Gneiss or Quartzite 

How continents & ocean floors rocks differ

continents are granite (less dense) and oceans are basalt (more dense) so continental lithosphere “floats” on the oceanic lithosphere. 

Isostasy

Adjustment of Earth’s crust due to the amount of load. Added weight will make it sink and removal will make it rise.

For landforms what 4 elements of them do we study

Structure (what it’s made out of), Process (action that have made it), Slope (shape), Drainage (move of water)

Internal Processes

From within Earth constructive- building up through folding, faulting, and volcanic activity

External Processes

From the atmosphere, destructive- weathering and erosion.

Uniformitarianism

A concept by James Hutton that “the present is the key to the past”. So, the processes that shape the landscape are always the same

How old is Earth?

Scientists think it is 4.6 Billion years old

What is a geologic time scale?

Scale divided into units of time that show major events in Earth’s whole “history”

Biomass

total mass or organisms in a given area

Climax Vegetation

when the plant vegetation is not changing or evolving, each generation is like the one before it

Vertical Zonation

vegetation changes with elevation

Foliated (rocks)

parallel arrangement of minerals that make a rock striped

What are the 10 major biomes in their climate types

A- Tropical rainforest, tropical deciduous forest, tropical scrub

B- tropical savanna, desert

C- mediterranean woodland and shrub, midlatitude grassland

D-midlatitude deciduous forest, boreal forest,

E-tundra