GEOL/SCED Exam 1 Study Cards

What are the four terrestrial spheres that make up the Earth system?

The Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and biosphere.

What is the cosmosphere?

Cosmosphere is the universe surrounding the earth system

How humans impact the geosphere?

changing landscapes, polluting soil

How humans impact the hydrosphere?

water pollution, dams

How humans impact the atmosphere?

air pollution, burning fossil fuels

How humans impact the biosphere?

loss of habitat, biodiversity loss, extinction

How the geosphere impacts humans?

mineral resources, earthquakes.

How the hydrosphere impacts humans?

flooding, water for survival, water for crops

How the atmosphere impacts humans?

ozone layer, severe weather like tornados, air we breath

How the biosphere impacts humans?

food, medicine, fuel, building materials

What are tame problems?

problems that are easier to fix, linear thinking, such as building a bridge and putting a man on the moon.

What are wicked problems?

Not easy problems to fix, takes moral judgements and more value-based decisions. Such as climate change and solving homelessness.

What is a system?

group of interrelated factors that work together for a specific purpose.

Difference between positive and negative feedback loops:

positive amplifies changes, negative wants equilibrium.

Example of positive feedback

Earth’s system temp. rises - icecaps melt - earth becomes less reflectant and absorbs more light - earth’s temp rises.

Example of negative feedback

Earth’s temp rises - water evaporates forms clouds - eatth reflects more - earth temp lowers.

Sustainability

Being able to take from the environment and give back/replenish the same amount, doing this by meeting our needs, but not compromising the needs of future generations. 

What is the Great Acceleration?

The acceleration in human activity on earth, in terms of environmental changes (co2 rising, landscapes changing), economic changes, and social changes.

What are the “3Es” of sustainability?

Economical

Environmental

Equity/social

Why have some scientists proposed a new unit of geologic time?

Anthropocene, dominated by humanity because of all the massive changes humanity has made on the earth system

What are the divisions of geologic time? Which of these are the smallest and biggest?

• Eon the longest in billions of years

• Era hundreds of millions of years

• Period tens of millions of years

• Epoch millions of years

Characteristics of the Holocene epoch that allowed humans to thrive

The climate was steady, everything was stable, humans barely developing new tech, agriculture, population growth, etc.

What is a “golden spike”?

a reference point that marks the start of a geological period on the geologic time scale

How many planetary boundaries have been identified? Identify all:

• Climate change

• Change in biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss, & species extinction)

• Stratospheric ozone depletion

• Ocean acidification

• Biogeochemical flows (phosphorus and nitrogen cycles)

• Land System Change (deforestation)

• Fresh Water use 

• Atmospheric aerosol loading (microscopic particles in the atmosphere that affect climate and living organisms)

• Intro to novel entities 

How many planetary boundaries have we exceeded?

6

Novel Entities

Biogeochemical flows

freshwater use

land system change

biosphere integrity

climate change

What is the tipping point?

a critical threshold at which a tiny perturbation can qualitatively alter the state or development of a system

What are the two major sources of energy that drive the Earth System

• Internal Heat: thermal energy from core and the motion of the earth spinning

• External heat: from the sun, its radiating energy.

What is kinetic energy? examples?

• The motion of waves, electrons, atoms, molecules, and substances

  • Thermal energy, sound energy, electrical energy (lightning)

What is potential energy?

• Stored energy and the energy of position (gravitational)

  • Chemical energy: energy stored in the bonds between the atoms and molecules such as gas or pizza

  • Elastic energy: such as compressed springs

  • gravitational potential energy: kid at the top of a slide.

• Can you explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources?

• Nonrenewable can’t replenish itself unlike renewable energy.

• Nonrenewable: burning of fossil fuels

• Renewable energy: solar, wind, etc.

• How do oil and coal form

• Oil forms from microscopic marine organisms

• Coal from decayed vegetation 

Geothermal energy

• Geothermal: direct geothermal energy from surfaces like geysers and hot springs. Renewable and clean, but specific locations and costly. 

Solar energy

• Solar: using the sun's energy, clean, but inconsistent, expensive weather.

Wind energy

• Wind: clean/inexpensive, noise/visual pollution, danger to the environment like birds.

Biomass energy

• Biomass: energy from plants, photosynthesis, good to replace fossil fuels but when burnt produces soot, and needs energy to transport. 

Nuclear energy

• Nuclear: energy from nucleus, good for high energy yields, minimal space, nonrenewable, expensive, can be catastrophic if not maintained. 

What are some environmental, economic and social advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles?

• Environmentally: no greenhouse emissions, but takes a lot of minerals.

• Economically, not affordable for everyone.

• Socially: negative for be unaffordable, promotes economy, violates human rights for those who mine the minerals required, poorly treated people 

What are the four pillars of a transition to low-carbon fuels that we discussed in class.

energy efficiency, renewable energy development, electrification of transportation, and carbon capture and storage (CCS)

• What is the water-energy-food nexus?

• an important connection between the parts of a system or a group of things.

Examples of the water-energy-food nexus

• Ex: Energy is needed to irrigate plants (food), water is needed to irrigate plants, and cool power plants, energy is needed to extract treats and do more with water. 

• What is the distribution of water in the Earth System? (what are the reservoirs in which water is stored)

• 97& salt water, 3% freshwater

  • 69% of freshwater is in ice caps and permafrost and glaciers, 30% in groundwater, and 1% on surface or 2.5?

Direct vs virtual water uses

• Direct water is water you can see, so water from tap, shower, hose, etc

• Virtual water is water you can’t see such as water used to irrigate your crops to make food.

• Water scarcity: what are the natural, economic, and political causes?

• Natural: Pollution, impact on ecosystem

• Economic: vital for producing food and energy

• Political: 4k die a year

• What are some strategies for dealing with water shortage? Can you describe some challenges of desalination?

• Recycle water

• It’s expensive only works well in carbon rich countries

• Compare and contrast physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity

• Physical Water Scarcity: the demand outstrips the land’s (natural environment) ability to provide needed water

• Economic Water Scarcity: exists when population doesn’t have the monetary value to use an adequate water resource

• Can you define porosity and permeability?

• Porosity is how many holes there are in the rock

• Permeability is how much it can hold in water, the more holes connected the higher permeability.

• Can you describe the porosity and permeability of materials that make a good aquifer? An aquitard?

• Sandstone makes good aquifers due to its high permeability and it being porous

• Clay would make a good aquitard due to its low permeability and not being so porous.

Recharge Area

area in which water is able to refill an aquifer due to no confined spaces above.

Zones of aeration and saturation?

Saturation zone: all the pore spaces completely filled with water

Aeration zone: contains air and water in pore spaces.

Water Table:

the upper limit of the saturated zone.

Confined and unconfined aquifers

The difference in pressure of ground water and the relationship between the water table and the surface

Confined: pressure in water due to impermeable layers above and below aquifer. Water will rise to the top of the aquifer when well penetrates the confined aquifer.

Unconfined: since it’s at atmospheric pressure, the water will rise and fall, the elevation of water in aquifer is same as water in well.

Cones of depression

a circular area surrounding a well that makes it harder for it to pump water.

What is the residence time of groundwater?

How long water molecules stay in groundwater portion of water cycle.

How will climate change affect water sources?

Can lead to earlier water sources from packed snow which is needed later like in the summer.

The melting icecaps can lead to rise in sea levels which leads to water going inland intp aquifers.

Examples of point and nonpoint sources of water pollution?

Nonpoint: broad/diffuse areas, difficult to identify and control, expensice; rural/suburban homes, city streets, croplands, animal feedlot.

Point: easy to identify control, and regulate; factory and wastewater treatment plants which both have visiible sources that get rid of waste into the rivers.

Social and environmental benefits and drawbaks of building dams.

Benefits: Generates electricity, flood control, irrigation and recreatiional water

Drawbacks: Endangers plants and animals, displaces people, impairs ecological services of rivers.

What is eutrophication and what causes it?

• When water receives an excess in a nutrient usually phosphorus or nitrogen which leads to death of aquatic animals. 

• Caused by water pollution by fertilizers.

Describe some important water issues in california?

The drought, most of precipitation is in the north and not in the south where it is needed.

What is a watershed?

An area of land that drains water, sediment and dissolved materials to a common receiving body or outlet.