ESPM 15 Midterm 1

Energy is transmitted through space via

electromagnetic radiation

electromagnetic emissions are determined by

a body's temperature

planetary temperature is a result of

sunlight, albedo, and greenhouse effect

wavelength

distance between crests

short wavelengths =

high energy (make it warm)

long wavelengths =

low energy

frequency

number of crests that pass a fixed point per second

earth emits primarily

infrared radiation

stefan-boltzman law

the higher the temperature the more energy emitted

Wien's law

the higher the temperature the shorter the peak wavelength

earth (terrestrial) radiation

cold, long wavelengths, emit low energy

sun (solar) radiation

hot, short wavelengths, emit high energy

planck curves

relate temperature to radiation at different wavelengths

planetary energy balance

total sunlight (shortwave) absorbed by planet = total radiation (longwave) emitted by planet

albedo

measure of reflectivity of a surface

greenhouse effect

some longwave radiation is absorbed by certain gasses in the atmosphere and reemited back to the planets surface

what makes a gas a greenhouse gas

ability to absorb and emit infrared radiation by increasing the rate of its energy (through rotation or vibration)

5 layers of atmosphere (from top to bottom)

exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, troposphere

what drives atmospheric motion

differential solar heating (more heat at equator, less at poles)
gravity (pulls air towards surface)
buoyancy (pushes air up from surface)
pressure gradient (moves from high pressure to low pressure)
Coriolis (deflects right in N hemisphere, left in S hemisphere)
friction (neighboring air pulls in same direction)

how does nature balance the thermal gradient between equator and poles

by heat/energy transfer (heat surplus at the equator is transferred to the poles through atmospheric circulation and ocean currents)

hadley circulation

circulating cells transport heat from equator to poles (results in semi-permanent areas of high and low pressure)

coriolis effect

matter gets deflected from straight line path (right in Northern hemisphere, left in southern hemisphere)

ocean layers

deep layer, pycnocline, mixed

types of ocean currents

surface currents (fast) deep water currents (slow)

surface current forces

prevailing winds, coriolis, continental boundaries

ekman spiral

surface winds drive surface currents, and each layer of water drags the layer below, but the Coriolis Force changes each layer's direction slightly to make a spiral effect

upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface, away from the coast (increases productivity)

downwelling

The movement of water from the surface to greater depths

thermocline

a layer of rapid change in temperature at the surface of the water (density-driven)

what water has the highest density

cold, saltwater

biogeochemical cycle

recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment

5 spheres of the earth system

lithosphere (solid surface layer of the earth/plates)
biosphere (all living things)
hydrosphere (water reservoirs)
atmosphere (thin gaseous veil around earth)
cryosphere (frozen component of water reservoirs)

5 major carbon pools in carbon cycle (from largest to smallest)

lithosphere, oceans, soils, atmosphere, biosphere

carbon levels decrease in ____ and increases in ___

summer (more sun, plants grow faster, absorb more co2 through photosynthesis) winter (less sunshine, plants absorb less co2)

anthropogenic emissions in the context of the carbon cycle

we are moving carbon from long term reservoir (lithosphere) to short term reservoir at a very accelerated rate (extracting fossil fuels/burning them)

global temperature methane feedback loop

warming wetlands releases more methane, causes temperature to increase faster

nitrogen

most abundant gas, triple covalent bond (super strong)

nitrification

ammonia is converted to nitrate ions (NO3-).

nitrogen fixation

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

Denitrification

Conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas

Assimilation

when living organisms take up nitrogen

Ammonification

decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia

6 biome organization levels (small to large)

individual/species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

availability of ___ is the most important climatic factor defining biomes

moisture (temperature/precipitation define biome boundaries)

2 types of autotrophs (primary producers)

photosynthetic and chemosynthetic

primary consumers

herbivores

secondary consumers

carnivores

decomposers

bacteria/fungi (break down organic matter)

inefficiencies in energy transformation lead to a pyramid of energy in the ecosystem, with less energy at the top (true/false)

true

3 levels of biodiversity

gene, species, ecosystem

4 dimensions of biodiversity

taxonomic (who is there)
phylogenetic (who is related to who)
genetic (what roles can they play)
functional (what roles are they currently playing)

3 scales of biodiversity

alpha (species biodiversity of a local community)
beta (change in species biodiversity between 2 groups)
gamma (total species richness over a large geographic area)

peninsula effect

Species richness decreases toward the end of a peninsula

elevation gradients

species richness increases with elevation until a certain threshold and then decreases

GF Gause's competitive exclusion principle

2 species competing for the same resources cannot coexist indefinitely

species can coexist because of factors like...

self inhibition, niche partitioning, trade offs, dominance/tolerance, disturbance

types of extinction

local (disappeared in part of its range)
ecological (still present, but density's so low that species no longer functions in ecosystem)
global (gone everywhere)

main threats to biodiversity/drivers of extinction

alteration of habitats (mostly agriculture) and invasive species

soil texture

indicates the relative content of particles of various sizes (such as sand, silt and clay in the soil)

soil minerals

derived from parent materials through weathering, divided into class sizes (sand, silt, clay)

important functions in soil

water holding capacity, ionic interactions with nutrients, interactions with soil organic materials

clay

smallest particle size, highest surface area (important for water holding/interactions with nutrients/soil organic matter)

Soil profile (horizon levels)

O Horizon ("Humus", surface)
A Horizon (topsoil)
E Horizon (zone of leaching)
B Horizon (subsoil)
C Horizon (bottom layer, weathered parent material)

Surface ___ of soil particles dictates their functionality

area

___ is composed of minerals, organic matter, biota, and pore space

soil

how much visible light is absorbed by the gases in the atmosphere

little (that is why we can see in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum)

how much solar energy is reflected after reaching earth

30%

what are the 2 most abundant gases in the atmosphere

nitrogen and oxygen

what makes a gas a greenhouse gas

ability to absorb and emit infrared radiation by increasing the rate of its energy

in what direction do ALL winds move

from high pressure to low pressure

what is the name of the cell from 0-30 degree south

hadley

air ascends AWAY from the earth's surface (true or false)

true

would you typically find low or high pressure systems at the equator

low

would you typically find low or high pressure systems at 30 degrees south

high

would you typically find deserts or forests at 60 degrees north

forests

would you typically find deserts or forests at the poles

deserts

coriolis always deflects objects left in the southern hemisphere and right in the northern hemisphere (true or false)

true

is ice or liquid water more dense

liquid water

drastic change in salinity with change in depth is called

halocline

the tendency of ocean water and wind to be deflected is due to the

earth's rotation

what contains more carbon: the biosphere or oceans

oceans

anthropogenic CO2 emissions cause climate warming and ocean acidification and is contributed by deforestation, fossil fuel combustion and land-use change (true or false)

true

how is it that nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements on earth and yet is the most common limiting factor for plant growth

plants cannot use N2 directly and N2 has a strong triple bond

2 basic processes must occur in an ecosystem: flow of energy and the cycling of chemical elements (true or false)

true

abiotic or biotic: minerals, primary producers, decomposers, nutrients, water, consumers

abiotic, biotic, biotic, abiotic, abiotic, biotic

what explains the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels

metabolic energy use and not all consumed material is digested

taxonomic biodiversity

who is there

genetic biodiversity

what roles can they play

phylogenetic biodiversity

who is related to who

functional biodiversity

what roles are they currently playing

mountain effect: biodiversity ___ as you move from flat regions to mountainous regions

increases

latitudinal gradient: biodiversity ___ as you move from the equator to the poles

decreases

peninsular effect: biodiversity ___ as you go from the base to the tip of a peninsula

decreases

species is no longer present in an area

local extinction

species is present, but no longer functioning

ecological extinction

species is gone everywhere

global extinction

the most important property of different soil mineral particles are their

surface area per unit mass

since the 5 soil forming factors interact in endless ways, the types of soil that occur are incredibly diverse (true or false)

true

a small percent increase in the total amount of carbon in the world's soils would offset human GHG emissions (true or false)

true (this is why there is a lot of interest in soils for helping with negative greenhouse gas emissions)

current rates of erosion are not sustainable because erosion rates exceed the rate of soil formation (true or false)

true