Chapter 6: Earth Systems and Resources

Human

________- made satellites orbit in the exosphere and in the upper thermosphere.

Erosion

________ occurs when the movement of water etches channels into rocks and soil.

Transform fault boundary

________: Two plates slide against each other in opposite directions- as when you rub your hands back and forth to warm them up.

El Niño

________ is a climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about once every three to seven years, and it lasts for about one year.

scope of Environmental Science

Within the ________, we typically understand resources to mean natural resources- resources that occur in nature.

Pterosaurs

________ such as pterodactyls are a group of reptiles less closely related to dinosaurs and birds .)

Intertropical Convergence Zone

The region of the doldrums, occurring between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south of the equator, is also known as the ________, or ITCZ for short.

Parent Material

________: This is the starting point for soil development.

Meteorologists

________ are scientists who study weather and climate.

Earths surface

The mesosphere extends to about 80 km (50 miles) above the ________ and is the area where meteors usually burn up.

stable topographic position

A flat, ________ develops horizons more quickly than do slopes and depressions where material is lost and gained.

Plants

________ perform physical weathering through root growth, take up soil nutrients and water, alter soil chemistry in various ways, and add nutrients when they die and decompose.

Animals

________ move soils, consume vegetation, and add nutrients through waste and decomposing bodies.

least resistance

Water always follows the path of ________ as it travels from the highlands to the sea.

Jet streams

________ are high- speed currents of wind that occur in the tropopause; these fast- moving air currents have a large influence on local weather patterns.

monsoon

In a(n) ________, hot air rises from the heated land and a low- pressure system is created.

physical properties

The motion of air around the globe is the result of solar heating, the rotation of the Earth, and the ________ of air, water, and land.

Quaternary

The ________ and Tertiary are the two most recent geologic periods.

subduction zones

They are formed at ________ and are associated with violent eruptions that eject lava, water, and gases as superheated ash and stones.

Precambrian eons

The ________ represent the vast majority of the geologic time scale.

troposphere intercept

As the suns rays strike the Earth, some of the solar radiation is reflected back into space; however, greenhouse gases in the ________ and absorb a lot of this radiation.

biological weathering

Basically, soil is a combination of organic material and rock that has been broken down by chemical and ________- which is, unsurprisingly, the process by which rock and other material decomposes.

colorful auroras

Gases are very thin (rare) and its in this layer that the spectacular and ________ (northern lights and southern lights) take place.

Atmosphere

The ________- the envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth.

troposphere

Crowning the ________ is the tropopause, which is a layer that acts as a buffer between the ________ and the next layer up, the stratosphere.

Human activities

________ also lead to compaction (through the traffic of vehicles and machinery), erosion (through removal of stabilizing vegetation), and salinization (increase in salt content, through irrigation and depletion of groundwater)

mineral properties

Its ________, hardness, and topographical form affect how it is weathered into soil.

material

They are compressed as more ________ is deposited and then cemented together.

Coriolis effect

The ________ contributes to La Niña conditions.

Earths atmosphere

The ________ has physical features that change from day to day as well as patterns that are consistent over a space of many years.

Rift valleys

________ occur at divergent boundaries, usually between two oceanic plates.

broadest definition

In the ________, the atmosphere is a layer of gases thats held close to the Earth by the force of gravity.

Climate

________ also helps to determine what organisms grow in a particular location.

Solar energy

________ warms the Earths surface.

50 435 miles

The thermosphere extends from 80 to around 500 km above the Earth (________)

fertilizer

Use of ________, pollution, and acid rain alter soil chemistry on a broad scale.

New ocean floor

________ is formed as magma fills in the gap between separating plates.

Peru

In countries like ________, which relies heavily on fishing, El Niño has devastating economic effects.

Freshwater

________ is water that contains only minimal quantities of dissolved salts, especially sodium chloride.

Microorganisms

________ perform biochemical functions such as decomposition of organic matter and transformation of minerals into different forms.

Hadley cell

The movement of air that accounts for the westerlies, called the Ferrel cell, is the reverse of the ________ but operates on the same thermodynamic principles.

molten lava erupts

They form when ________ and cools quickly in the air, hardening into porous rocks (called cinders or scoria) that fracture as they hit the Earths surface.

Planet Earth

________ is made up of three concentric zones of rocks that are either solid or liquid (molten)

lava

They are formed from ________ that is too viscous to travel far but instead hardens into a dome shape.

Turbulent waters

________ are especially laden with dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide, such as those found at the source, or headwaters, of a stream.

Divergent boundary

________: Two plates move away from each other.

Ocean currents

________ play a major role in modifying conditions around the Earth that can affect where certain climates are located.

plant roots

When ________ or lichens growing on rocks release organic acids that dissolve minerals, that is a chemical process.

Thick magma

________ rising from rift valleys is made of basaltic minerals and forms pillow lava upon contact with the cold ocean water.

chemical

Soil comprises distinct layers known as horizons, each of which has distinct physical, ________, and biological properties.

Topics

the movement of tectonic plates, volcanoes and -earthquakes, and the different types of rock

The core has two parts

a solid inner core and a molten outer core

Convergent boundary

Two plates are pushed toward and into each other

Divergent boundary

Two plates move away from each other

Transform fault boundary

Two plates slide against each other in opposite directions-as when you rub your hands back and forth to warm them up

The answer is

other rocks

Physical weathering (also known as mechanical weathering)

Any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock

Chemical weathering

Occurs as a result of chemical reactions of rock with water, air, or dissolved minerals

Biological weathering

Weathering that takes place as the result of the activities of living organisms, which may act through physical or chemical means

O horizon

This layer is made up of organic matter at various stages of decomposition

The E horizon isnt found in all soils

its mostly found in soils developed under forest

B horizon

Sometimes called the subsoil, this is where organic matter, clay, and minerals washed out of the upper horizons accumulate

To wrap it all up in one big sentence

any soil you see is a dynamic formation produced by the effects of climate and biological activity (organisms), as modified by topography (relief) and human influences, acting on parent materials over time

Climate

Climate involves differences in temperature and precipitation across the globe, and both heat and water facilitate chemical and biochemical reactions

Relief (Topography)

Topographical relief affects where water moves on the landscape and also the depth of the water table in a given location

Parent Material

This is the starting point for soil development

Time

More time equals more change

Human Influence

The effects of human activity must increasingly be acknowledged as a factor in soil development

The resulting wind patterns are known as the prevailing winds

belts of air that distribute heat and moisture unevenly around the globe

Polar easterlies are formed by similar forces

in polar easterlies, winds between latitudes of 60 degrees and the North Pole blow from the north and east, and winds between 60 degrees and the South Pole blow from the south and east

At night, the reverse happens

the land cools more quickly than the water, and the air over the lake rises

During El Niño, the normal trade winds are weakened or reversed because of a reversal of the high

and low-pressure regions on either side of the tropical Pacific

A particular watershed has some characteristics that define it

its area, length, slope, soil and vegetation types, and how its separated from adjoining watersheds