APES 4.1-4.5

convergent boundary - occurs when plates crash towards each other. forms mountains, island arcs, earthquakes, and volcanoes divergent boundary - when plates move away from each other. new oceans and drift valleys are formed. it can result in the seafloor spreading, rift valleys, volcanoes, and earthquakes transform boundaries - can result in earthquakes core - the innermost zone of the planet made of iron and nickel mantle - above the core, it contains magma that slowly circulates due to convection in the asthenosphere asthenosphere - the uppermost portion of the mantle, contains molten rock crust - the outermost layer of the planet lithosphere - brittle outermost layer of the planet that contains the oceanic and continental crusts hotspots - places where molten material from the mantle reach the lithosphere ocean plate-ocean plate collision - island arc ocean continent convergence - continental arc weathering - when rocks are exposed to air, water, certain chemicals, or biological agents that degrade the rock physical weathering - the mechanical breakdown of rocks and minerals chemical weathering - the breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions that result in a new substance ex: lichens erosion - the physical removal of rock fragments from a landscape or ecosystem. water, wind, ice and living organisms can erode materials deposition - the depositing or accumulation of eroded material such as sediment, rock fragments or soil parent material - the rock material from which soil is derived o horizon - (organic layer) composed of the leaves, needles, twigs, and animal bodies on the surface. a horizon - (topsoil) the zone of organic material and minerals mixed together b horizon - (subsoil) composed primarily of mineral material with very little organic matter. zone of accumulation in which nutrient minerals that leached out accumulate. c horizon - (parent material) the least weathered horizon and is similar to the parent material. below most of the roots and often saturated with groundwater e horizon - this layer may form between the a and b layer. heavily leached which layer of soil is the most fertile? - a horizon because it contains hummus (organic content of soil) soil salinization - gradual accumulation of salt in the soil. often in arid and semi arid areas desertification - degradation of once fertile rangeland, agricultural land, or tropical dry forest into nonproductive desert weather - the short term conditions of the atmosphere in a local area. include temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure climate - the average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period adiabatic heating and cooling - as air rises in the atmosphere its pressure decreases and the air expands. conversely as air sinks the pressure increases and the air decreases in volume latent heat release - when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water and energy is released hadley cells - the convection currents that cycle between the equator and 30 degrees north and south intertropical convergence - the area of earth that receives the most intense sunlight and where the ascending branches of the two hadley cells converge at 30 to 60 degrees polar cells - the convection currents that are formed by air that rises at 60 north and south and sinks at the poles (90 north and south) Coriolis effect - the deflection of an object's path due to earth's rotation watersheds - The land area that supplies water to a river system. gyres - the large-scale pattern of water circulation. what direction do ocean currents move in the northern hemisphere - clockwise what direction do ocean currents move in the southern hemisphere - counterclockwise upwelling - as the surface currents separate from one another, deeper water rise and replace the water the has moved away. The upward movement of water brings nutrients from the ocean floor that supports the large populations of producers thermohaline circulation - oceanic circulation that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water. driven by surface waters that contain unusually large amounts of salt. el nino - - trade winds near South America weaken - warm water moves eastward towards the west coast of South America - suppresses upwelling off the cost of Peru and decreases productivity in turn reducing fish populations near the coast la nina - - cooling of surface ocean waters along the tropical west coast of South America