Untitled Flashcards Set

-Plate Tectonics; earth as a dynamic planet; interior structure of Earth: crust, mantle, core; lithosphere: continental vs. oceanic; asthenosphere; lithospheric plates & their geographic location; plate boundaries; framework for explaining various geologic phenomena; driver of plate tectonics: mantle convection currents (due to Earth’s internal heat engine)

-Large scale topographic features of Earth & Earth’s Hypsographic curve; total Earth relief, max. elevation/depth; continental vs. oceanic crust (densities)

-Plate boundaries: occurrence of earthquakes, volcanism, stresses, topography; divergent/constructive,

convergent/destructive, transform/conservative;

-Mid ocean ridges, basaltic volcanism, creation of new ocean floor, sea floor spreading, magnetic stripes, age distribution, elevation differences; spreading rates; break up of continents; paleomagnetism & ocean floor stripes–magnetization and age of seafloor; Iceland, rift valley;

-Subduction zones, subduction zone volcanism and earthquakes; trench; oceanic lithosphere (downgoing plate), oceanic or continental lithosphere (overriding plate; continent-continent collision, sutures; mountain building; continental magmatic arc vs. island arcs;

-Transform faults, San Andreas Fault/California; New Zealand

-Intraplate volcanism and mantle plumes (example: Hawaii)

-Hypsographic curve: distribution of elevation/depth on planet Earth; explanation; importance of plate tectonics; “upbuilding” (plate tectonic processes) vs. “downbringing” (gravity, erosion)

-Air temperature; measurement, measurement convention; temperature cycles; influencing factors: insolation, latitude, surface type, coastal/interior location, elevation; surface temperature, net radiation, day/night, conduction, sensible heat vs. latent heat, latent heat transfer, convection, air temperature vs. surface temperature;

-Daily air temperature cycle; different days during the year, insolation, radiation/net radiation, temperature profiles (max., min., occurrence of peaks/lows, seasonal changes); temperature profile–

close to the ground; graph analysis

-Urban vs. rural temperatures; urbanization–man-made changes; influence of vegetation, soils surfaces, sealing effect of pavement, roofing, vertical structures, building materials, fuel consumption, waste heat; urban heat island;

-High-mountain environments; change in air temperature, lapse rate; max., min. air temperatures, changes in temperature ranges;

-Annual cycle of air temperature; influence of insolation and location (water vs. land); relationship net

radiation– mean monthly air temperature; illustration: Manaus, Hamburg, Aswan, Yakutsk: temperature

profiles, max. vs. min., range; land/water contrast– thermal differences, solar radiation penetration, specific heat, mixing, evaporation

-World pattern of air temperature; air temperature maps, map projections, contour lines – isotherms;

construction of isotherms, contour interval; other isopleths (isohypse, isobar, isohyet); influencing factors: latitude, season. Coastal/interior contrast, elevation, ice/snow albedo; patt

erns (maps!); annual range in air temperature, patterns (map!); map analysis with exercise

-Inventory of world’s water; analysis of tables; geography of rivers, discharge, length, drainage area/basin; geography of lakes, fresh-water vs. salt - water lakes; total water on Earth, salt water vs. fresh water; reservoirs for each, magnitudes, geographic locations; residence time(s); oceans; polar ice caps/ice sheets, glaciers; lakes, rivers, streams; groundwater; soil water; atmospheric water vapor;

-Hydrologic cycle; states of water: solid vs. liquid vs. gas; changes in states: melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation. Sublimation, deposition; latent energy transfer; hydrosphere; cycle: reservoirs, processes, rates; importance of solar energy; precipitation; interception; evaporation, influencing factors; transpiration; infiltration, influencing factors; runoff, surface runoff, subsurface storm runoff; deep percolation & groundwater recharge; groundwater flow, baseflow/groundwater runoff; sediment transport, heat transport, aquatic organisms; human influences on the hydrologic cycle

-Earth Materials: definition of rock & mineral, distinction; the rock cycle; igneous/magmatic rocks, magma, extrusive/volcanic vs. intrusive/plutonic; texture- crystal size; melting, cooling, crystallization;

basalt, andesite, rhyolite, granite, diorite, gabbro; sedimentary rocks, sediment, clastic, chemical, organic; detrital– grain size differences; conglomerate, sandstone, shale; limestone ; weathering, erosion, transport, deposition, diagenesis/lithification (compaction + cementation); metamorphic rocks, metamorphism (temperature + pressure increase); slate, schist, gneiss; marble;

-Biogeography; ecological vs. historical biogeography; process emphasis; ecological biogeography

influencing environmental factors; water need, adaptation, xerophytes, phreatophytes, succulents, tropophytes, sclerophylls, deciduous vs. evergreen trees; water storage, leaf characteristics, life cycle; temperature; light; wind; bioclimatic frontiers; geomorphic factors, slope steepness, slope aspect, relief, drainage, soil thickness, exposure to sun light/wind; microclimates; edaphic factors, soil type, organic matter content, water storage; interaction among species: competition, predation, parasitism, symbiosis, herbivory; distribution patterns, biogeographic regions, biogeographic maps