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AP Env.Sci. Chp. 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Abiotic | related to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving. |
| Acid | any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also, a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions. |
| air mass | enormous bodies of air that move as a unit. |
| A horizon | a soil horizon; the layer below the O horizon is called the A horizon. The A horizon is formed of weathered rock, with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil. |
| Alkaline | a basic substance; chemically, a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxyl ions; in reference to natural water, a measure of the base content of the water. |
| Aquifer | an underground layer of porous rock, sand, or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells. |
| Arable | land that's fit to be cultivated. |
| Asthenosphere | the part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere. |
| Atmosphere | the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth which is retained by the earth’s gravitational field. |
| barrier island | a long, relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland, built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from ~ erosion by surf and tidal surges. |
| biological weathering | any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms. |
| Biotic | living or derived from living things. |
| B horizon | a soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon. |
| chemical weathering | the result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases. |
| C horizon— | a soil horizon; horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that have not undergone much weathering. |
| Clay | the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter. |
| Climate | weather conditions, especially temperature and precipitation, that remain constant over 30 years or more. |
| Conduction | the transmission or conveying of something through a medium or passage, especially the transmission of electric charge or heat through a conducting medium without perceptible motion of the medium itself. |
| Convection | the vertical movement of a mass of matter because of heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle. |
| convection currents | air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling. |
| convergent boundary | a plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other. |
| coral reef | an erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates. |
| Coriolis effect | the deflection of an object moving above the earth, rightward in the Northern Hemisphere, and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| crop rotation | the practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land to replenish soil nutrients~for example, corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn. |
| Delta | a usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river. |
| divergent boundary | a plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust. |
| Doldrums | a region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls. |
| drip irrigation | a method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant. |
| Earthquake | the result of vibrations that release energy from within the earth. They often occur as two plates slide past one another at a transform boundary. |
| El Nino | a climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years, for a duration of about one year. |
| Erosion | the process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. It moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser, sandier, stonier texture. |
| Estuary | the part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides. |
| Fault | the place where two plates abut each other. |
| Green Revolution | the time after the Industrial Revolution when farming became mechanized and crop yields in industrialized nations boomed as farmers began using large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. |
| greenhouse effect | the phenomenon whereby the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface. |
| Hadley cell | a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation that creates major weather patterns, predominately in tropical and subtropical regions. |
| Headwaters | the water from which a river rises; a source. |
| Horizon | a layer of soil. |
| Humus | the dark, crumbly, nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material, which is also a product of composting organic waste. |
| hurricane (typhoon, cyclone) | a severe tropical storm originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, that travels north, northwest, or northeast, and usually involves high speed winds and heavy rains. |
| inner core | the molten core of the earth. |
| Insolation | the delivery rate of solar radiation per unit of horizontal surface. |
| jet stream | a high-speed, meandering wind current, generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles). |
| land degradation | deterioration of land quality (topsoil, organisms, vegetation, water quality; usually caused by its exploitation. |
| La Nina | a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns. |
| Lithosphere | the outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick. |
| Loamy | soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter. |
| Mantle | the layer of the earth between the crust and the core. |
| Monoculture | the cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single, homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension. |
| Monsoon | a wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally. |
| O horizon | the uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material, including waste from organisms, the bodies of decomposing organisms, and live organisms. |
| physical (mechanical) weathering | any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water. |
| plate boundaries | the edges of tectonic plates. |
| prior appropriation | when water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area. |
| rain shadow effect | the low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow effect is the result of the mountain range’s causing precipitation on the windward side. |
| red tide | a bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyamlax produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish. |
| R horizon | The bedrock, which lies below all of the other layers of soil |
| riparian right | the right, as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed, of one who owns the land adjacent to a river or stream. |
| Salinization | occurs when soil becomes waterlogged from excess irrigation and then dries out. As the water evaporates, the salt crystallizes and forms a layer on the soil surface. This excess of salt prevents the growth of plants. |
| Sand | the coarsest soil, with particles 0.05—2.0 mm in diameter. |
| Silt | soil with particles 0.002—0.05 mm in diameter. |
| Southern Oscillation | the atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina. |
| subduction zone | in tectonic plates, the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate. |
| Thermocline | a layer in a large body of water, such as a lake, that sharply separates regions differing in temperature, so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt. |
| Thermosphere | the outermost shell of the atmosphere, between the mesosphere and outer space, where temperatures increase steadily with altitude. |
| topsoil | the A horizon of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth. |
| trade winds | the more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the earth's surface, as part of Hadley cells. |
| transform boundary | also known as transform faults, boundaries at which plates are moving past each other, sideways. |
| tropical storm | a cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour. |
| Upwelling | a process in which cold, often nutrient-rich, waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface. |
| Volcanoes | an opening in the earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected. |
| Watershed | the region draining into a river system or other body of water. |
| water-scarce | countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1,000 m3 per person. |
| water-stressed | countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about l,000-2,000 m3 per person. |
| Weather | the day-to-day variations in temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity, and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region. |
| Weathering | the gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles, caused by natural chemical, physical, and biological factors. |
| Wetlands | a lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife |
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