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IES Exam 3
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biogeochemical Cycles | Cycling of chemical elements required for life between biotic and abiotic components of environment |
| Biogeochemical Cycles Importance | Regulate atmospheric composition, influences climate on geologic and human time scales, sustain life on Earth, result of life on Earth |
| Biogeochemical Cycles Human Affect | Changing amount of elements in different reservoirs (stocks) and the rate of flow among reservoirs (fluxes) and adding new fluxes |
| Biological Carbon Cycle | Diagram |
| Keeling Curve | Shows trends in atmospheric CO2 concentration Fluctuates during the seasons, less when plants are alive |
| Keeling Curve Numbers | 420.33 ppm |
| Human Affect on Carbon Cycle | Fossil fuel burning and industry emissions, changes in land cover and land use, anthropogenic sources of methane |
| Haber Bosch Process | Industrial fertilizer production Takes N (pressure and temp) from air Big part of total N supply |
| Crop Changes | Increase in N fixing crop plants Soybeans are a big part Changes in amount of fixation |
| Nitrogen Fixation | Biological N must be fixed by microbes or broken down before plants can use it N -> ammonia |
| Nitrogen Deposition | More reactive Nitrogen (human sources) |
| Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition | Big increase in early 1990s, corresponds w/pop centers and bread basket areas 2050 predicted huge amount. Too much of a good thing |
| Nitrogen Transfer to Aquatic Systems | MS basin has huge yields near crops, flows to Gulf of Mexico, leads to algae blooms |
| Land Use and Cover Change Affects on Biogeochemical Cycle | Agriculture, fire, pastures |
| Soil Critical Zone | Zone of interaction between biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere |
| Soil Definition | Composed of solid (mineral and organic) and pore spaces (water and air) Properties are determined by chemical, physical, and biological processes which are influenced by state factors |
| Soil Classification | Classified based on properties into soil orders, many of which with strong geological patterns |
| Five Functions of Soils | Recycling system for nutrients and organic waste Habitat for soil organisms Engineering medium System for water supply and purification Medium for plant growth |
| Soil Composition | Mineral, air, water, and organic matter Makeup varies by place |
| Soil Mineral Components | Particle sizes are important for determining surface area and reactivity Effects nutrient content and porosity, which affects waterholding capcity, O diffusion, and drainage |
| Soil Texture | Measure of particle size distribution |
| Water Component of Soils | Important solvent, chemical interactions w/clay minerals, transports and leaches elements and nutrients, plant growth, soil microbial processes |
| Soil Profiles | Soils have well-defined vertical refices Soil formation governed by processes of loss, addition, translocation, and transformation |
| Soil Addition Processes | Rock and parent material weathering inputs, energy from the sun, water inputs, O (from atmosphere), salts and elements through deposition, N via N fixation and deposition, plant inputs, soil via deposition |
| Soil Loss Processes | Energy by radiation and conduction, water by evaporation/transpiration, N by denitrification, CO2 by respiration and microbial decomposition CH4 by anaerobic decomposition, soil by erosion, nutrients by leaching and plant uptake and harvest |
| Soil Translocation Processes | Clay or organic matter and nutrients in soluble form by water or particulate form by gravity, nutrient and water gradients, soil mixing by animals or ice |
| Soil Transformation Processes | Plant, animal, and microbial biomass decomposition, physical and chemical weathering and changes in soil texture, changes in soil structure, BGC reactions, oxidation/reduction reactions |
| Soil Classification | Color (using Munsell Color Chart), soil orders (what type of soil) |
| Intrusive Igneous | Cooled beneath the surface, cooled slowly, large mineral crystals |
| Intrusive Igneous Example | Granite |
| Extrusive Igneous Example | Basalt |
| Extrusive Igneous | Cooled above the surface, cooled quickly, small mineral crystals |
| Felsic Rock | Light colored rocks, low density, commonly high in Si and O, w/feldspar and quartz minerals Type of igneous rock |
| Felsic Examples | Granite, rhyolite |
| Mafic Rock | Dark colored, higher density, commonly high in Magnesium and Fe (low Si), w/olivine minerals |
| Mafic Examples | Basalt, gabbro |
| Continental Crust Makeup | Dominated by granite Felsic: Si rich, light colored Low density, thicker |
| Oceanic Crust Makeup | Dominated by basalt Mafic: Si poor, dark colored Thinner, high density |
| Sedimentary Rock | Formed by weathering, transport, and deposition |
| Sediment Weathering | Breaking down of existing rocks into smaller fragments and more stable materials (SiO2, CaO3) |
| Sediment Transportation | By wind, water, ice to areas of deposition |
| Sediment Deposition | In areas of low energy, low elevation Ex. Ocean floor, lakes, river valleys |
| Sedimentary Rock Classification | Classified by grain size, mineral composition, formation |
| Sedimentary Rock Types | Sandstone: fragments of pre-existing rock Coal and Limestone: Precipitation of soluble compounds or by chemical reactions |
| Metamorphic Rocks | Formed by transformations by heat and pressure |
| Contact Metamorphism | One type of metamorphic rock Magma contacts other rocks (heat) |
| Pressure Metamorphism | Rocks deep w/in crust under large volume of overlying rocks |
| Metamorphic Rock Classification | Slate (fine crystals) Schist (visible crystals) Gneiss (bands of easily visible quartz, feldspar, and mica) |
| Crust Rock Type | 96% is metamorphic and igneous Most exposed rock is sedimentary (75%) |
| Wegener's Continental Drift Theory | 1915 Pangaea Proposed gradual displacement and drifting apart of continents Elements of this theory are now part of plate tectonics |
| Wegener's Evidence | Jigsaw continents, similarity of rock types and mountain belts across continents, similar coal deposits and evidence of past glacial deposits across continents, fossils, geographic distributions and evolutionary histories of living species |
| Sea Floor Spreading Evidence | Ocean floor magnetic reversals, ocean floor age, mid ocean ridges and deep sea trenches Supported Wegener's theory |
| Plate Boundaries | Earthquakes and volcanoes Supported Wegener's theory |
| Plate Tectonics | Theory renamed in 1960s Conclusive proof: sea floor spreading |
| Plate Tectonics Mechanisms | Heat produced deep in mantle by energy released by radioactive decay, melts mantle rock Asthenosphere is source of magma that rises at sea floor spreading zones (cooling plate gets thicker and denser away from ridge) |
| Plate Tectonics Mechanisms Continued | Subduction, ridges push and pull slab model of plate movement |
| Subduction | Denser oceanic plates move below continental (convergent boundary) |
| Plate Boundary Volcano Chains and mid-ocean ridges | Prove ocean floors aren't flat |
| Subduction Zones | Ridges and deep trenches |
| Earth's Tectonic Plates | 7 major plates (94% of surface) 20 plates major and minor |
| GPS | Allows us to measure location and track plates Created by Gladys West |
| Plate Movements in the Past | Pangaea (250 mil years ago) -> Laurasia and Gondowanaland (225 mil yrs ago) -> Mostly separate but N. Am and Asia connected and Australia and Antarctica connected (135 mil years ago) -> today |
| Types of Plate Boundaries | Convergent, Divergent, Transform |
| Oceanic-Continental Convergent Boundary | Subduction occurs, volcanoes, earthquakes |
| Oceanic-Oceanic Convergent Boundary | Subduction, volcanoes, earthquakes Ex. Pacific Ring of Fire, Andes Mountains |
| Continental-Continental Convergent Boundary | NO subduction (same density), earthquakes, mountain building Ex. Himalayas |
| Mid-Oceanic Ridges | Divergent plate boundaries Little place thin enough for magma to come up |
| Continental-Continental Divergent Boundary | Plate boundary on land spreading -> lake creation Ex. African Rift Valley |
| Oceanic-Oceanic Divergent Boundary | Volcanic activity Ex. Mid-Ocean Ridge, Iceland |
| Tectonic Uplift | Convergent plate boundary oceanic plate subducting beneath continental plate at collisional boundary |
| Flat Subduction | Pushes compression further inland Ex. Rocky Mountains |
| Transform Boundaries | Two boundaries moving across each other Ex. San Andreas Fault |
| Faults and Folds | Features created by geologic activity |
| Diastrophism | Deformation of the crust, rocks break or bend due to pressure from tectonic movement or rise of molten magma |
| Folding | Crust subject to lateral compression Can form parallel folds Mostly subterranean and gets exposed from erosion |
| Faulting | Crust breaks apart due to stress, displacement, along zones of weakness Associated w/earthquakes |
| Lateral Folds | Form Mountains (Appalachians, Ouchitas) Formed by compression of ancient tectonic plates as Pangaea was forming |
| Tensional Faults | "Normal" faults Vertical movement, tension stress pulls crust apart, produces steeply inclined fault zone, scarp w/upthrown and downthrown blocks Ex. Sierra NV Mountains (Fault Block Mountains) |
| Horst and Grabens | Formed by normal faults Horst = fault pushing middle up creating mountain Grabens = fault pushing middle down, creating Valley |
| Reverse Faults | Compressional Fault Vertical displacement due to compression and stresses, upthrown rises above downthrown Landslides are common |
| Thrust Fault | Compression drives upthrown over downthrown Frequently leads to mountain building Can overturn strata (layers) younger over older Ex. Chief Mountain MT, Mt. Head, Alberta CAN |
| Slip Strike Fault | Lateral displacement Visible on landscape when features are offset ex. along transform boundaries (not exclusive) |
| Volcanoes | Activity is irregular, associated w/divergent (magma wells up and spreads) and convergent (subduction) |
| Granite Volcanoes | Felsic High viscosity, thicker, more explosive (pyroclastic) Ex. Mt. St. Helens |
| Basalt Volcanoes | Mafic Hotter and more fluid, typically non explosive Ex. HI volcanoes |
| Lava Flows | Flattening effect on topography |
| Shield Peaks | Largest, quiet eruptions of lava, broad gently sloping cone Ex. Mauna Loa, HI |
| Composite Peaks | Large, steep-sided, asymmetrical Intermediate lava flows and pyroclastic explosions (fragments of rock and lava) ex. Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Fuji |
| Lava Dome | Masses of very viscous lava, lava bulges from vent and dome grows by expansion Can explode and leave holes Ex. Wilson Butte, CA |
| Cinder Cone | Smallest, ash hills, cone shaped or saddle shaped peaks Ex. Tenerife, Canary Islands |
| Basins: Calderas | Where volcanoes have/still are erupting Basins form when volcano explodes Ex. Crater Lake, OR, HI volcanoes National Park |
Created by:
Eliana.s
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