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Earth's Systems
English
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Geoscience Data | Information collected from Earth’s systems, including climate data, satellite imagery, and geological surveys, used to analyze and understand natural processes and changes on Earth. |
| Feedbacks | Processes in which a change in one part of Earth's system causes effects that influence that same part, either amplifying (positive feedback) or diminishing (negative feedback) the original change. |
| Climate Feedbacks | Interactions within the climate system where a change, like increased greenhouse gases, leads to further changes that can amplify or reduce the initial effect, such as the melting of glacial ice leading to more warming. |
| Greenhouse Gases | Gases like carbon dioxide and methane that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. |
| Global Temperatures | The average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and surface, which can be influenced by factors like greenhouse gas concentrations and solar radiation. |
| System Interactions | The ways in which different components of Earth's systems (like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere) interact and influence each other, often leading to feedback effects. |
| Water Runoff | The flow of water over Earth's surface, which increases with the loss of vegetation, leading to soil erosion and the transport of sediments. |
| Soil Erosion | The removal of the topsoil layer by wind, water, or human activities, often accelerated by the loss of vegetation, leading to land degradation and loss of fertile land. |
| Dammed Rivers | Rivers that have been blocked by dams, altering natural water flow, increasing groundwater recharge, reducing sediment transport, and affecting coastal erosion. |
| Groundwater Recharge | The process by which water from precipitation or rivers seeps into the ground to replenish underground aquifers, which can be affected by human activities like damming rivers. |
| Earth's Interior | The internal structure of Earth, composed of concentric layers—crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core—each with distinct physical and chemical properties. |
| Cycling of Matter | The continuous movement of materials within Earth's interior, driven by thermal convection, which moves rock and minerals through different layers. |
| Thermal Convection | The process where heat from Earth's core causes mantle material to rise and cooler material to sink, driving the movement of tectonic plates and the cycling of matter. |
| Radial Layers | The concentric layers of Earth, arranged by density and composition, including the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. |
| Mantle Convections | The slow, circular motion of the semi-solid mantle caused by heat from Earth's core, which drives plate tectonics and the cycling of matter. |
| Plate Tectonics | The theory explaining the movement of Earth's lithospheric plates driven by mantle convection, leading to the formation and recycling of crustal features. |
| Magnetic Field | The magnetic force field surrounding Earth, generated by the movement of molten iron in the outer core, and affected by convection currents. |
| Seismic Waves | Vibrations generated by earthquakes that travel through Earth's interior, used by scientists to map the structure and composition of Earth's layers. |
| Outer Core | The liquid layer of Earth's core, composed mainly of iron and nickel, whose movement generates Earth's magnetic field. |
| High-Pressure Laboratory Experiments | Tests conducted under extreme conditions to simulate the environment of Earth's interior, helping to identify the composition and behavior of materials at different depths. |
| Investigation | A systematic process of planning and conducting experiments or observations to gather data and draw conclusions about natural phenomena, such as the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials. |
| Properties of Water | The physical and chemical characteristics of water, such as its ability to dissolve substances, expand when frozen, and lower the melting point of solids, which influence Earth’s surface processes. |
| Earth Materials | Natural substances that make up Earth's crust and mantle, including rocks, minerals, soil, and sediments, which interact with water during various geological processes. |
| Surface Processes | Natural activities occurring on Earth’s surface, including erosion, weathering, and deposition, that shape landforms and are influenced by water. |
| Mechanical Investigations | Experiments that explore the physical interactions between water and Earth materials, such as how water transports and deposits sediments in streams or how water infiltration affects soil. |
| Chemical Investigations | Experiments that examine the chemical interactions between water and Earth materials, such as how water causes chemical weathering or lowers the melting temperature of rocks. |
| Hydrologic Cycle | The continuous movement of water on, above, and below Earth's surface, including processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, and runoff. |
| System Interactions | The interconnected processes between Earth’s systems, such as how the hydrologic cycle influences the rock cycle and surface processes like erosion and weathering. |
| Rock Cycle | The series of processes through which rocks are formed, broken down, and transformed into different types of rocks through interactions with water and other Earth materials. |
| Stream Transportation | The movement of sediments by flowing water in rivers and streams, a key process in erosion and deposition that shapes landforms. |
| Erosion | The process by which water, wind, or ice removes and transports soil and rock from one location to another, playing a crucial role in landscape formation. |
| Deposition | The process by which sediments carried by water, wind, or ice are laid down or deposited in new locations, contributing to the formation of landforms like deltas and sand dunes. |
| Stream Table | A laboratory apparatus used to simulate and study the flow of water in streams and the resulting processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition of sediments. |
| Infiltration | The process by which water enters the soil or porous rock from the ground surface, contributing to groundwater recharge and affecting soil stability. |
| Runoff | The flow of water over the surface of the land, often occurring when the ground is saturated or impermeable, leading to erosion and transport of sediments. |
| Permeability | The ability of a material, such as soil or rock, to allow water to pass through it, influencing processes like infiltration and groundwater flow. |
| Porosity | The measure of the void spaces in a material, such as soil or rock, which determines how much water it can hold and transmit. |
| Frost Wedging | A mechanical weathering process where water seeps into cracks in rocks, freezes, expands, and eventually causes the rock to break apart. |
| Chemical Weathering | The breakdown of rocks and minerals through chemical reactions, often involving water, which alters the mineral composition and structure of Earth materials. |
| Recrystallization | The process by which minerals in rocks change shape or composition due to chemical reactions, often facilitated by water, leading to the formation of new mineral structures. |
| Quantitative Model | A mathematical representation used to describe and predict the behavior of a system, in this case, the cycling of carbon among Earth's spheres. |
| Cycling of Carbon | The continuous movement of carbon through Earth's spheres—hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere—driven by processes like photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and combustion. |
| Hydrosphere | The water component of Earth, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and groundwater, where carbon is stored and cycled through processes like dissolution, photosynthesis by aquatic plants, and respiration. |
| Atmosphere | The layer of gases surrounding Earth, where carbon exists primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2) and moves through processes like photosynthesis, respiration, and combustion. |
| Geosphere | The solid part of Earth, including rocks, soil, and sediments, where carbon is stored in fossil fuels, carbonates, and organic matter, and released through processes like weathering, volcanic activity, and fossil fuel combustion. |
| Biosphere | The global sum of all ecosystems, where carbon is cycled through living organisms via processes like photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition, linking the carbon cycle to life on Earth. |
| Biogeochemical Cycle | The pathways through which elements like carbon move between Earth's spheres, driven by biological, geological, and chemical processes. |
| Ocean | The largest component of the hydrosphere, where carbon is stored in dissolved CO2, marine organisms, and sediments, and cycled through processes like oceanic absorption, biological uptake, and sedimentation. |
| Soil | A component of the geosphere that acts as a carbon reservoir, storing organic carbon from decaying plants and animals, which can be released through decomposition and microbial respiration. |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into organic matter (glucose), playing a crucial role in removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing carbon in the biosphere. |
| Coevolution | The process by which Earth's systems and life on Earth have evolved together, influencing each other over geological time scales through dynamic interactions and feedbacks. |
| Earth’s Systems | The interconnected components of Earth, including the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, that interact to shape the environment and support life. |
| Biosphere | The global sum of all ecosystems where living organisms interact with each other and with Earth's systems, playing a key role in the coevolution of life and the planet. |
| Outgassing | The release of gases, such as water vapor, from Earth's interior to the atmosphere, which contributed to the formation of early oceans and influenced the evolution of life. |
| Oceans | Large bodies of water formed by outgassing and other processes, which provided a habitat for the evolution of early microorganisms and influenced Earth's climate and surface processes. |
| Microorganism | Microscopic living organisms, such as bacteria and archaea, that were among the first forms of life on Earth, playing a significant role in altering Earth's atmosphere and surface. |
| Stromatolites | Layered structures formed by the activity of microorganisms, particularly cyanobacteria, which are some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth and contributed to the oxygenation of the atmosphere. |
| Photosynthetic Life | Organisms, such as plants and cyanobacteria, that produce their own food through photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide and sunlight into oxygen and organic matter, which significantly altered Earth's atmosphere. |
| Oxygen | A gas produced by photosynthetic life, which accumulated in Earth's atmosphere and played a crucial role in enabling the evolution of aerobic (oxygen-breathing) organisms. |
| Weathering Rates | The speed at which rocks and minerals break down at Earth's surface, a process influenced by the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere and which contributes to soil formation and the carbon cycle. |
| Animal Life | Organisms that evolved after the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere, relying on oxygen for respiration and contributing to the further coevolution of Earth's systems. |
| Microbial Life | The diverse array of microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea, that have existed on Earth for billions of years, contributing to soil formation, nutrient cycling, and the coevolution of life and Earth's systems. |
| Soil Formation | The process by which organic matter and minerals are broken down and mixed, creating soil, which supports plant life and influences the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. |
| Land Plants | Organisms that evolved to live on land, playing a significant role in altering Earth's surface through processes like photosynthesis, soil stabilization, and the creation of habitats for other life forms. |
| Corals | Marine organisms that form reefs by secreting calcium carbonate, creating complex ecosystems that alter patterns of erosion and deposition along coastlines and provide habitats for diverse marine life. |
| Reefs | Structures formed by the accumulation of coral and other marine organisms, which create habitats for numerous species and influence coastal processes like erosion and sediment deposition. |
| Erosion | The process by which Earth's surface is worn away by natural forces like water, wind, and ice, often influenced by biological activity and the presence of structures like coral reefs. |
| Deposition | The process by which sediments are laid down or deposited in new locations, often influenced by the presence of living organisms and structures like coral reefs. |
| Habitats | The natural environments where organisms live, which are shaped by interactions between Earth's systems and the evolution of life, such as coral reefs and soil-rich areas that support diverse ecosystems |
Created by:
Ms. Torres
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