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Geography Midterm 2
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Evaporation | The process by which liquid water is converted into water vapor. |
| Transpiration | The release of water vapor into the atmosphere by plants. |
| Infiltration | The process by which surface water enters the upper layer of the soil. |
| Percolation | The downward movement of water through soil and rock toward the water table. |
| Runoff | Water that flows over the land surface rather than soaking into the ground. |
| Condensation | The process where water vapor cools and changes back into liquid water (forming clouds). |
| Precipitation | Any form of water (rain, snow, sleet, hail) that falls from clouds to Earth's surface. |
| Tropical rainforest | Warm, rainy biome with dense, multi-layered vegetation and high biodiversity. |
| Savanna | Tropical grassland with scattered trees and distinct wet and dry seasons. |
| Desert | Biome characterized by very low precipitation and specialized drought-tolerant plants. |
| Temperate grassland | Biome dominated by grasses with deep, fertile soils and moderate rainfall. |
| Chaparral | Scrubland biome with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers; prone to periodic fires. |
| Temperate deciduous forest | Biome with four seasons and trees that lose their leaves in autumn. |
| Boreal forest | Cold, northern forest dominated by coniferous (needle-leaf) evergreen trees; also called Taiga. |
| Tundra | Cold, treeless biome of the far north with a permanently frozen sublayer of soil. |
| Mollisols | Highly fertile prairie soils with a thick, dark A-horizon (topsoil). |
| Alfisols | Moderately weathered forest soils with a subsurface zone of clay accumulation. |
| Vertisols | Clay-rich soils that shrink and crack when dry and swell when wet. |
| Aridisols | Soils formed in dry climates with very little organic matter and often salt accumulation. |
| Inceptisols | Young soils with only the beginnings of distinct horizons. |
| Entisols | Very "young" soils with no real horizon development; often found on floodplains or dunes. |
| Albedo | The percentage of solar radiation reflected back into space by a surface. |
| Climograph | A graphic representation of a location's average monthly temperature and precipitation. |
| Hadley cell | A tropical atmospheric circulation loop where air rises at the equator and sinks near 30° latitude. |
| Monsoon | A seasonal reversal of wind patterns that often results in heavy summer rains. |
| Milankovitch cycles | Long-term variations in Earth's orbit and tilt that influence the timing of ice ages. |
| Thermohaline circulation | Deep-ocean currents driven by differences in water density (temperature and salinity). |
| ITCZ | The low-pressure belt near the equator where trade winds meet, causing heavy rain. |
| Aquifer | A body of permeable rock or sediment that stores and transmits groundwater. |
| Water table | The upper boundary of the zone of saturation. |
| Zone of saturation | The underground area where all open spaces in rock and soil are filled with water. |
| Carbonic acid | A weak acid formed by CO2 dissolving in water; responsible for chemical weathering of limestone. |
| Tide | The periodic rise and fall of ocean levels caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. |
| Habitat | The specific physical environment where a particular species lives. |
| Niche | The functional role or "job" of a species within its ecosystem. |
| Ecotone | A transitional zone where two different ecosystems or biomes meet and overlap. |
| Edge effect | The unique environmental conditions and higher biodiversity found at the boundary of two habitats. |
| Keystone species | A species that has a major impact on its ecosystem's structure despite its population size. |
| Succession | The gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem following a disturbance. |
| Xerophyte | A plant specifically adapted to survive in very dry or desert environments. |
| Hydrophyte | A plant adapted to live in water or very wet soil. |
| Sequestration | The long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, or geologic formations. |
| Invasive species | A non-native species that spreads rapidly and causes harm to the local environment. |
| Naturalized | A non-native species that has become established in the wild but isn't necessarily invasive. |
| Feral species | A domestic animal (like a cat or hog) that has returned to a wild state. |
| Horizons | Distinct horizontal layers within a soil profile characterized by different properties. |
| Profile | A vertical cross-section of the soil from the surface down to the parent material. |
| Parent material | The underlying geological material (rock or sediment) from which soil forms. |
| Residual | Soil that forms in place directly from the bedrock beneath it. |
| Eluviation | The transport of dissolved or suspended material downward through soil layers by water. |
| Humus | The dark, organic component of soil formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. |
| CEC | The ability of soil to hold and exchange positively charged nutrients (like calcium or potassium). |
| Loam | A soil texture with a balanced mix of sand, silt, and clay; ideal for plant growth. |
| Permafrost | Ground that remains completely frozen for at least two consecutive years. |
| Marsupial | A mammal whose young are born incompletely developed and typically carried in a pouch. |
| Monotreme | A rare type of mammal that lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young. |
Created by:
hdempsey47