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Earth Systems Exam 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| air masses | large bodies of air with similar temperature and moisture |
| cP (continental polar) | cold and dry |
| mP (maritime polar) | cold and moist |
| mT (maritime tropical) | warm and moist |
| cT (continental tropical) | hot and dry |
| A (arctic) | extremely cold |
| fronts | boundaries between air masses |
| cold front | cold air pushes under warm air --> storms, heavy rain |
| warm front | warm air slides over cold air --> gentle rain, clouds |
| stationary front | air masses dont move --> cloudy, wet weather |
| occluded front | cold front catches warm front --> complex storms |
| midlatitude cyclones | large- low pressure systems |
| cyclogenesis | first, storm begins forming |
| mature stage | second, storm is strongest |
| occlusion/decay | third, storm weakens |
| movement of midlatitude cyclones | usually moves west --> east across North America |
| anticyclones | high-pressure systems --> calm, clear, fair weather |
| Saffir- Simpson scale | rates hurricanes 1-5 by wind speed and damage |
| features of tropical cyclones/hurricanes | spiral rain bands around a calm eye |
| equator factor | hurricanes cannot form at the equator because of the Coriolis effect is too weak to make air spin |
| convective storms | caused by rising warm air |
| mature stage of thunderstorms | most intense stage --> heavy rain, lighting, strong winds |
| climographs | show average monthly temp (line) and precipitation (bars) for a location, used to describe climate patterns |
| Af | tropical rainforest --> hot, wet all year |
| Aw | tropical savanna --> wet and dry seasons |
| Am | tropical monsoons --> heavy seasonal rain |
| Csb | mediterranean --> mild summer, dry summer |
| Bs | steppe --> semiarid, some rain |
| Bw | desert --> very dry |
| ET | tundra --> cold, little vegetation |
| EF | ice cap --> very cold, permanent ice |
| mediterranean climate | dry summers, subtropical high pressure systems block rain |
| paleoclimatology | study of ancient climates |
| climate proxies | solution to direct measurements (thermostats) dont go far back enough |
| tree rings | rainfall and temp |
| ice cores | trapped gasses for past CO2 and temp |
| sediments | ocean/lake history |
| pollen | past vegetation |
| corals | past sea temps |
| GCMs (global climate models) | simulate climate systems |
| RCPs and SSPs | scenarios predicting future climates based on emissions |
| hydrosphere | all the water on earth (solid, liquid, gas) - includes oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice and water vapor |
| cryosphere | all FROZEN water on earth- glaciers icecaps, icebergs, sea ice |
| icebergs | made of freshwater, less dense than seawater --> they float, about 90% is below the surface |
| ice shelves | floating edges of glaciers/ice sheets attached to land and extend out over the ocean |
| porosity | how much space is in soil/rock, how much water it can hold (storage) |
| permeability | how easily water can flow through it and how fast it can move |
| water table | the top of groundwater, boundary between dry and fully saturated ground |
| zone of saturation | area below the water table, all spaces filled with water |
| aquiclude | a layer that blocks water flow (like clay) |
| cone of depression | a dip in the water table caused by pumping water from a well, water levels drop around the well forming a cone shape |
| biodiversity | variety of all life in an area |
| genetic diversity | differences within a species, helps populations adapt to change, low genetic diversity = higher extinction |
| species diversity | number of species |
| ecosystem diversity | different habitats |
| species richness | the number of different different species in one area |
| biome | a large region like a desert |
| ecosystem | smaller more specific within a biome |
| light | needed photosynthesis |
| moisture | water availability |
| temperature | affects survival ad growth |
| wind | can dry out or damage plants |
| edaphic conditions | soil factors (nutrients, texture, drainage) |
| photoperiodism | organisms and responding to day length (like flowers and the seasons) |
| succession | how ecosystems change over time, gradual replacement of one plant community by another |
| primary succession | starts from bare ground (no life) |
| pioneer community | first organisms to grow there (hardy like moss) |
| climax vegetation | final, stable plant community |
| Whittaker biome diagram | show biomes based on temps (x-axis) and precipitation (y-axis), helps identify what biomes exists in certain climate conditions |
| how to read biome diagram | 1. find temp (left cold, right hot) 2. find precipitation (bottom dry, top wet) 3. locate where they meet, thats the biome |
| predict changes | if precipitation decreases but temperature stays the same: biome becomes drier (ex. forest ---> grassland) |
| crust | outermost, thinnest layer |
| mantle | thickest layer, semi-solid, where magma forms |
| core | innermost layer, very hot (outer core liquid, inner core solid) |
| magma | molten rock below earths surface, when reaches surface it is called lava |
| Alfred Wegener | proposed contents were once joined |
| Pangea | ancient super continent |
| seafloor spreading | new crust forms at mid ocean ridges |
| paleomagnetic patterns | magnetic strips in ocean rust show movement, ocean floor rocks are older the further form the ridge |
| divergent | plates move apart, new crust forms |
| convergent | plates collide, forms mountains |
| transform | plates slide past each other, causes earthquakes |
| sedimentary rocks | formed from weathered material |
| erosion | rocks broken down and moved |
| deposition | material is dropped |
| compaction | pressure squeezes it |
| cementation | minerals glue it together |
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