Download Environmental Science Review

Environmental Science
Review
2012 Fall
Geosphere
• The rocks, soil, humus that make up the
crust of the Earth
• Lithosphere-the crust portion of the earth
Crust
• The brittle, surface layer of the earth
• 2 types
Atmosphere
• The gaseous portion of our Earth
• Weather and Air Pollutants
Weather
• Atmospheric conditions at the present in a
specific area
Climate
• Weather average in an area over a long
period of time
Trophosphere
• The layer of the atmosphere where our
weather is located
Ozone
• Layer that protects form UV radiation
Greenhouse Effect
• Sunlight radiation is trapped and
reradiated into the atmosphere, raising the
temperature
Energy
• Is the amount of work over a distance
Heat
• The total amount of energy in an object.
Temperature
• The average kinetic energy of the object
Types of Energy Transfer
• Radiation
• Convection
• Conduction
Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)
• How water is cycled, transformed, and
passed through the Earth.
• Major processes
– Evaporation
– Condensation
– Precipitation
– Sublimation
–
Hydrosphere
• A portion of the Earth that water –Surface ,
ground, oceans
Condensation
• Going form a vapor (gas) to a liquid
Salinity
• The amount of salt in a solution
Ecosystem
• Similar communities that are located
together and the abiotic factors
Biotic Factor
• Living Factor in nature
Abiotic Factor
• Nonliving factors in the environment
Organism
• An individual
Species
• A group of similar organisms
Population
• Population is the number of similar
organisms in a specific area at a certain
time, that can produce fertile offspring.
Community
• Several populations living together in a
specific area
Biome
• Several similar ecosystems together with
similar biota.
Habitat
• An area where you would expect to find
certain organisms.
• Where an organism lives.
Natural Selection
• When nature decides what traits are
passed on or who is eaten and never does
reproduce
Artificial Selection
• When organisms traits are chosen by
humans
Evolution
• A gradual change in a population over a
long period of time
Adaptation
• Something that gives an organism an
advantage or not.
Resistance
• When an organism passes on it’s
resistance to some specific
antibodies/pesticides to offspring
Archaebacteria
• Old ancient bacteria found in horrific
conditions
Eubacteria
• Bacteria that is more common to humans.
• Examples-pathogens, staph, strep, cheese
making bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Fungi
• A decomposer, saprophyte
• Mushrooms, yeasts, truffles,
• Chitin cell wall
Protozoans
• One cell organism can be of many
different groups
– Algae
– Protozoans
– Water molds
Gymnosperm
• Naked seeds pines, firs, spruce,
tamaracks, evergreens
Angiosperms
• Flower plants
• Two divisions
Invertebrates
• Organism that does not have a spine
• Examples sea sponge, starfish, arthopod,
anemone
Vertebrates
• Organism that has a spine or backbone
Photosynthesis
• Conversion of CO2 + H2O into Glucose,
O2 and H2O
• Necessary process in plants
Producer
• Autotrophs
• Makes its own food
Consumer
• Hetertroph
• Cannot make its own food
Herbivore
• Plant eater
Carnivore
• Meat eater
Omnivore
• All eater, eats everything
Decomposer
• Something that breaks down dead organic
matter into elements
Cellular Respiration
• Glucose is broken down by O2 to form
CO2 and H2O
Food Web
• Intricate interaction of organism in an
ecosystem
• Show relationships between organisms
and the environment
pH
• The reciprocal log of the hydronium ion
concentration
• A relative way of how acidic or basic a
solution is.
Food Chain
• Linkage of who eats who in an ecosystem
• Pathway of Energy transfer through
various stages as a result of the feeding
patterns of a series of organisms
Carbon Cycle
• A way to show how C atoms are cycled
through various compounds organisms in
the environment
Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria
• A bacteria that changes N2 into ammonia
Nitrogen Cycle
• A process in which N is circulated among
the air soil, water and organisms
• Limiting factor for terrestrial plants
Phosphorous Cycle
• A process in which P is circulated in the
soil, organisms, & water
• PO4 is a limiting factor for aquatic plants
• PO4 is banned in detergents
Ecological Succession
• The gradual change in an area from bare
rock to climax vegetation
Primary Succession
• Succession where you start with bare
bedrock and break it down to eventually
form soil
Secondary Succession
•
•
After the initial rocks conversion to soil,
humus
Succession where you do not have to
start at ground zero
Seral Community
• Transitional community in the process of
Succession
Pioneer species
• Initial organism on bare rock in the
process of succession
• First organism on the scene, bacteria,
algae, lichen, mosses, etc.
Climax Community
• A final or stable biotic community
Old field Succession
• What happens when you stop plowing or
using a pasteur.
Population Density
• How many of a specific population is in a
specific area at a specific period of time.
Population Dispersion
• The way a population is distributed in an
area.
• Three types
– Random, scattered
– Uniform
– Clumped
Growth rate
• Birth rate compared to death rate to see
what is happening to the population
Biotic or Reproductive Potential
• Conditions that favor the best situation for
population growth.
Environmental Resistance
• Factors that keep a population under
control
• Disease, ample food, water, space, war or
competition
Exponential Growth
• Logarithmic growth, or growth in which
numbers increase by a certain factor in
each successive time period
Carrying Capacity
• How many organisms the area can
support without damaging it beyond repair
Niche
• How an organism fits into the big picture,
it’s job or place in the environment
Competition
• 2 populations needing or fighting for a
common resource.
• Common resource
– Water
– Food
– Minerals
– Space
Predation
• Organism that kills and eats another
organism.
• Hunter
Parasitism
• Where one organism benefits and another
is harmed to a small extent
Symbiosis
• Two organisms living together, or in close
proximity
Mutualism
• Both organisms benefit(++)
Commensalism
• One benefits and the other does not care
Recruitment
• Organisms reach a reproductive age
Over-shoot, Population Explosion
• Population grows faster. Surpasses the
carrying capacity
Die-back, Crash
• After a population explosion the population
will die
Migration
• Any movement of individuals or
populations from one location to another.
Demographics
• Any movement of individuals or
populations from one location to another
Infrastructure
• The basic facilities of a country
Age Structure Pyramid
• Classification of members of a population
into groups according to age or the
distribution of the other members of the
population
Survivorship
• Percentage of newborn individuals in a
population that are expected to survive to
a given age
Fertility Rate
• Number of births per year, per 1,000
Life Expectancy
• Average length of time that an individual is
expected to live
Arable Land
• Farm land that can be used to grow crops
Urbanization
• People changing areas into (urban) town
areas
Biome
• A group of ecosystems that are similar.
Climate
• The average weather over a long period of
time
Latitude
• The number of degrees north or south of
the equator.
Altitude
• High or low, mountains and or valleys
Tropical Rain Forest
• Rain over 150 cm per year and
temperature average above 25 degrees
celsius
Emergent Layer
• In a tropical Rain forest the trees that
emerge above the canopy layer
Canopy
• In the vertical layers of a forest this layer
will range from 25-50 feet
Epiphyte
• A parasitic plant that gets its nourishment
from a larger plant
Understory
• In the horizontal layers of a forest the
understory are between 5-25 feet tall.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
• A biome that has deciduous tree(lose the
leaves at some point)
• Temperate-temperatures between 15 and
25 degrees celsius
Temperate Rain Forest
• A biome with a rain supply of over 150 cm
per year. But the average yearly
temperature is below 25 degrees celsius
Taiga
• The area with coniferous tree and a yearly
temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius
• Can also be called the Boreal, Coniferous,
Savanna
• A wet grassland, a grassland that gets
periodic huge amounts of rain.
Temperate Grassland
• Breadbasket of the world
Chaparral
• Temperate shrub land biome that is found
in all 5 parts of the world
• Mediterranean Climate
Desert
• An area that has widely scattered
vegetation and receives very little rain
Tundra
• Treeless plain located in the Artic or
Antarctic that has low winter temperatures
and short cool summers
• Vegetation consists of grasses, lichens
and perennial herbs
Permafrost
• Permanent frozen soil in the Tundra
Wetland
• Area of land that is underwater and the
soil is moist.
Plankton
• Microscopic organisms that float or drift in
freshwater and marine environments.
Nekton
• All organisms that swim (independently
from currents) in open water.
Benthos
• Organisms that live at the bottom of
oceans or bodies of fresh water.
Littoral Zone
• A shallow zone in a freshwater habitat
where light reaches the bottom and
nurtures plants.
Benthic Zone
• The bottom region of oceans and bodies
of fresh water.
Natural Eutrophication
• An increase in the amount of nutrients,
such as nitrates, in a marine or aquatic
ecosystem.
Artificial Eutrophication
• A process that increases nutrients in a
body of water through human activities
(ex: waste disposal, land drainage)
Salt Marsh
• A maritime habitat characterized by
grasses, sedges and other plants that
have adapted to continual, periodic
flooding.
• They are found primarily throughout the
temperate and subarctic regions.
Mangrove Swamp
• Tropical or subtropical marine swamp that
is characterized by the abundance of low
to tall trees.
Barrier Island
• A long ridge of sand or narrow island that
lies parallel to the shore.
Coral Reef
• Limestone ridge found in tropical climates
and composed of coral fragments that are
deposited around organic remains.
Surface Water
• All bodies of fresh water, salt water, ice
and snow that are found above ground.
River System
• A flowing network of rivers and streams
draining a river basin.
Watershed
• The area of land that is drained by a water
system.
Groundwater
• The water that is beneath the Earth’s
surface.
Aquifer
• A body of rock or sediment that stores
groundwater and allows the groundwater
to flow.
Porosity
• The percentage of the total volume of a
rock or sediment that consists of open
spaces.
Permeability
• The ability of a rock or sediment to let
fluids pass through its open spaces or
pores.
Recharge Zone
• An area in which water travels downward
to become part of an aquifer.
Potable
• Suitable for drinking
Pathogen
• A microorganism, another organism, a
virus, or a protein, that causes disease.
Dam
• A structure that is built across a river to
control a river’s flow.
Resevoir
• An artificial body of water that usually
forms behind a dam.
Desalination
• A process of removing salt from ocean
water.
Water Pollution
• Contamination of water by waste matter or
other material that is harmful to organisms
that are exposed to the water.
Point-Pollution Source
• Pollution that comes from a specific site.
Nonpoint Pollution Source
• Pollution that comes from many sources
rather than from a single specific site.
Wastewater
• Water that contains wastes from homes or
industry.
Thermal Pollution
• A temperature increase in a body of water
that is caused by human activity and has a
harmful effect on water quality and on the
ability of that body of water to support life.
Biomagnification
• The accumulation of pollutants at
successive levels of a food chain
Bioamplification
• Where a pollutant builds up in an
individual organism.
Soild Wastes
• A discarded solid material, such as
garbage, refuse, or sludges.
Biodegradable
• Material that can be broken down by
biological processes.
Municipal Solid Waste
• Waste produced by households and
businesses.
Landfill
• An area of land or an excavation where
wastes are placed for permanent disposal.
Leachate
• A liquid that has passed through solid
waste and has extracted dissolved or
suspended materials from that waste,
such as pesticides in the soil.
Source Reduction
• Using less of a resource for a common
good
Recycling
• The process of recovering valuable or
useful materials from waste or scrap.
Reuse
• Using normally waste products over again
before they are sent into the wastestream
Resale
• Buying things used
• Ex: buying used cars, used clothes, used
video games
Compost
• The decomposition of natural material that
is then used as a topsoil in gardens.
Mulch
• Ground up material that is used a s a
ground cover for plants.
• + Conserves water, cuts down weeds,
aesthetically pleasing, adds nutrients for
plants
• - insects have a hiding place, has a limited
lifespan
Hazardous Wastes
• An material that may be corrosive,
flammable, carcinogenic, tetragenic,
combustible.
Deep-well Injection
• Hazardous materials are liquified and then
injected deep into the earths crust
Surface impoundment
• Place where wastes are temporarily place
to allow for evaporation to remove the
water.
• Artificial Lagoon