Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
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