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155 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Equilibrium
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rate of change in one direction matches the rate of change in another
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Negative feedback
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A change in condition that triggers a response that counteracts or reverses change
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positive feedback
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A change in condition that intensifies a condition
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Gaia Theory
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Earth's organisms keep environment habitable
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Biochemical cycle
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Pathway that chemical element follows through earth's 4 domains
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4 domains
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Hydrosphere, Biosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere
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The essential Biochemical cycles
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Phosphorous, carbon, hydrogen (water), Nitrogen, and sulfur
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Macronutrients
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C, H, N, O, P, S that make up carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, and nucleic acids
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albedo
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proportional reflection of solar energy from earth's surface
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Layers of atmosphere
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Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
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Haber-Bausch Theory
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Industrial fixation or artificially fixed nitrogen for agriculture
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Coriolis Effect
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The influence of earth's rotation, which tends to turn fluids (air and water) towards the right in the N. hemisphere and towards the left in the S. hemisphere
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Continental Drift Theory
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1915, Wegner proposed Pangea
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Name some justifications of the Continental Drift Theory.
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Fossilized plants in Greenland, Glaciated landscapes in Africa and South America, Tropical Regions were once polar, Continents fit like puzzle pieces, and rock similarities on continental coasts
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Sea floor Spreading Theory
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New crust is formed at volcanic rift zones
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3 parts of earth
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Crust, mantle, and core
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3 types of plate meeting
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Divergent, convergent, and transform
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Divergent Plates
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plates separate and form new lithosphere
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Convergent Plates
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Plates collide, may lead to subduction where heavier plate goes under lighter one
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Transform
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2 plates sliding past one another
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Gyre
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Circular ocean current
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Ring of Fire
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Where the Pacific plate meets the North American Plate
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Prevailing Winds
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Major Surface Winds
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3 main prevailing winds
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Polar easterlies(poles), westerlies(mid latitude), and Trade Winds (tropical)
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Currents
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Massive movements of ocean water created by prevailing winds
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Ocean Convergent Belt
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Circulation of shallow and deep currents
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El Nino (Southern Oscillation)
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The warming of the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean surface Waters that temporarily alters oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns.
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Volcanoe
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opening in earths crust where magma can come out
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Where do volcanoes occur?
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Subduction boundaries, divergent boundaries, and hot spots
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Hot Spot
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Magma in lithosphere remains in same place as the plates move
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Pohoeoe lava
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viscous, rope-like, quick cooling and high temperatures
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Aa lava
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cooler lava, moves slowly, and is jagged
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Shield volcano
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Lava builds up and hardens making this volcano tall, but not very explosive
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Composite Volcano
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Repeated eruptions formed around vent. Very violent eruptions and then quiet for a long time
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Example of a shield volcano
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Those on the Hawaiian Islands
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Example of a composite volcano
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Mt. Fuji
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Cindercone Volcano
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Formed from thrown lava chunks and igneous rock and resultantly small
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Earthquake
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The energy release caused by the abrupt movement between plates
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Where do earthquakes occur?
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mid-oceanic ridges, faults, and plate boundaries
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Epicenter
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Where the earthquake derives from
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Fault
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Crack in lithosphere where the rock slides
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Focus
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Site of earthquake under earth's surface
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Body Waves
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Travel from focus to earth's surface
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Types of body waves of an earthquake
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P - fastest, initial wave that goes through liquids and solids and push and pulls. S - secondary waves that move side to side and go through solids
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Atmospheric Pressure
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measure of force per unit area produced by column of air
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Relative humidity
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Ratio of water vapor to max potential of a volume of air
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Tilt of earth
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23.5 degrees
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Convective Circulation
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Warm air rising - then cooling - picking up heat and moisture - rising again
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Equinox
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When the earth has no tilt. There are 2: vernal and autumnal
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Front
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Boundary between air masses that differ in temperature and moisture
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La Nina
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Surface water temperatures in the E. Pacific become very cool and the W. bound trade winds become strong. Occurs after El Nino.
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weather
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conditions in atmosphere
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Climate
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Average weather temperatures that occur in a place over time
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Name the 6 world climates according to Koppen Geiger.
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Highland, Cold Polar, Humid cold polar, humid temperate, humid equilateral, and dry.
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Precipitation
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Rain falls from atmosphere
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Rain Shadow
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Dry conditions on a leeward side of a mountain after winds pass and pick up the moisture.
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Tornado or Twister.
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powerful wind funnel associated with thunder storms.
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Name the three types of tropical cyclones.
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typhoons, cyclones, and hurricanes.
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Cyclone
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Rotating tropical storms with strong winds. They pick up the moisture over warm surface waters and spin with earth's rotation
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Magma
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Molten rock caused by asthenosphere movement.
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Ways Volcanoes are formed.
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hot spot, subduction zones
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hot spot
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rising plume of magma that flowed from an opening in the crust
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Atmospheric Composition
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78% N, 21% O, 1% argon, <1% C
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Convective Circulation
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warm air rising and cooling, then picking up heat and moisture and rising again
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Seismic waves
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Rocks stretch and push in lithosphere creating great vibrations
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Front
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boundary between air masses that differ in temperature and moisture
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Thermal Inversion
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Natural occurrence where cool air is trapped under a layer of warm air trapping pollutants and causing smog build-up
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Hadley Cells
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convective cells where the sun warms the air and it rises and expands
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westerlies
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westward winds
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easterlies
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eastward winds
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Ferrel and Polar Cells
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Create precipitation at 60 degrees latitude
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Faults
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Fractures where rock moves forward/backward, side/side, and up/down
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Richter Scale
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measure the energy of an earthquake
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Moment magnitude Scale
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calculates total energy released by an earthquake
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Where do hurricanes occur?
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Atlantic
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Where do cyclones occur?
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Indian Ocean
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Where do typhoons occur?
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Pacific Ocean
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Photochemical Smog
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Brown air/smog caused by traffic, sunny, hot windless day in an urban area. Promotes creation of ozone and photochemical pollutants
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What does cellular respiration release?
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Carbon Dioxide
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Ecosystem Services
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Blocking UV rays from earth's surface, moderating climate, and redistributing H2O
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Air Pollution
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Chemicals added to the atmophere via natural events and human activities in high enough concentrations to be harmful.
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Primary Pollutants
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Harmful substance emmited directly from the atmostphere
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Examples of primary pollutants.
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COx, NOx, SOx, hydrocarbons, ozone, and particulate matter
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Examples of Secondary Pollutants.
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Tropospheric Ozone and SO3
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Secondary Pollutants
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Primary reacts with naturally occurring substances to form harmful substances
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Particulate Matter
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Thousands of tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere
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Liquid Particulate Matter
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mist
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Solid Particulate matter
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dust
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6 Greenhouse Gases
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water vapor, ozone, CO2, Hydrocarbons, Methane, and N2O
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Natural Sources that pollute
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Wind, Volcanoes, forest fires
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Point Pollutant Sources
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Pollution coming from a particular source such as a power plant
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Non-point pollutant sources
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Many sources attributed to something general, accumulation such as in a highway
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Examples of Particulate matter
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Soot, Soil, lead, asbestos, sea salt, and sulfuric acid
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Health Effects of Nitrous Oxides
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lung irritant
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Effects of Sulfuric Acids
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Plant damage and erosion
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Volatile Hydrocarbons
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Sulfur, L, organic (VOCs)
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How is ozone created?
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VOCs and NOx with sun
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Effects of the breaking down of stratospheric ozone
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Global Warming and Crop depletion
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2 sources of human pollution.
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Point and stationary
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smog
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urban area pollution
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industrial smog
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SOx and particulate matter
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photochemical smog
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chemical reactions with NO, sunlight, and hydrocarbons
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temperature Inversion
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a deviation from the normal temperature distribution in the atmosphere resulting in a layer of cold air temporarily trapped near the ground by a warmer upper layer
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emphysema
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Air sacs in lungs become distended, there is a decrease in efficiency in respiration that leads to wheezing and breathlessness
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Chronic Bronchitis
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Air passages of the lungs become permanently inflamed leading to breathlessness and chronic coughing
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Health effects caused by NOx
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airway constriction
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Health effects caused by ozone and volatile chemicals
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burning eyes, coughing, chest discomfort, asthma attacks, immune system repression, and infant heart defects
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Health effects caused of pollution
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retarded lung development in children leads to problems later in life and asthma development
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Clean Air Act
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passed in 1970, EPA sets limits of specific air pollutants, states able to make stronger legislation
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What pollutants was the clean air act focused on?
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Lead, SOx, NOx, trophospheric ozone, particulate matter, and COx
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Scale of pollution
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marginal, severe, very severe, and extreme
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amendments to clean air act 1977
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Control of Cars
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amendments to clean air act 1990
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increase in air quality standard led by decrease in auto emissions, ozone depletion, and acid deposition
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amendments to clean air act 1997
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limited emissions of particulate matter
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Global distillation Effects
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air pollutants distributed globally, volatile chemicals evaporate and are transported by winds, then they condense and fall to the ground. Normally happens from tropics to colder climate.
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Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
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goal to phase out use of at least 12 toxic chemicals: 8 pesticides, DDT, and PBCs, dioxins, and fuerens
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Sick Building Syndrome
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Presence of air pollution within office buildings that can cause fatigue, headaches, depression, nausea, respiratory infections, and eye irritations
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Radon
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indoor air pollutant produced via the radioactive decay of uranium in earth's crust
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How does radon enter a building
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cracks in infrastructure, drain pipes
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Effects of radon
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asthma and cancer
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catalytic converters
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converts gases into more desirable ones
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Electro-Precipitator
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electrode imparts negative charge in gases so they are attracted to positive charged precipitating wall
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Scrubber
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water droplets trap PM in gases, sludge goes to holding pod/land-fills can be reincorporated into wallboard
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agroforestry
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Forestry and agriculture used to offset Co2 emissions and to improve the environment for economic purposes
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Three effects of air pollution
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global climate change, depletion of ozone, and acid rain deposition
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Evidence of Climate Change
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tree rings, lake and ocean sediment, air bubbles in ice, coral reef presence(or not), sea level rise, and glacier retreat.
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UN intergovernmental panel on climate change
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created to address human activities and climate change, provides most definitive statement about climate change
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Positive feedback
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Change in some condition triggers a response that intensifies the changed condition
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Example of Positive Feedback
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Water vapor causes increased temperatures which cause more evaporation
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Greenhouse Effect
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gases absorb infrared radiation or heat, which slows the natural heat flow and warms the atmosphere.
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Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
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additional warming produced by an increase in levels of gases that absorb infrared rays
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Aerosol Effect
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Aerosols tend to cool atmosphere
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Example of Aerosol Effect
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Sulfur haze reflects sunlight back into space, caused by smokestacks and volcanoes. It has a short term stay in the atmosphere and is an irritant to lungs
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Negative Feedback
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A change in some condition that triggers a counteractive response
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Example of Negative Feedback
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Rise in temperatures lead to evaporation which leads to cloud formation and the cooling of temperatures
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Permafrost
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Permanently frozen sub-soil of the tundra
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Ocean conveyor belt
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transfers heat around the globe
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UN framework Convention on Climate Change
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1992 Earth Summit, goal was to stabilize greenhouse gas levels low enough to prevent dangerous human impacts on the environment.
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Kyoto Protocol
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International treaty, legally binding that provides operational rules for lowering greenhouse gas emissions
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Mitigation
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moderation or post-postponement of global climate change
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Adaption
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Responding to the change generated from global climate change
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Examples of Mitigation
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Alternative energy, population limiting, carbon sequestering, carbon management, and fertilizing ocean with iron
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Examples of Adaption
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As sea levels rise people move inland and create dikes and levees; New drought-resistant crops planted
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Ozone shield
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Stratospheric Ozone
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Depletion of Stratospheric Ozone is caused by ______________.
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CFCs, halon, and methyl bromide or chemicals containing either bromine or chlorine.
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tropospheric Ozone is created by_________.
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NOx + sunlight + Hydrocarbons + O2
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Three types of UV wavelengths are______,______, and______.
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UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C.
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Examples of Chlorine and Bromine chemicals.
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CFCs, Halons, Methyl Chloroform, Methyl Bromide, Carbon Tetrachloride, Nitrous Oxide
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Circumpolar Vortex
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Cold air in polar regions that isolates warmer air and is stronger in the fall, worsening the ozone hole during this time.
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The Ozone Hole's health effects on humans.
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skin cancer, eye cataracts, and weakened immunity
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Montreal Protocol
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Aimed at stopping the depletion of the ozone layer
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Robert Angus Smith
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Coined term Acid rain
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Acid Deposition
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Air pollution including acid rain and dry acidic particles
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What causes Acid Deposition?
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SOx and NOx
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What acids are created via the human release of SOx and NOx?
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HNO2 & HNO3; H2SO4
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