Earth Science

Front 1

Steno's geological principles

Back 1

oldest rocks at the bottom, youngest at the top

Front 2

Hutton's geological principles

Back 2

It takes a long time for any process (like erosion) to produce a big change in Earth's surface

All land should be flat unless some process renews landscape with mountains

Front 3

isotope

Back 3

atoms of same element with different number of neutrons

Front 4

radioactive decay

Back 4

when an unstable isotope (parent) changes into a new element

Front 5

half life

Back 5

time it takes for parent isotope to become a daughter isotope

Front 6

soil erosion

Back 6

erosion occurs faster than formation

Front 7

conservations

Back 7

-keep soil covered

-limit slopes made from contour plowing and terracing

-plant trees for shelter from wind

-add fertilizer

-rotate crops

Front 8

unloading

Back 8

when overlying rocks erode and lift pressure the underlying rocks expand upward

Front 9

wedging

Back 9

when water gets into a crack, freezes, expands, and breaks the rock apart

Front 10

physical weathering & surface area

Back 10

weathering breaks rocks/mineral into smaller pieces which increases surface area

Front 11

chemical weathering

Back 11

decomposing rock by chemical breakdown of mineral inside

Front 12

hydrolysis

Back 12

breaking a molecule bond using water: replace molecule ions with weaker water ions

Front 13

acid rain

Back 13

pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrus oxides combine with rain to yield sulfuric and nitric acid

Front 14

weathering rates

Back 14

increased rainfall and temp = increased rate

Front 15

mass wasting

Back 15

downward movement of material under gravity's influence

Front 16

landslide

Back 16

rapid form of mass wasting

Front 17

hydrologic cycle

Back 17

water evaporates from the ocean, condenses to form a cloud, rain fall and either runs into a stream or is absorbed by the ground or plants

Front 18

base level

Back 18

lowest point at which a stream can flow

Front 19

what controls amount of water in stream channel?

Back 19

the size of the area it drains and the average precipitation in the area

Front 20

human influence on flooding

Back 20

alter natural surfaces (pavement, homes) so it can't absorb water, storm sewers overflow the streams they run into, replace wetlands, collapsing dams

Front 21

porosity

Back 21

portion of material made up by spaces

Front 22

permeability

Back 22

the capacity of water to flow through earth materials

Front 23

aquifer

Back 23

A body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater

-open (unconfined): water filters through rock or earth to aquifer below

-closed (confined): enclosed above and below by impermeable materials (aquitards)

Front 24

water table

Back 24

the top of a saturated zone

follows the shape of the land

Front 25

wells

Back 25

create "cone of depression" (dip in water table) when it takes out more than is naturally replaced

Front 26

water pollution

Back 26

arsenic and mercury are the worst

polluters: dumps/landfills, coal mines, chem storage tanks, broken systems, absorbed fertilizer, oil and gas wells, road salt

Front 27

salinity

Back 27

the concentration of salt in seawater

increase salt = increase water density

Front 28

halocline

Back 28

rapid change in salinity with depth

Front 29

temperature and ocean water

Back 29

more heat absorbed at tropics

warm water is less dense, rises above cold water

Front 30

thermocline

Back 30

rapid change in temperature with depth

Front 31

tides and relationship to moon

Back 31

spring tide: highest tide, sun and moon pull in same direction at NEW and FULL moon

neap tide: lowest tide, sun and moon pull in different directions at 1st and 3rd quarter

Front 32

components of atmosphere

Back 32

N (highest %), O, Argon, CO2, Methane, NO2

Front 33

CO2 on Earth vs. Venus

Back 33

Earth's CO2 can be stored in calcite type rocks rather than all of it being in the atmosphere or else our planet would be overheating like Venus.

Front 34

atmosphere layer order

Back 34

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

Front 35

layers that stop EMR

Back 35

Troposphere: visible light

Stratosphere: UV rays

Thermosphere: x-ray, gamma, short wavelength radiation

Front 36

what happens to EMR at Earth's surface?

Back 36

it's absorbed by the ground and oceans, warming the planet

Front 37

greenhouse effect

Back 37

radiation is absorbed by water vapor, CO2 and other gasses, increasing surface temp by 33 degrees Celsius

Front 38

largest weather-related fatality

Back 38

temperature extremes

Front 39

science of weather

Back 39

weather migrates W to E

fair skies = high pressure

rain = low pressure

Front 40

severe weather definition

Back 40

one or more of :

tornado

high winds of 58 mph or more

penny sized hail or larger

Front 41

hurricanes

Back 41

originate: mostly in Atlantic Ocean

hurricane season: July 1 - November 30

Front 42

climate

Back 42

weather conditions for region averaged over several decades

Front 43

signs of climate change

Back 43

melting ice/glaciers, temp and precip changes

Front 44

climate forcing

Back 44

change in solar radiation balance

Front 45

CO2 and global warming link

Back 45

increasing CO2 = increase global warming

Front 46

human activity and climate change

Back 46

humans create visible particle clouds from cars, cause African rain failures, but planes also decrease temps

Front 47

ozone/ozone hole

Back 47

ozone: 3 oxygen atoms O3

ozone hole: reduction in ozone concentrations from CFCs (volatile organic compound made by humans)

Front 48

air mass

Back 48

large volumes of air with similar temp and pressure

Front 49

frontal system

Back 49

where air masses interact

Front 50

cold front

Back 50

steep downslope, short and heavy rains, form tall cumulonimbus clouds

Front 51

warm front

Back 51

gentle rise, not with severe weather, longer lasting rains, covers larger areas, temp and humidity rises