Environmental Science Hit Parade: Chapter 3

Front 1

abiotic

Back 1

Pertaining to factors or things that are separate and independent from living things; nonliving.

Front 2

acid

Back 2

Any compound that releases hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Also, a water solution that contains a surplus of hydrogen ions.

Front 3

A layer

Back 3

a soil horizon; the layer below the O layer is called the A layer. The A layer is formed of weathered rock, with some organic material; often referred to as topsoil.

Front 4

alkaline

Back 4

a basic substance; chemically, a substance that absorbs hydrogen ions or releases hydroxl ions; in reference to natural water, a measure of the base content of the water.

Front 5

aquifer

Back 5

an underground layer of porous rock, sand, or other material that allows the movement of water between layers of nonporous rock or clay. Aquifers are frequently tapped for wells.

Front 6

arable

Back 6

land that's fit to be cultivated.

Front 7

asthenosphere

Back 7

the part of the mantle that lies just below the lithosphere.

Front 8

atmosphere

Back 8

the gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, which is retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.

Front 9

barrier island

Back 9

a long, relatively narrow island running parallel to the mainland, built up by the action of waves and currents and serving to protect the coast from erosion by surf and tidal surges.

Front 10

biological weathering

Back 10

any weathering that's caused by the activities of living organisms.

Front 11

biotic

Back 11

living or derived from living things.

Front 12

B layer

Back 12

a soil horizon; B receives the minerals and organic materials that are leached out of the A horizon.

Front 13

chemical weathering

Back 13

the result of chemical interaction with the bedrock that is typical of the action of both water and atmospheric gases.

Front 14

C layer

Back 14

a soil horizon, horizon C is made up of larger pieces of rock that have not undergone much weathering.

Front 15

clay

Back 15

the finest soil, made up of particles that are less than 0.002 mm in diameter.

Front 16

conduction

Back 16

the transmission or conveying of something through a medium or passage, especially the transmission of electric charge or heat through a conducting medium without perceptible motion of the medium itself.

Front 17

convection

Back 17

the vertical movement of a mass of matter due to heating and cooling; this can happen in both the atmosphere and Earth's mantle.

Front 18

convection currents

Back 18

air currents caused by the vertical movement of air due to atmospheric heating and cooling.

Front 19

convergent boundary

Back 19

a plate boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.

Front 20

coral reef

Back 20

an erosion-resistant marine ridge or mound consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates.

Front 21

Coriolis effect

Back 21

The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the deflection of an object moving above the Earth, rightward in the Northern Hemisphere, and leftward in the Southern Hemisphere.

Front 22

crop rotation

Back 22

the practice of alternating the crops grown on a piece of land--for example, corn one year, legumes for two years, and then back to corn.

Front 23

delta

Back 23

a usually triangular alluvial deposit at the mouth of a river.

Front 24

divergent boundary

Back 24

a plate boundary at which plates are moving away from each other. This causes an upwelling of magma from the mantle to cool and form new crust.

Front 25

doldrums

Back 25

a region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls.

Front 26

drip irrigation

Back 26

a method of supplying irrigation water through tubes that literally drip water onto the soil at the base of each plant.

Front 27

earthquake

Back 27

the result of vibrations (often due to plate movements) deep in the Earth that release energy. They often occur as two plates slide pas one another at a transform boundary.

Front 28

El Nino

Back 28

a climate variation that takes place in the tropical Pacific about every three to seven years, for a duration of about one year.

Front 29

erosion

Back 29

the process of soil particles being carried away by wind or water. Erosion moves the smaller particles first and hence degrades the soil to a coarser, sandier, stonier texture.

Front 30

fault

Back 30

the place where two plates abut each other.

Front 31

greenhouse effect

Back 31

the phenomenon whereby the Earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through, but absorb heat radiated back from the Earth's surface.

Front 32

Green Revolution

Back 32

the development and introduction of new variables of (mainly) wheat and rice that has increased yields per acre dramatically in countries since the 1960s.

Front 33

Hadley cell

Back 33

a system of vertical and horizontal air circulation predominating in tropical and subtropical regions and creating major weather patterns.

Front 34

headwaters

Back 34

the water from which a river rises; a source.

Front 35

horizon

Back 35

a layer of soil.

Front 36

humus

Back 36

the dark, crumbly, nutrient-rich material that results from the decomposition of organic material.

Front 37

hurricane (typhoon, cyclone)

Back 37

a severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.

Front 38

inner core

Back 38

the molten core of the Earth.

Front 39

insolation

Back 39

the rate of delivery of solar radiation per unit of horizontal surface.

Front 40

jet stream

Back 40

a high-speed meandering wind current, generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400km (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 km (10 to 15 miles).

Front 41

land degradation

Back 41

when soil becomes water-logged and then dries out, and salt forms a layer on its surface.

Front 42

La Nina

Back 42

a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns.

Front 43

lithosphere

Back 43

the outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, approximately 100 km (62 miles) thick.

Front 44

loamy

Back 44

soil composed of a mixture of sand, clay, silt, and organic matter.

Front 45

mantle

Back 45

the layer of Earth between the crust and the core.

Front 46

monoculture

Back 46

the cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country; a single, homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.

Front 47

monsoon

Back 47

a wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally.

Front 48

O layer

Back 48

the uppermost horizon of soil. It is primarily made up of organic material, including waste from organisms, the bodies of decomposing organisms, and live organisms.

Front 49

Physical (mechanical) weathering

Back 49

any process that breaks rock down into smaller pieces without changing the chemistry of the rock; typically wind and water.

Front 50

plate boundaries

Back 50

the edges of tectonic plates.

Front 51

prior appropriation

Back 51

when water rights are given to those who have historically used the water in a certain area.

Front 52

rain shadow

Back 52

the low-rainfall region that exists on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range. This rain shadow is the result of the mountain range's causing precipitation on the windward side.

Front 53

red tide

Back 53

a bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonymalax produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish.

Front 54

R horizon

Back 54

The bedrock, which lies below all of the other layers of soil.

Front 55

riparian right

Back 55

the right, as to fishing or to the use of a riverbed, of one who owns riparian land (the land adjacent to a river or stream).

Front 56

salinization

Back 56

the process in which soil becomes saltier and saltier until, finally, the salt prevents the growth of plants. Salinization is caused by irrigation because salts brought in with the water remain in the soil as water evaporates.

Front 57

sand

Back 57

the coarsest soil, with particles 0.05 - 2.0 mm in diameter.

Front 58

Southern Oscillation

Back 58

the atmospheric pressure conditions corresponding to the periodic warming of El Nino and cooling of La Nina.

Front 59

subduction zone

Back 59

in tectonic plates, the site at which an oceanic plate is sliding under a continental plate.

Front 60

thermocline

Back 60

a layer in a large body of water, such as a lake, that sharply separates regions differing in temperature, so that the temperature gradient across the layer is abrupt.

Front 61

thermosphere

Back 61

the outermost shell of the atmosphere, between the mesosphere and outer space, where temperatures increase steadily with altitude.

Front 62

topsoil

Back 62

the A layer of soil is often referred to as topsoil and is most important for plant growth.

Front 63

trade winds

Back 63

the more or less constant winds blowing in horizontal directions over the Earth's surface, as part of Hadley cells.

Front 64

transform boundary

Back 64

also known as transform faults, boundaries at which plates are moving past each other, sideways.

Front 65

tropical storm

Back 65

a cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 km (30 to 75 miles) per hour.

Front 66

upwelling

Back 66

a process in which cold, often nutrient-rich, waters from the ocean depths rise to the surface.

Front 67

volcanoes

Back 67

an opening in the Earth's crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected.

Front 68

watershed

Back 68

the region draining into river system or other body of water.

Front 69

water-scarce

Back 69

countries that have a renewable annual water supply of less than 1,000 m3 (cubic meters) per person.

Front 70

water-stressed

Back 70

countries that have a renewable annual water supply of about 1,000 - 2,000 m3 (cubic meters) per person.

Front 71

weather

Back 71

the day-to-day variations in temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity, and precipitation mediated by the atmosphere in a given region.

Front 72

weathering

Back 72

the gradual breakdown of rock into smaller and smaller particles, caused by natural chemical, physical, and biological factors.

Front 73

wetlands

Back 73

a lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of a wildlife.