This is vocabulary from Chapter 4 in Friedland and Relyea AP Environmental Science textbook.
Terms : Hide Images
| 5042938093 | climate | the average weather that occurs in a given region over a long period (typically over reveral decades) | 0 | |
| 5042938094 | troposphere | the layer closest to Earth's surface (roughly 10 miles above), where weather occurs and a great deal of circulation takes place. Most Nitrogen, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide is in this layer. | 1 | |
| 5042938095 | stratosphere | this layer extends roughly 10-31 miles above Earth's surface. The ozone layer is found in this layer. | 2 | |
| 5042938097 | albedo | the percentage of incoming sunlight that is reflected from a surface | 3 | |
| 5042938099 | adiabatic cooling | the process by which the temperature of an air mass decreases as the air mass rises and expands (basically, as air rises, pressure decreases, allowing for an expansion in volume and a lowering of temperature) | 4 | |
| 5042938100 | adiabatic heating | when air sinks toward the Earth's surface, the pressure on it increases and this, the pressure forces the air to decrease in in volume (and then raise the temperature of the air) | 5 | |
| 5042938101 | latent heat release | when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water, energy is released | 6 | |
| 5042938102 | hadley cells | the convection currents that cycle between the equator and 30 degrees N & S. Warm air rises from the equator and loses its moisture as rain. It then falls back to the Earth at 30 degrees as dry, cool air | 7 | |
| 5042938103 | intertropical convergence zone | the area of the Earth that receives the most intense sunlight, where the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells converge | 8 | |
| 5042938104 | polar cells | convection currents formed by air that rises at 60 degrees N & S and sinks at the poles ( 90 degrees N & S) | 9 | |
| 5042938105 | coriolis effect | causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere due to Earth's rotation | 10 | |
| 5042938109 | upwelling | the upward movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water toward the surface | 11 | |
| 5042938113 | tundra | a dry, cold, treeless environment with low-growing vegetation where soil is completely frozen in the winter [i.e. Russia, Alaska, Canada] | 12 | |
| 5042938114 | permafrost | impermeable, permanently frozen layer of soil that prevent water from draining and roots from penetrating | 13 | |
| 5042938115 | biome | group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities | 14 | |
| 5042938116 | taiga | often called the boreal forest, this biome contain coniferous forests, cold winters, low precipitation and nutrient level. [i.e. Russia, North America, Europe] | 15 | |
| 5042938117 | temperate rainforests | mild to moderate temperatures, lots of rainfall, redwoods, Douglas firs, and western cedars, with low diversity, [i.e California, Oregon, Washington and Canada, Western New Zealand | 16 | |
| 5042938119 | chaparral | A biome characterized by hot, dry summers, and mild, rainy winters. 12 month growing season, adapted well to fires and droughts [i.e. California, Australia, South America] | 17 | |
| 5042938121 | tropical rainforest | high productivity, rapid decmposition, lots of rainfall, nutrient poor soil, close to the equator, [i.e Central/ South America, Tropical islands, Africa, Southeast Asia and Northern Australia] | 18 | |
| 5042938122 | savanna | warm with distinct wet and dry seasons, dominated by grasses and few trees, think of the Lion King landscape [ie Africa, South America, Southern Asia, Central America] | 19 | |
| 5042938123 | hot desert | extremely hot temperatures, dry conditions, sparse vegetation [Southwestern United States, Africa, Middle East, Australia] | 20 | |
| 5042938141 | Sustainability | the ability to meet the current needs of humanity without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs | 21 | |
| 5042938142 | The Tragedy of the Commons | (1968 paper by ecologist Garret Hardin) "Freedom to breed" is bringing ruin to all. Global commons such as atmosphere & oceans are used by all and owned by none. When no individual has ownership, no one takes responsibility. Examples: overfishing in the oceans, over pumping of the Ogallala Aquifer | 22 | |
| 5042938145 | Biotic and abiotic | living and nonliving components of an ecosystem | 23 | |
| 5042938146 | Competition | a type of population interaction, usually over a limited resource - may be intraspecific or interspecific | 24 | |
| 5042938147 | Producer/Autotroph | photosynthetic or chemosynthetic life; Chemotroph - organism undergoing chemosynthesis - usually carried out by sulfur bacteria in aphotic zones in the ocean (deep ocean vents, etc.) | 25 | |
| 5042938153 | Biome | large distinct terrestrial region having similar climate, soil, plants & animals; terrestrial biomes determining factors are temperature and precipitation | 26 | |
| 5042938154 | Carrying capacity | the number of individuals (size of the population) that can be sustained in an area (supported by available resources in the environment) | 27 | |
| 5042938155 | R strategist | Short life span, Small body size, Reproduce quickly,Have many young, Little parental care | 28 | |
| 5042938156 | K strategist | reproduce late in life; few offspring; care for offspring; tend to be specialists, longer lifespan | 29 | |
| 5042938157 | Positive feedback | when a change in some condition triggers a response that intensifies the changing condition (warmer Earth - snow melts - less sunlight is reflected & more is absorbed, therefore warmer Earth) | 30 | |
| 5042938158 | Negative feedback | when a changing in some condition triggers a response that counteracts the changed condition | 31 | |
| 5042966511 | Immigration | movement of individuals into a population | 32 | |
| 5042967927 | Emigration | Leaving a population | 33 | |
| 5042976956 | J curve growth | what curve growth is humans? No limited resources | 34 |
