Geography and Climate Change: Terms and Definitions, Quizzes of Geography

Download Geography and Climate Change: Terms and Definitions and more Quizzes Geography in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 climate change DEFINITION 1 Natural & human influenced process Climatic variability greatest in Quaternary Period: last 2.5 million years (Earth 4.6 billion years old) Pleistocene Epoch: first & longest epoch of QP, 2,588-12kya, 30% land glaciated at peak, 10-30 climate shifts, 18F cooler, modern humans develop 200-50 kya Last major glacial melting 9000 years ago, origins of agriculture & northward human settlement Little Ice Age: between 1500 &1750, when climates were 1-2 degrees cooler in N. hemisphere TERM 2 astronomical hypothesis DEFINITION 2 fluctuation in Earths orbit impacts amount of solar radiation surface possible causes of climatic variation TERM 3 geologic hypothesis DEFINITION 3 continental drift, plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, changes atmospheric circulation theory of climatic variation TERM 4 human causes DEFINITION 4 CO2, burning fossil fuels & removing vegetation theory of climatic change TERM 5 greenhouse effect DEFINITION 5 accumulation of greenhouse gases in atmosphere, e.g. carbon dioxide (CO2) & methane o Causes temperatures to rise o .5-1.8 F increase during 20th century TERM 6 geomorphology DEFINITION 6 the study of landforms & the processes that create them Changes in landforms influenced by: o Natural & human processes o Time & place TERM 7 endogenic process DEFINITION 7 o forces within Earth that create crust & shape its surface, beneath the surface, exp; volcanic & plate tectonicskey process of geomorphology TERM 8 exogenic process DEFINITION 8 key process of geomorphology o forces originating above Earths surface, aided by gravity, that reshape the surface, above the surface, rain, wind, solar radiation, storms flooding TERM 9 divergent plate boundary DEFINITION 9 spreading apart, stress of stretching, normal fault fracturing o Mostly seafloor spreading o Cooling lava, new crust formation o Mid-Atlantic ridge TERM 10 convergent plate boundary DEFINITION 10 pushing together, stress of compression, reverse fault fracturing o Subduction: denser crust forced downward, recycled to magma o South & SW Indonesia, Eurasian & Indo- Australian Plates TERM 21 hydrologic cycle DEFINITION 21 the movement of water as a gas, liquid, & solid, among atmosphere, lithosphere, & biosphere Regulates environmental processes Organizes spatial patterns of vegetation & soil Links earths subsystems Recycles organic & non-organic matter TERM 22 hydrologic cycle DEFINITION 22 Evaporation>condensation>precipitation> runoffflow of the ______ ____ TERM 23 earth's storage of water DEFINITION 23 96.5 of all water is stored in worlds oceans 2 as glaciers .9 as saline groundwater .8 as freshwater .014 in rivers & lakes .001 in atmosphere last major change occurred 20,000 years ago Glacial melting increased global sea-level TERM 24 ecosystems DEFINITION 24 an interrelated collection of plants & animals & the physical environment with which they interact. Can cover various scales of analysis, e.g. field, pond, forest, etc TERM 25 producers, consumers,decomposers, materials & energy DEFINITION 25 ecosystem elementsplants, produce food animals, humans, consume food microorganisms, recycle waste necessary for production consumption, & decomposition to occur TERM 26 glaciers DEFINITION 26 high latitudes & elevation, moving ice, grinding action, thickness varies, slow flowing Loading at head, downslope movement, deposition at terminus Landforms created by glaciers: outwash plains, valleys, mountain ridges, & terminal moraine, e.g. Long Island, NY Fig 3-29 TERM 27 exogenic DEFINITION 27 ice, wind, & waves are _________ processes TERM 28 wind DEFINITION 28 Strong process in less vegetated areas, more exposure o Deserts, farming regions, coastal areas Moves smaller, lighter sediment particles Landforms created by wind: dunes, desert pavement, loess TERM 29 waves DEFINITION 29 Coastal erosion, influenced by sea-level Winds>water surface>waves, seafloor drag Earthquakes>tsunamis Landforms created by waves: sandy beaches, barrier islands, marine terraces