Exam 3 Part 2

Environmental Geography 120 with Burt at University of Wisconsin - Madison

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By: Ellen Ehlers
Created: 2012-04-13
Size: 73 flashcards
Views: 15

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Earths structure: soil

-soil growing from top and bottom (rocks weathering and material being deposited on top)

-rego-lith: blanket of earth/rocks (soil column)

5 functions of soil

1. habitat for soil organisms: soil is the most diverse ecosystem

2. medium for plant growth: soil has nutrients from rocks and water through roots from soil. determines vegetation growth and structural support

3. water supply and purification

4. engineering medium: foundation stability

5. recycling nutrients and organic wastes

soil profile

-color and horizons (different layers of soil)

-solid=50%; pore=50%

-organic=(5%); inorganic (salt, minerals)=45%; air=25%; water=25%

soil sizes and surface area

-sand (big), silt (med), clay (small) surface area to volume

-clay is negatively charged and plant nutrients are positively charged

-more clay=more surface area=more nutrients=more water

soil air

-oxygen and carbon dioxide

-oxygen levels are lower in soil than what we breathe because biological activity in the soil needs oxygen

-carbon dioxide concentrations are higher than the air we breathe because bio activity and respiration gives off CO2

organic matter (1-5%)

-soils where most of solids=organic=histosol

1. loosens structure of soil=more pore space for air and water and plant roots to grow

2. source of nutrients--break down of organic matter and release plant nutrients=fertility

3. water source--holds onto water like a sponge

4. energy source for decomposers in soil

CLORPT

-climate: precip, temp

-organisms: biota: plants, roots, vegetation, fauna (worms=mixing)

-relief: topography flat v slope

-parent material: rock types

-time: allows soil to be exposed to these other factors

relief

-flat: accumulation is faster than lost=deeper soil

-slope: loss of soil due to erosion. removal of organic material

parent material

-important in young soil

-leads to the development of horizons

-organic (climate, topography)--->inorganic--->rocks (parent material)

entisols

-youngest (recent) developed soils

-weathering is very slow

-little or no differentiation of profile (no horizons)

inceptisols

-beginning/inception of horizons

andisols

-derived from recent volcanic parent material

-"ando"=black

-very fertile=lots of organic material

-parent material=important

gelisols

-"gelare"=to freeze

-develop in very cold places

-climate (T) change is very impt.

-one horizon is permanently frozen; permafrost

ardisols

-effected by climate

-formed in arid (low water) climates

-dry; deserts

-accumulation of salts from evaporation

-not good for crops

histosols

-living tissues

-most of solid material=organic (not normal!)

-swamps; bogs

-wet and not enough oxygen=very organic

-fuel source in scotland

vertisols

-structurally unstable

-can invert the horizons (mixing of layers)

-absorbs lots of water=swelling and shrinking=large cracks

-landslides

alfisols

-accumulation of aluminum and iron

-broadleaf forests; sandy; common in WI

mollisols

-determined by vegetation

-mollis=soft (fluffy)

-lots of organic material

-typical of grasslands: lots of root input into soil

-histosols=really wet but mollisols=lots of roots

-fertile typical of prairies

-field; fertile agricultural

spodosols

-highly weathered

-wood ash

-develop under acidic forests (conifers)

-vegetation is impt.-acidic from needles

-pale/white horizon---leeched

ultisols

-highly weathered

-sub/tropical regions

-loose nutrients; more clay

-concentration of nutrients at surface

oxisols

-dominated by iron oxides; red/orange color

-less nutrients that ultisols

-in tropical, wet climates

-river by amazon that's wet and hot

distribution of soils

-in WI: alfsol is most common and then spodosols in N. WI

-oxisols aren't found in WI because it's too young/glaciers and not tropical climate (no oxisols in lower 48 states)

-oxisols are close to the equator and aridisols are close to deserts

environmental degradation of soil

-loss of function

1. habitat for plants (on soil)

2. Biodiversity (in soil)

3. water supply and purification

4. recycling of nutrients

5. structure

-erosion, heavy irrigation, mining, climate change

earths composition

-crust: exterior and thinnest. thicker under continents v ocean

-mantle: largest sphere of the earth by volume

-liquid outer core: molten material. iron=earths magnetic field

-solid inner core

mantle breakdown

-crust on top

-solid: lihosphere-rock=continental plates floating on asthenosphere

-asthenosphere: weak, more fluid, malleable, hot

-lower mantle: solid

*solids sandwich liquid

*asthenosphere drives movement of lithosphere

minerals

-rocks are composed of minerals

-naturally occuring

-solid

-inorganic (no carbon or dead organic material

-specific chemical composition and regular structure contribute to weathering rate

silicates- Si

really abundant

-quartz

oxides

aluminum oxides, iron oxides

-dominant in oxisols

sulfides

sulfur

-lead/zinc sulfide

-economically impt.

sulfates

sulfur and oxygen

-gypsum: mined commercially

carbonates

limestone

halides

flouride, chloride, bromine, iodine

native

-pure form; not combined

-diamond, silver, gold

igneous

-derived from fire/volcanos

-form by magma that cools

-form by explosion, welding of rocks

intrusive

plutonic

-slower cooling, coarse grains

extrusive

volcanic

-cools faster, on surface

-form small crystals or fine grains

*color's determined by silica content

granite

-intrusive

-continental crust

-high silica

basalt

-extrusive

-oceanic crust

-lower silica (Dark)

sedimentary rocks

-transported and deposited material=stratafication

-older as you dig down; new material on top (preservation of fossils)

-pre-existing rock fragments (sandstone and shale)

-limestone and coal-organic material that's cemented

*joints=zones of weathering

metamorphic

-can origionate as sedimentary or igneous and then changed by high temp or high pressure

-contact-with magma

-non-contact-high pressure of rocks on top, high temperature

*shale--->slate

*limestone-->marble

*sandstone--->quartzite

rock cycle

-igneous=cooling=erosion=deposited=sediment=high pressure or magma=metamorphic

-most of WI=sedimentary with igneous and metamorphic in N WI

-USA=sedimentary. pacific NW=andisol (extrusive igneous)

continental vs oceanic

-continental=granite (less dense)

-oceanic=basalt (denser)

-subduction-plates colliding and more dense goes under

processes effecting topography: internal

-internal: energy driving comes from the inside

-crust movement-plate spreading/convergence

-volcanos and earthquakes

-diastrophism

-hydrothermal

-solution chem

processes effecting topography: external

-denudation (weathering/erosion)

-deposition

-fluvival processes

-aeolian processes

-glacial processes

glacial strata

-bedded layers of different sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks

fossils

-lithified remains of biological material in sedimentary strata

geologic time scale

-eras/periods/epochs

-wasn't until recently that we found how old the earth was (4.6 billion years)

biogeographic puzzles

-madagasgar has a high percent of endemic species

-s. america animal lineages invade n. america after 3 MYA

-australia has a diverse marsupial population

-if you put together pieces=similar topography and geologic deposits (coal)

-fossils=mesosaurus was found in similar deposits that were the same age

dispersal vs vicariance

-movement of species vs one area broken by a disturbance

continental drift

-original theory by alfred wegener

-pangea

-hard to believe him:

1. hard to imagine. igneous rocks cooled in place

2. if they could move what pushed them across the ocean?

3. earths not old enough for it to occur

*couldn't answer these questions until 1950-60

plate tectonics

-revised theory

1. ocean floor topography: ridges and trenches. just as varied as continental crust. distribution of them is not random, they coincide with geologic activity

2. earthquakes aren't random. associated with ridges and trenches

3. evidence of sea floor spreading (paleomagnetism): earths magnetic fields reverse recorded in iron rocks. bands of different magnetic fields

4. sea floor spreading (sediments): similarities in chemical comp. and age. older as you move away from ridges

source of energy to push land masses

-asthenosphere=magma rising up

-conveyer belt=subduction at trenches pulls rising magma from ridges

-subduction of oceanic plate under continental crust

-oceanic is constantly being formed and melting back into asthenosphere

-continental is older; oceanic is constantly being recycled

tectonic plates

-pangea-one continent/one ocean (250 m years)

-laurasia/gondwanaland (225 m yrs)

-fragmentation of n/s atlantic oceans (135 m years)

-n/s america split

-n america and europe seperate

-india along

-(65 myears)- n//s atlantic oceans join. s. america alone

-today-india joins asia (himylayas) and n/s america join

history of life on earth

permian: sea ferns, reptiles, vascular plants

-triassic: dinosaurs, mammals

-jurrasic: birds evolve

-cretaceous: primates, flower plants, dinosaurs extinct

-present: evolution of humans

disjunct distributions

-S. beech trees in s. american are not distributed continuously

-central american landbridge: exchange of species

plate boundaries

1. divergent-plates seperating. mid-atlantic ocean ridge. new material coming up. constructive. upward flow of magma

2. convergent- collision/coming together. subduction/crushing of material. destructive. material's removed

3. transform-sliding back and forth. earthquakes. conservative. not creating/destroying

divergent (ocean-ocean)

-midatlantic oceanic ridge

-volcanos

divergent (cont-cont)

-arabian plate, african plate, and indian plate

-east african ridge

-iceland on mid-atl. ridge=volcanic activity

convergent (ocean-ocean)

-subduction=lots of volcanic activity=islands

convergent (ocean-cont)

-subduction of ocean under cont=volcanos

-formation of volcanic mnt. on land

-andes along pacific coast of s. american

-cascades

convergent (cont-cont)

-no subduction

-crush/build mnts

-not as much associated with volcanos but earthquakes

-himylayas and alps

*most earthquakes and volcanoes near pacific plate

*ring of fire-convergent

transform

-earthquakes

-san andreas fault (s california)

-fault lines

-in cont. and on bottom of ocean floow

tectonic uplift

-form mountains

-material that's pushed up

-not always associated with boundaries

diastrophism

-deformation of the earths crust

-folding-crust subjective to lateral pressure.

-landscape of peaks/valleys

-appalachian mountains

-faulting-crust breaks. seperation of material. can occur at transform plate boundaries

normal faulting

-move away from each other. some up some down.

-sierra nevada

-------

----/

reverse

material compressed

landslides

-----/

-------

strike slips

-sliding past each other

thrust

-compressed but block is thrown on top of the other. young material at bottom

-----/

/------

volcanos

-landscape thats flattened=basalt lava flows (slow and dark)

-pyroclastic=explosive

shield volcanos

-shallow upside down bowl

-largest; slow lava flows

-mt. bachelor, OR and mauna loa, HI

composite

-explosive; pyroclastic

-steep peak and slopes

-mt. fuji, Japan and mt. st. helens

lava domes

smaller; bulge of viscous lava

-wilsom butte, CA

-doesn't go far

cinder cone

small; rings around larger peaks

-puff of ash=distinctive saddle

About this deck

By: Ellen Ehlers
Created: 2012-04-13
Size: 73 flashcards
Views: 15

About StudyBlue

“Simply amazing. The flash cards are smooth, there are many different types of studying tools, and there is a great search engine. I praise you on the awesomeness.”
Dennis