Environmental Science Review

2012 Fall

Geosphere

• The rocks, soil, humus that make up the crust of the Earth

• Lithosphere-the crust portion of the earth

Crust

• The brittle, surface layer of the earth

• 2 types

Atmosphere

• The gaseous portion of our Earth

• Weather and Air Pollutants

Weather

• Atmospheric conditions at the present in a specific area

Climate

• Weather average in an area over a long period of time

Trophosphere

• The layer of the atmosphere where our weather is located

Ozone

• Layer that protects form UV radiation

Greenhouse Effect

• Sunlight radiation is trapped and reradiated into the atmosphere, raising the temperature

Energy

• Is the amount of work over a distance

Heat

• The total amount of energy in an object.

Temperature

• The average kinetic energy of the object

Types of Energy Transfer

• Radiation

• Convection

• Conduction

Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)

• How water is cycled, transformed, and passed through the Earth.

• Major processes– Evaporation– Condensation– Precipitation– Sublimation–

Hydrosphere

• A portion of the Earth that water –Surface , ground, oceans

Condensation

• Going form a vapor (gas) to a liquid

Salinity

• The amount of salt in a solution

Ecosystem

• Similar communities that are located together and the abiotic factors

Biotic Factor

• Living Factor in nature

Abiotic Factor

• Nonliving factors in the environment

Organism

• An individual

Species

• A group of similar organisms

Population

• Population is the number of similar organisms in a specific area at a certain time, that can produce fertile offspring.

Community

• Several populations living together in a specific area

Biome

• Several similar ecosystems together with similar biota.

Habitat

• An area where you would expect to find certain organisms.

• Where an organism lives.

Natural Selection

• When nature decides what traits are passed on or who is eaten and never does reproduce

Artificial Selection

• When organisms traits are chosen by humans

Evolution

• A gradual change in a population over a long period of time

Adaptation

• Something that gives an organism an advantage or not.

Resistance

• When an organism passes on it’s resistance to some specific antibodies/pesticides to offspring

Archaebacteria

• Old ancient bacteria found in horrific conditions

Eubacteria

• Bacteria that is more common to humans.

• Examples-pathogens, staph, strep, cheese making bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Fungi

• A decomposer, saprophyte

• Mushrooms, yeasts, truffles,

• Chitin cell wall

Protozoans

• One cell organism can be of many different groups– Algae– Protozoans– Water molds

Gymnosperm

• Naked seeds pines, firs, spruce, tamaracks, evergreens

Angiosperms

• Flower plants

• Two divisions

Invertebrates

• Organism that does not have a spine

• Examples sea sponge, starfish, arthopod, anemone

Vertebrates

• Organism that has a spine or backbone

Photosynthesis

• Conversion of CO2 + H2O into Glucose, O2 and H2O

• Necessary process in plants

Producer

• Autotrophs

• Makes its own food

Consumer

• Hetertroph

• Cannot make its own food

Herbivore

• Plant eater

Carnivore

• Meat eater

Omnivore

• All eater, eats everything

Decomposer

• Something that breaks down dead organic matter into elements

Cellular Respiration

• Glucose is broken down by O2 to form CO2 and H2O

Food Web

• Intricate interaction of organism in an ecosystem

• Show relationships between organisms and the environment

pH

• The reciprocal log of the hydronium ion concentration

• A relative way of how acidic or basic a solution is.

Food Chain

• Linkage of who eats who in an ecosystem

• Pathway of Energy transfer through various stages as a result of the feeding patterns of a series of organisms

Carbon Cycle

• A way to show how C atoms are cycled through various compounds organisms in the environment

Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria

• A bacteria that changes N2 into ammonia

Nitrogen Cycle

• A process in which N is circulated among the air soil, water and organisms

• Limiting factor for terrestrial plants

Phosphorous Cycle

• A process in which P is circulated in the soil, organisms, & water

• PO4 is a limiting factor for aquatic plants

• PO4 is banned in detergents

Ecological Succession

• The gradual change in an area from bare rock to climax vegetation

Primary Succession

• Succession where you start with bare bedrock and break it down to eventually form soil

Secondary Succession

• After the initial rocks conversion to soil, humus

• Succession where you do not have to start at ground zero

Seral Community

• Transitional community in the process of Succession

Pioneer species

• Initial organism on bare rock in the process of succession

• First organism on the scene, bacteria, algae, lichen, mosses, etc.

Climax Community

• A final or stable biotic community

Old field Succession

• What happens when you stop plowing or using a pasteur.

Population Density

• How many of a specific population is in a specific area at a specific period of time.

Population Dispersion

• The way a population is distributed in an area.

• Three types– Random, scattered– Uniform– Clumped

Growth rate

• Birth rate compared to death rate to see what is happening to the population

Biotic or Reproductive Potential

• Conditions that favor the best situation for population growth.

Environmental Resistance

• Factors that keep a population under control

• Disease, ample food, water, space, war or competition

Exponential Growth

• Logarithmic growth, or growth in which numbers increase by a certain factor in each successive time period

Carrying Capacity

• How many organisms the area can support without damaging it beyond repair

Niche

• How an organism fits into the big picture, it’s job or place in the environment

Competition

• 2 populations needing or fighting for a common resource.

• Common resource– Water – Food– Minerals – Space

Predation

• Organism that kills and eats another organism.

• Hunter

Parasitism

• Where one organism benefits and another is harmed to a small extent

Symbiosis

• Two organisms living together, or in close proximity

Mutualism

• Both organisms benefit(++)

Commensalism

• One benefits and the other does not care

Recruitment

• Organisms reach a reproductive age

Over-shoot, Population Explosion

• Population grows faster. Surpasses the carrying capacity

Die-back, Crash

• After a population explosion the population will die

Migration

• Any movement of individuals or populations from one location to another.

Demographics

• Any movement of individuals or populations from one location to another

Infrastructure

• The basic facilities of a country

Age Structure Pyramid

• Classification of members of a population into groups according to age or the distribution of the other members of the population

Survivorship

• Percentage of newborn individuals in a population that are expected to survive to a given age

Fertility Rate

• Number of births per year, per 1,000

Life Expectancy

• Average length of time that an individual is expected to live

Arable Land

• Farm land that can be used to grow crops

Urbanization

• People changing areas into (urban) town areas

Biome

• A group of ecosystems that are similar.

Climate

• The average weather over a long period of time

Latitude

• The number of degrees north or south of the equator.

Altitude

• High or low, mountains and or valleys

Tropical Rain Forest

• Rain over 150 cm per year and temperature average above 25 degrees celsius

Emergent Layer

• In a tropical Rain forest the trees that emerge above the canopy layer

Canopy

• In the vertical layers of a forest this layer will range from 25-50 feet

Epiphyte

• A parasitic plant that gets its nourishment from a larger plant

Understory

• In the horizontal layers of a forest the understory are between 5-25 feet tall.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

• A biome that has deciduous tree(lose the leaves at some point)

• Temperate-temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees celsius

Temperate Rain Forest

• A biome with a rain supply of over 150 cm per year. But the average yearly temperature is below 25 degrees celsius

Taiga

• The area with coniferous tree and a yearly temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius

• Can also be called the Boreal, Coniferous,

Savanna

• A wet grassland, a grassland that gets periodic huge amounts of rain.

Temperate Grassland

• Breadbasket of the world

Chaparral

• Temperate shrub land biome that is found in all 5 parts of the world

• Mediterranean Climate

Desert

• An area that has widely scattered vegetation and receives very little rain

Tundra

• Treeless plain located in the Artic or Antarctic that has low winter temperatures and short cool summers

• Vegetation consists of grasses, lichens and perennial herbs

Permafrost

• Permanent frozen soil in the Tundra

Wetland

• Area of land that is underwater and the soil is moist.

Plankton

• Microscopic organisms that float or drift in freshwater and marine environments.

Nekton

• All organisms that swim (independently from currents) in open water.

Benthos

• Organisms that live at the bottom of oceans or bodies of fresh water.

Littoral Zone

• A shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants.

Benthic Zone

• The bottom region of oceans and bodies of fresh water.

Natural Eutrophication

• An increase in the amount of nutrients, such as nitrates, in a marine or aquatic ecosystem.

Artificial Eutrophication

• A process that increases nutrients in a body of water through human activities (ex: waste disposal, land drainage)

Salt Marsh

• A maritime habitat characterized by grasses, sedges and other plants that have adapted to continual, periodic flooding.

• They are found primarily throughout the temperate and subarctic regions.

Mangrove Swamp

• Tropical or subtropical marine swamp that is characterized by the abundance of low to tall trees.

Barrier Island

• A long ridge of sand or narrow island that lies parallel to the shore.

Coral Reef

• Limestone ridge found in tropical climates and composed of coral fragments that are deposited around organic remains.

Surface Water

• All bodies of fresh water, salt water, ice and snow that are found above ground.

River System

• A flowing network of rivers and streams draining a river basin.

Watershed

• The area of land that is drained by a water system.

Groundwater

• The water that is beneath the Earth’s surface.

Aquifer

• A body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the groundwater to flow.

Porosity

• The percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces.

Permeability

• The ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces or pores.

Recharge Zone

• An area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer.

Potable

• Suitable for drinking

Pathogen

• A microorganism, another organism, a virus, or a protein, that causes disease.

Dam

• A structure that is built across a river to control a river’s flow.

Resevoir

• An artificial body of water that usually forms behind a dam.

Desalination

• A process of removing salt from ocean water.

Water Pollution

• Contamination of water by waste matter or other material that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to the water.

Point-Pollution Source

• Pollution that comes from a specific site.

Nonpoint Pollution Source

• Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single specific site.

Wastewater

• Water that contains wastes from homes or industry.

Thermal Pollution

• A temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life.

Biomagnification

• The accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of a food chain

Bioamplification

• Where a pollutant builds up in an individual organism.

Soild Wastes

• A discarded solid material, such as garbage, refuse, or sludges.

Biodegradable

• Material that can be broken down by biological processes.

Municipal Solid Waste

• Waste produced by households and businesses.

Landfill

• An area of land or an excavation where wastes are placed for permanent disposal.

Leachate

• A liquid that has passed through solid waste and has extracted dissolved or suspended materials from that waste, such as pesticides in the soil.

Source Reduction

• Using less of a resource for a common good

Recycling

• The process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap.

Reuse

• Using normally waste products over again before they are sent into the wastestream

Resale

• Buying things used

• Ex: buying used cars, used clothes, used video games

Compost

• The decomposition of natural material that is then used as a topsoil in gardens.

Mulch

• Ground up material that is used a s a ground cover for plants.

• + Conserves water, cuts down weeds, aesthetically pleasing, adds nutrients for plants

• - insects have a hiding place, has a limited lifespan

Hazardous Wastes

• An material that may be corrosive, flammable, carcinogenic, tetragenic, combustible.

Deep-well Injection

• Hazardous materials are liquified and then injected deep into the earths crust

Surface impoundment

• Place where wastes are temporarily place to allow for evaporation to remove the water.

• Artificial Lagoon