Enviormental science

• Photosynthesis


  Producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose
• Cellular respiration


  Cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds
• Aerobic respiration


  Cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water
• Anaerobic respiration


  Cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen
• Consumer


  An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as Heterotroph.
• Herbivore


  A consumer that eats producers. Also known as Primary consumer.
• Carnivore


  A consumer that eats other consumers
• Secondary consumer


  A carnivore that eats primary consumers
• Tertiary consumer


  A carnivore that eats secondary consumers
• Trophic levels


  The successive levels of organisms consuming one another
• Food chain


  The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers
• Food web


  A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels
• Scavenger


  An organism that consumes dead animals
• Detritivore


  An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles
• Decomposers


  Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem
• Gross primary productivity (GPP)


  The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time
• Net primary productivity (NPP)

  The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire
• Saturation point


  The maximum amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature
• Adiabatic cooling


  The cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands
• Adiabatic heating


  The heating effect of increased pressure on air as it sinks toward the surface of Earth and decreases in volume
• Latent heat release


  The release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water
• Atmospheric convection current


  Global patterns of air movement that are initiated by the unequal heating of Earth
• Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)


  The latitude that receives the most intense sunlight, which causes the ascending branches of the two Hadley cells to converge
• Polar cell


  A convection current in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60° N and 60° S and sinks at the poles, 90° N and 90° S
• Ferrell cell


  A convection current in the atmosphere that lies between Hadley cells and polar cells
• Coriolis effect


  The deflection of an object's path due to the rotation of Earth
• Rain shadow


  A region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side
• Terrestrial biome


  A geographic region categorized by a particular combination of average annual temperature, annual precipitation, and distinctive plant growth forms on land
• Aquatic biome


  An aquatic region characterized by a particular combination of salinity, depth, and water flow
• Tundra


  A cold and treeless biome with low-growing vegetation
• Permafrost


  An impermeable, permanently frozen layer of soil
• Boreal forest


  A forest biome made up primarily of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons
• Littoral zone


  The shallow zone of soil and water in lakes and ponds where most algae and emergent plants grow
• Limnetic zone


  A zone of open water in lakes and ponds
• Phytoplankton


  Floating algae
• Profundal zone


  A region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes
• Benthic zone


  The muddy bottom of a lake, pond, or ocean
• Oligotrophic


  Describes a lake with a low level of productivity
• Mesotrophic


  Describes a lake with a moderate level of productivity
• Eutrophic


  Describes a lake with a high level of productivity