Apes Unit 4

• When two continental plates converge, there is no subduction, instead a mountain is built
• Intraplate volcanism or hot spots

  Volcanism that occurs away from a plate boundary, like the Hawaiian islands
• Plate tectonic boundaries

  • Divergent
  • Convergent
  • Transform
• Divergent

  • Spreading, constructive, mid-ocean ridge/rift, volcano activity
• Convergent


  • Subduction, destructive, trench, volcano activity, mountains/island
• Transform

  • Sliding, constructive, earthquakes, no volcano activity, earthquakes
• Ring of fire: Pattern of volcanoes
• Soil horizons

  • O Horizon: Loose and partly decayed organic matter
  • A Horizon: Mineral matter mixed with some humus
  • B Horizon: Accumulation of clay, iron, and aluminum, little to no organic matter
  • C Horizon: Partially altered parent material
• Physical weathering processes

  • Disaggregation and fragmentation of rocks; no chemical alteration
  • Freeze-thaw cycle
  • Temperature changes
  • Salt hydration
  • Pressure release
  • Salt-mineral growth
• Chemical weathering processes

  • Carbonation
  • Oxidation
  • Hydration
  • Hydrolysis
  • Dissolution
• Biological weathering processes

  • Moss
  • Fungi
  • Plant roots
  • Lichens
• Drivers of soil erosion

  • Population growth
  • Urban expansion
  • Diet changes
  • Industrialization
  • Unsustainable agriculture practices
  • Waste disposal
  • Deforestation
  • Climate change
• Consequences of soil erosion

  • Ecosystem and landscape deterioration
  • Food insecurity
  • Climate change
  • Violence
  • Social inequality
  • Poverty
  • Migration
• Soil physical properties

  • Aggregation and structure
  • Surface sealing
  • Compaction
  • Porosity
  • Water movement and availability
• Soil chemical properties

  • pH
  • Soluble salts
  • Sodium
  • Nutrient holding capacity
  • Nutrient availability
• Soil biological properties

  • Macrofauna
  • Microfauna
  • Microorganisms
  • Roots
  • Biological activity
  • Organic matter
• Atmospheric composition

  • 78% nitrogen
  • 21% oxygen
  • 1% miscellaneous gases
• Atmospheric layers

  • Troposphere: Weather occurs; winds occurs
  • Stratosphere: Ozone layer
  • Mesosphere: Meteors burn up
  • Thermosphere: Greatest temperature extremes
• As you move up in the atmosphere, pressure decreases; temperature zig-zags
• Low pressure zones

  Warm, humid air rising
• High pressure zones

  Cool, dry air falling
• Winds help distribute heat from the equator towards the poles
• Things that affect watersheds

  • Impervious surfaces
  • Urban runoff
  • Deforestation
• The Earth's tilt is what caused the seasons
• Angle of sunlight

  Affects how much sunlight the Earth gets
• Solstice get greatest amount or least amount of sunlight
• Equinox: equal amounts of sunlight and nighttime
• La Nina

  stronger than normal trade winds move from East to West, better fisheries in SA due to increased upwelling, hurricanes in Atlantic, worse tornado
• Upwelling

  Areas of ocean where wind blows warm surface water away
• Porosity: how much water a soil sample can hold, sand is less porous than clay
• Permeability: how easily substances pass through.
• Albedo: The fraction of solar radiation that is reflected or absorbed by a surface. High=give of IR and Low=absorb heat
• Equator=low pressure, Hadleys=high pressure
• Coriolis effect: deflects the direction of the wind due to the spin of the earth.
• El Nino: Trade winds weaken and reverse West to East, warm current brings heat and precipitation to America, suppressed upwelling in SA which worsens fisheries, cool and dry conditions in the Pacific
• • Primary Pinonear species: first appearing in an area that hasn’t been colonized by plants (bare rock) (moss and linen)
• • Secondary Pinoear species: appearing in an area that has established soil (grasses and wildflowers)