URGENT

• Lake Effect Snow


  The Great Lakes region experiences high amounts of snowfall due to the prevailing winds picking up moisture from the lakes
• Snow belt area


  • Receives especially high amounts of snowfall, tapering off as you move east
• Rain Shadow Effect


  The windward side of a mountain range receives high precipitation, while the leeward side experiences dry conditions due to the loss of moisture as precipitation on the windward side
• Hadley Cell and Global Wind Patterns

  • Warm air rises at the equator, creating low pressure and rainy conditions
  • Air cools and condenses, causing water vapor to condense and fall as rain
  • Air begins to spread out and sink back down to Earth around 30° north and south, creating high pressure and dry conditions
  • Air flows from high pressure to low pressure, creating global wind patterns
• Rain Shadow Effect


  • The Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, where the western side receives high precipitation and the eastern side experiences dry conditions, leading to the formation of deserts like the Mojave Desert and Death Valley
• El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)


  An oscillation between two extremes: El Niño conditions and La Niña conditions, occurring in the tropical or equatorial Pacific Ocean
• Normal Oceanic Circulation


  1. Trade winds blow warm surface waters from east to west, bringing warm temperatures, low-pressure systems, and rainfall to Australia and Southeast Asia

  2. Upwelling: Cold, oxygen-rich, and nutrient-rich waters move up to the surface to replace the warm surface waters, making for colder, drier conditions along the coast of South America, but also supporting productive fisheries
• ENSO Events (El Niño)


  1. Eastern trade winds weaken and even reverse directions

  2. Warm surface waters pool up along the coast of South America instead of in the west near Australia and Southeast Asia

  3. South America experiences warmer weather, low-pressure systems, and higher-than-average rainfall, potentially leading to flooding and landslides

  4. Southeast Asia and Australia experience colder, drier-than-average weather, potentially leading to drought-like conditions
• The correct order of eras, from most ancient to most recent, along the geological time scale is. Precambrian - mesozoic - paleozoic - cenozoic.
• Reservoirs


  Temporary storage sites for carbon, such as the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems
• Sources


  Processes that move carbon between reservoirs, such as photosynthesis and respiration
• Nitrogen cycle


  One of the most critical biogeochemical cycles for life on Earth
• Sinks


  Reservoirs that take in more carbon than they give off, such as long-lived plants and sediments
• Nitrogen cycle


  • Characterized by two key differences
• The Carbon Cycle


  • Reservoirs
  • Sources
  • Sinks
• Phosphorus Cycle


  Another critical biogeochemical cycle
• Nitrogen fixation


  The process of converting unusable nitrogen (N2) into a usable form, such as ammonia or nitrate
• The atmosphere is a critical carbon reservoir, and the amount of carbon it stores determines Earth's global climate
• Biologically unavailable


  The nitrogen in the atmosphere is in an unusable form for plants and animals due to the strong triple bond between nitrogen atoms
• Photosynthesis


  Takes carbon out of the atmosphere
• Phosphorus Cycle


  • No gas phase: Phosphorus does not have a gas phase, unlike carbon and nitrogen
  • Rocks and sediments: The major phosphorus reservoirs are rocks and sediments that contain phosphorus-based minerals
• Water Cycle


  1. Evaporation

  2. Condensation

  3. Precipitation

  4. Infiltration

  5. Transpiration
• Respiration


  Returns carbon to the atmosphere
• Weathering


  The breakdown of rocks by processes like wind, rain, and freezing and thawing of water, which releases phosphate ions
• Nitrogen fixation


  • The most critical step in the nitrogen cycle
• Primary productivity is the rate of photosynthesis in a given area. It is a critical component of the energy cycle in ecosystems.
• Extraction and combustion of fossil fuels


  Return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to climate change
• Nitrogen fixation


  The process of converting N2 into a usable form, such as ammonia or nitrate
• Evaporation


  The process of water evaporating from a body of water, such as a lake or river, into the atmosphere
• Erosion


  The process of phosphorus and sediments being carried from one place to another through runoff or wind transport
• Bacteria


  Have specialized enzymes that can break apart the strong triple bonds and pair up nitrogen atoms with hydrogens, forming ammonia
• Phosphorus Limitation


  Phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, meaning that plants have all the other necessary nutrients except for phosphorus
• NPP = GPP - RL
• Condensation


  The process of water vapor in the air condensing into liquid water, forming clouds
• Rhizobacteria


  Symbiotic bacteria that live in the root nodules of plants, such as legumes
• Precipitation


  The process of water falling from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface, such as rain or snow
• Other ways nitrogen can be fixed


  • Lightning strikes
  • Fossil fuel combustion
• Infiltration


  The process of precipitation or surface water seeping into the soil and becoming groundwater
• Ammonification


  The process of converting ammonia into nitrate
• Transpiration


  The process of water leaving the stomata of plants and entering the atmosphere as a gas phase