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Geography Final Study Guide

Terms

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How fast are the winds of the jet stream?
up to 230 mph
Intense heat and pressure "cooks" rock and changes mineral structure
Metamorphic
When energy is transferred from one thing to another through contact (burning yourself on the stove; tongue on cold metal)
Conduction
Categories of electromagnetic radiation from shortest to longest
Gamma Rays, X-Rays, Ultraviolet, Visible, Near Infrared, Shortwave Infrared, Middle Infreared, Microwaves, Radio Waves
Caused by fertilizers and septic runoff, causes "blue baby" syndrome in infants and fatigue and kidney problems in adults
Nitrates
Areas where lithosphere breaks
Faults
Radiation bouncing off an object
Reflection
----><------, subduction zones
Convergent
Probability of a flood happening every ___ years
Recurrance Interval
What causes ocean currents?
Coriolis Effect
Transfer of heat by the mass movement of a fluid
Convection/Advection
Mid-latitude wave cycone Stage 4
Dissolves (no more lifting of air= no clouds= falls apart
Our plate
North America Plate
Examples of Metamorphic rocks
Limestone --> marble, shale --> slate
Minerals, Organic matter, water, air spaces
Soil
Rigid part of the earth, includes crust and uppermost mantle
Lithosphere
Soil Formation
Parent material (rock substrate soil is formed from), Relief (steel or flat; flat=more fertile), Organisms (organic matter), Climate, Time
Primary waves (pressure waves)
P Waves
Pacific Ocean Plate
Pacific Plate
Average soil formation rate
1 inch/ 100 years; 1 ton/ hectare/year
Heat that is absorbed/released during a phase change
Latent Heat
What direction do pressure areas rotate in Southern Hemisphere?
High: Counterclockwise, Low: clockwise
Upfaulted bock
horst
The plate subducting under us
Juan de Fuca Plate
Warm and moist air
Maritime Tropical- hurricanes
Earth's layers
Core, mantle, crust (like a peach)
Eye wall of the hurricane =
violent weather
Is a storm an area of H or L pressure?
L
Erosion of soil worldwisd
24 tons/ hectare/ year
Percentage of gasses in the atmosphere: Nitrogen
78%
A measure of mass of water vapor in the air (mass/mass)
Specific Humidity
Relative Humidity
Water Vapor Content/Water Vapor Capacity x100
Lower elevation clouds
Stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus
Fog over bodies of water, common in fall
Evaporation Fog
What direction pressure areas rotate in Northern Hemisphere?
High: Clockwise, Low: counterclockwise
Where do hurricanes form/
Over warm oceans (~80F)
Has an aquiclude above and below; associated with artesian wells
Confined aquifer
High pressure on a mountain travels towards low pressure in a valley (in the evening)
Mountain Breeze
Faults that slide side-by-side, San Andreas Fault
Transform Faults
Visible light comes through the atmosphere easily, some is absorbed, but some is bounced back as infrared radiation, which cannot get through the atmosphere easily
Greenhouse Effect
Oregon coastal fog, wind driven off ocean towards land, hits cold water currents and reaches dew point (needs wind!)
Advection Fog
Major causes of increased CH4 in atmosphere
Livestock, Rice, Melting of permafrost
Warm air goes over cold air; lighter, longer precipitation
Warm Front
Local wind type, generated by high pressure over the Great Basin of the Western US
Santa Ana Winds
downfaulted block
graben
The area at the surface directly above the focus
epicenter
Mid-latitude wave cyclone Stage 1
Develop Low Pressure Area
Phase out and ban ozone depeleting chemicals
Montreal Protocol 1987
What is causing carbon dioxide levels to increase?
Greenhouse Effect
Cools at earth's surface; small mineral crystals; cools fast
Extrusive
Hot body of magma under surface pushig upward (Hawai'i, Yellowstone Park)
Hotspots
Yong crust, where it is formed
Mid-ocean ridge
On average, how long do tornadoes last?
5-10 minutes (but up to 7.5 hours)
Dates and locations of 90 degree sun angle for: summer solstice
June 21, tropic of cancer
Rise in sea level near the eye of a hurricane; up to 23 feet
Storm surge
Where is the ozone layer?
Stratosphere
What causes localized areas of low pressure?
Rising air
Partiall melted (flows), below lithosphere, in upper mantl
Asthenosphere
CO2 is what percent responsible for changes in climate?
64
The temperature at which the air cannot hold anymore water vapor
Dew Point Temperature
Percent of water used for Industry
23
Formed from magma/lava; looking/solidification of lava/magma
Igneous
What's the problem with the Ogallala Aquifer?
Depletion
Vertical movement of air
Convection
Formation of the solar system: Where did the material come from?
Nebula
Lense shape cloud, associated with mountains, don't move
Lenticular
CH4 is what percent responsible for changes in climate?
19
Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens; has lava and tephra (ash --> rocks)
Composite Volcano
Negative consequences of overusing groundwater
Run out, drill deeper wells (h20 table drops), expensive, dry up wetlands, land collapses
Atmospheric lifting where cold front makes warm air rise
Frontal uplift
Examples of sedimentary rocks
Sandstone, shale (mud)
CFCs and Nitrous Oxide are what percent responsible for changes in climate?
17
what percent of the earth is crust
<1
Fault -----><-------
Reverse Fault
What time of day are tornadoes most common?
Late afternoon (4-6 pm)
Major greenhouse gasses
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Ozone, Nitrous Oxide, Water, CFCs
Good conductor
Metal
Measure of the percent of incoming radiation reflected by an object
Albedo
Horizontal movement of air
Advection
What percent of the earth is mantle?
80
What percentage of US drinking water comes from groundwater?
50%
Clay rich soil, not fertile
B Horizon Soil
High precipitation =
monsoon
How much more groundwater is there than fresh surface water?
70x
Each step up on the Richter scale is how many times bigger in wave amplitude?
10
Land surface loses heat, temperature drops (conditions- calm, clear night)
Radiation Fog
Hot and dry air
continental Tropical- heat waves
The heat you sense
Sensible Heat
Why are urban environments warmer than rural environments?
Less evaporation, Less wind, more absorption
Large mass that will stop water from flowing out over flood plains
Levees and Dikes
Evidence of plate tectonics
Puzzle pieces, fossiles, Age and magnetism of seafloor
"horse tail" cloud
Cirrus
Pressure and cement of sediment grains
Sedimentary
Impermeable layer in an aquifer
Aquiclude
Poor conductors
Styrofoa, air, wood
Major cause of increased CO2 in atmosphere
Burning fossil fuels
A well that flows without pumping
Artesian well
Radiation traveling through atmosphere
Transmission
Oldest crust recycles back to mantle at a ______ ______
subduction zone
High pressure off the ocean travels towards low pressure on land (in the afternoon)
Sea Breeze
Underwater islands
Seamounts
What is the cause of the seasons?
The angle at which the sun hits the earth
Cold and dry air- associated with
Continental Polar- Cold waves
Fog that travels up mountains and accumulates at the top of mountains
Upslope Fog
High pressure in a valley travels towards low pressure on a mountain (in the afternoon)
Valley Breeze
Dates and locations of 90 degree sun angle: fall equinox
September 21, equator
This wavelength has a hard time getting through atmosphere
Infrared Radiation
Mid-latitude wave cyclone Stage 3
Occluded front
Uppermost level of the zone of saturation
water table
This wavelength gets through atmosphere easily
Visible
The part in the earth where the earthquake started
Focus
Formation of the solar system: How old is the earth?
4.5 Billion years
What are CFCs used for?
Refrigeration, Electronic Manufacturing
How do we predict volcanic eruptions?
Earthquakes, SO2, Swelling of Ground
Date/definition of perihelion
January 4, sun is closest to the sun (has nothing to do with seasons)
Fluid lava, very large, not steep
Shield Volcano
At what date do we expect the ozone hole to be "healed"?
2100
Fluid Lava =
not many explosions (water)
Dates and locations of 90 degree sun angle: winter solstice
December 21, Tropic of capricorn
Percentage of gasses in the atmosphere: Oxygen
20%
Three driving forces in our atmosphere
Pressure gradient, coriolis effect, friction force
Top soil, most fertile, 2-18" deep
A Horizon Soil
What direction do moving objects move in Northern Hemisphere?
Curve right
The ogallala aquifer runs through the great plains, which states?
South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas
Stratus means
layer
Factors Affecting Earth's Temperature
Latitude, Cloud Cover, Altitude, Marine/Continental Climate
Halo around the sun (and moon)
Cirrostratus
Nothing impedes water flow from surface to aquifer
Unconfined aquifer
Cools under earth's surface; large crystals; cools slow
Intrusive
Erosion of soil in the US
17 tons/ hectare/ year
nimbus means
violent rain
Percent of water used for agriculture
69
Used to tell the directions of wind in clouds (are they spinning?); 20 minutes before funnel cloud
Doppler Radar
Cumulus means
heap
Atmospheric lifting where warm air rises
Convectional uplift
What starts the initial rotation of winds in a tornado?
Windshear (fast moving air over slow moving air starts horizontal rotation of air)
cirrus means
curl of hair
Secondary waves (shear waves); cannot go through liquids
S Waves
By-product of drinking water chlorination; affects liver, kidneys, and may cause cancer
trihalomethanes
What type of cloud is associated with thunderstorms?
Cumulonimbus
Bending of light
Refraction
Grey clouds, uniform, boring, no precipitation, maybe a little mist
Stratus
The Richter Scale measures what?
Wave Amplitude, Energy
High pressure off the land travels towards low pressure on the ocean (in the evening)
land breeze
Each step up on the Richter Scale is how many times bigger in energy?
31.5
What causes breakdown of the ozone layer?
CFCs
Mid elevation clouds
Altostratus, Altocumulus
<----- ----->, mid ocean ridges
Divergent
Atmospheric lifting at ITCZ zone
Convergent uplift
Plates sliding past each other, San Andreas Fault, CA
Transform
Large, intrusive igneous body; forms mountain ranges
Batholith
Eye of the hurricane =
calm
How are raindrops formed?
Collision and Coalescence (2 water droplets collie and make a bigger one)
What month is #1 for tornadoes?
May (5/day on average)
What percent of the earth is core?
20
Caused by household plumbing and rock; retards physical and mental development
Lead
What is the primary source of oxygen in our atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
Divides cold polar air from warmer subtropical air
Polar Jet Stream
Percentage of gasses in the atmosphere: Carbon Dioxide
<1%
How do we know the earth is put together by these layers?
Seismic waves (seismology)
Properties of an aquifer which make it productive
Porosity (Large porosity for holding h20 eg sand), High permeability
Examples of igneous rocks
Basalt, Granite
Mid-latitude wave cyclone Stage 2
Open Stage (cold and warm front, separate)
Average diameter of a tornado at ground
100-300 meters (largest= 2.5 miles)
What type of phenomea produces sky color?
Scattering of blue light
Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate
6C/1000m
How warm is Earth likely to get by 2100?
10.4 F
An area of ground water that can be utilized
Aquifer
Atmospheric lifiting over a mountain
orographic uplift
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
10C/1000m
High elevation clouds
Cirrocumulus, Cirrus, Cirrostratus
Percent of water used for Domestic/Municipal
9
Jetstream at 25-30 lat
Subtropical Jet Stream
Dates and locations of 90 degree sun angle: Spring Equinox
March 21, equator
Cool and moist air
Maritime Polar- Pacific NW winter
What type of phenomena produces rainbows?
Reflection and Refraction
Cold front overtakes a warm front (cold frons move faster than warm fronts); intense rain and snow
Occluded Front
Where surfect water is swept away from a coast, either by surface divergence (induced by the Coriolis force) or by offshore wins, an ______ ______ occurs
Upwelling Current
Viscous Lavas =
large, exposive eruption (blowing in a milkshake with a straw)
Cold air rams into warm air, makes warm air rise; makes storms
Cold Front
Date/definition of aphelion
July 4, sun is farthest away from the sun (has nothing to do with seasons)
The apparent temperature felt on exposed skin, which is a function of the air temperature and wind speed
Wind Chill
It takes lightening ___ seconds to travel 1 mile
5
Energy is absorbed, then re-radiated in all directions
Scattering
What direction do moving objects move in Southern Hemisphere
Curve left
Fault <----- ------>, upfaults and down faults, middle= down, Seen in Nevada!
Normal Fault
Jetstream at 33-55 lat
Polar Jet Stream

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