ExtraQuestions_Shaun Walker

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Shorter University *

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150

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Geography

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Oct 30, 2023

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Page 1 of 6 1. System - A group or combination of regularly interacting and interdependent elements, which form a collective entity, but one that is more than the sum of its constituents. 2. Storage - Storages are where energy or matter remains as stock or storages 3. Flow - the water provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated or where energy or matter move between storages (inputs and outputs). 4. Gradient - the incline, slope or degree of increase in some measure (such as temperature, pressure or even color) that develops as one moves in time, position or along some scale. 5. Homeostasis - the property of either an open system or a closed system, especially a living organism, that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition. 6. Set point - the desired value in a closed-loop feedback system, as in regulation of temperature or pressure. 7. Disturbance - An episode of destruction of some part of a community or ecosystem. 8. System properties:  stability - refers to the disturbances a system faces.  resistance - the capacity of an ecosystem to regain its fundamental structure, processes, and functioning (or remain largely unchanged) despite stresses, disturbances, or invasive species  resilience - Resilience is the ability of a system to maintain certain functions, processes, or populations after experiencing a disturbance 9. Positive relationship - a relationship between two variables in which both variables move in the same direction. 10. Negative relationship - A negative correlation is a relationship between two variables in which an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other. 11. Independent variable - the variable that is manipulated throughout the course of the experiment. 12. Dependent variable - the variable by which we measure change in response to the independent variable. 13. Positive feedback loop - occurs when the effects of an original change are amplified or accelerated to produce a 'snowballing' effect. 14. Negative feedback loop - occurs when the effects of an initial change are 'damped out' by subsequent

Page 2 of 6 changes, with the result that the system reverts to its original condition. 15. Natural selection - A mechanism of evolution, favoring individuals that, for genetically based reasons, are better adapted to coping with environmental opportunities and constraints. 16. Fitness - The proportional contribution of an individual to the progeny of its population. 17. Variance - The portion of phenotypic variance that is due to differences in the environments to which the individuals in a population have been exposed. 18. Genetic variation - the differences between organisms caused by alternate forms of DNA. 19. Complexity of a system - a system composed of many components which may interact with each other. 20. Hierarchy – levels in the ecosystem; the way in which every ecological component interacts with each other. 21. Time lags - the rebalancing of a system following a change, such as the loss of habitat or the creation of new habitat. The period of time between two closely related events, phenomena, 22. Distance effect - the pattern that islands far from a mainland host fewer species because fewer species tend to find and colonize it. 23. Linear vs nonlinear relationship – linear relationship means a small change in the driver is assumed to cause an equally small ecological response, while a in nonlinear relationship small changes in a driver can create a disproportionately large ecological response. 24. Stochastic behavior - unpredictable spatiotemporal fluctuation in environmental conditions. 25. Adaptation - a trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce. 26. Scientific method - a method of research with defined steps that include experiments and careful observation 27. Hypothesis - A proposed explanation for the occurrence or causes of natural phenomena. Scientists formulate hypotheses as statements and test them through experiments and other forms of research. See also fact. 28. Theory - a carefully thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using the scientific method, and which brings together many facts and hypotheses. 29. Natural law - an observable law relating to natural phenomena 30. Reductionist approach vs integrated systems approach – In the reductionist approach the behavior of biological systems can be explained by the properties of components while in the integrated system approach insisted that biological systems have emergent properties that only can have a system as a whole and not its constituent parts.

Page 3 of 6 31. Scenario analysis - is a useful tool to facilitate discussions about the main trends of future change and to promote the understanding of global environmental changes implications on relevant aspects of sustainability. 32. Simulation models - is a problem-solving method where problems are solved not by experimentation with real world systems but by experiments using models of real-world objects. 33. Photosphere - the portion of the atmosphere where we are able to measure with some confidence the magnetic field that pervades the Sun outer layers. The visible photosphere, or sphere of light, is the level of the solar atmosphere from which we get our light and heat, and it is the part that we can see with our eyes. 34. Solar constant - the quantity of radiant solar energy received at the outer layer of the earth's atmosphere that has a mean value of 1370 watts per square meter 35. Radiation balance - the algebraic sum of the incoming and outgoing components of radiation 36. Scatter - occurs when light or other energy waves pass through an imperfect medium, such as air filled with particles of some sort, and are deflected from a straight path 37. Reflection - occurs when incoming solar radiation bounces back from an object or surface that it strikes in the atmosphere, on land, or water, and is not transformed into heat. 38. Absorption - one substance taking up another at its surface 39. Albedo - The proportion of incoming solar radiation that is reflected by the Earth, commonly expressed as a percentage. 40. Convection cell (circulation cells) - is a system in which a fluid is warmed, loses density and is forced into a region of greater density. 41. Equatorial low – pressure trough; area is in the Earth's equatorial region (0°-10° North and South) and is composed of warm, light, ascending and converging air. 42. Subtropical high – pressure cells; located between 20° N/S and 35°N/S this is a zone of hot, dry air that forms as the warm air descending from the tropics becomes hotter. 43. Trade winds - a wind blowing steadily towards the equator from the northeast in the northern hemisphere or the southeast in the southern hemisphere, especially at sea. Two belts of trade winds encircle the earth, blowing from the tropical high-pressure belts to the low-pressure zone at the equator. 44. Hadley cell - a large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at medium latitudes, typically about 30° north or south. 45. Ferrell cell - An atmospheric cell lying between the Polar cell and the Hadley cell. It transfers warm air to high latitudes and shifts cold air back to the subtropics, where it is warmed.

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Page 4 of 6 46. Polar cell - A weak meridional circulation in the high-latitude troposphere characterized by ascending motion in the subpolar latitudes (50°–70°), descending motion over the pole, poleward motion aloft, and equatorward motion near the surface. 47. Coriolis effect - An influence of Earth’s west-to-east rotation, which makes winds in the Northern Hemisphere deflect to the right and those in the Southern Hemisphere to the left. 48. Orographic precipitation - Precipitation associated with hilly or mountainous terrain that forces moisture-laden air to rise in altitude and become cooler, causing water vapour to condense into droplets that precipitate as rain or snow. 49. Specific heat - the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance 1 degree Celsius (°C). 50. Temperature profile - describes the characteristics in temperature, composition, density and movement of atmospheric layers and how temperature of something changes as a function of distance. 51. Thermocline - a steep temperature gradient in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures. 52. Temperature of water at highest density - As water cools it becomes more dense. At 39°F (or 3.98°C to be exact) water is the most dense. This is because the molecules are closest together at this temperature. 53. Ekman transport - the net motion of fluid as the result of a balance between Coriolis and turbulent drag forces. 54. Gyre - Large, circular ocean current systems that often encompass an entire ocean basin. 55. Thermohaline circulation - deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. 56. Upwellings - Where deeper waters come to the surface, occurs in the Pacific Ocean along the S. America coast. Provides nutrients for microscopic algae, which support a complex food web. Weakens considerably during years with El Nino events 57. El Nino event - During an El Niño event, the surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer than usual. That change is intimately tied to the atmosphere and to the winds blowing over the vast Pacific. 58. La Nina event - During La Niña events, trade winds are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface. These cold waters in the Pacific push the jet stream northward. This tends to lead to drought in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. 59. Lithosphere - An approximately 80-km thick region of rigid, relatively light rocks that surround Earth’s

Page 5 of 6 plastic mantle. 60. Earth structure: crust, mantle, core  crust - This is the outside layer of the earth and is made of solid rock, mostly basalt and granite. There are two types of crust; oceanic and continental.,  mantle - The mantle lies below the crust and is up to 2900 km thick. It consists of hot, dense, iron and magnesium-rich solid rock.,  core - The core is the center of the earth and is made up of two parts: the liquid outer core and solid inner core. The outer core is made of nickel, iron and molten rock. 61. Rock cycle - consists of a series of constant processes through which Earth materials change from one form to another over time. 62. Igneous rock - Rock such as basalt and granite, formed by cooling of molten magma. 63. Sedimentary rock - Rock formed from precipitated minerals such as calcite, or from lithified particles eroded from other rocks such as sandstone, shale, and conglomerates. 64. Metamorphic rock - Rock formed from igneous or sedimentary rocks that have changed in structure under the influences of geological heat and pressure. 65. Weathering - Physical and chemical processes by which rocks and minerals are broken down by such environmental agents as rain, wind, temperature changes, and biological influences. 66. Erosion - The physical removal of rocks and soil through the combined actions of flowing water, wind, ice, and gravity. 67. Continental drift - a slow movement of the continents on a deep-seated viscous zone within the earth 68. Alfred Wegner - German meteorologist and geophysicist who formulated the first complete statement of the continental drift theory and hypothesis. 69. Abraham Ortelius - He is known as the inventor of the atlas - a book bringing maps together in one format and with the same display - and was the first person to discover continental drift. 70. Subduction – a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries and occurs when two plates collide at a convergent boundary, and one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth's interior. 71. Ridges in the ocean - This ridge system includes the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge, Carlsberg Ridge, Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, and the East Pacific Rise.

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