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Coggle Unit 3, Coggle Unit 2, UNIT 2 (chapter 5-9), UNIT 3 (chapter 10-14)…
Coggle Unit 3
Chapter 10 – The Hydrologic Cycle
What are the different components of the hydrologic cycle? How does each component relate to one another?
Circulation and movement through different areas and phases across our planet
Hydrologic Cycle • Cycle is driven by the sun
Hydrology: the branch of environmental science that deals with water properties, its movement, and distribution on earth
How does the hydrologic cycle relate to global climate change?
Remember the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?
Stated “… a changing climate can modify all elements of the water cycle, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, groundwater recharge, and runoff. It can also change both the timing and intensity of precipitation, snowmelt, and runoff.”
How do adhesion and cohesion differ from one another?
Adhesion: the action or process of adhering to a surface or object.
Cohesion: the action or fact of forming a united whole.
How do infiltration and runoff differ?
Infiltration:
Soaked into ground
by infiltration
Percolates and recharges groundwater and aquifers
Runoff:
Surface runoff into
surface waterbodies
Surface Water: ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, etc.
Infiltration to runoff
ratio
High ratio = water recharging aquifers and is purified
Low ratio = water movement toward ocean – not as usable
How does our water use differ from use in developing nations? What is the greatest use of water worldwide?
Developing Countries: 90% of this wastewater is
released back to surface waters
Irrigation (70%) --- 2. Industry (20%) --- 3. Direct Human Use (10%)
What are aquifers?
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology
What different reserves of water are found on earth? How are abundant are they?
Saltwater 97.5% --- Polar ice caps and glaciers 1.7% --- Accessible freshwater 0.77%
How can we use gray water in our everyday lives?
toilet flushing and for irrigating our yards and gardens.
Be able to describe how Hadley Cells produce rainforests and deserts.
a pattern of atmospheric circulation in which warm air rises near the equator, cools as it travels poleward at high altitude, sinks as cold air, and warms as it travels equatorward
How do rain shadows affect the climate of a given area?
A rain shadow is a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. ... In a rain shadow, it's warm and dry. On the other side of the mountain, it's wet and cool.
How do water quality and quantity differ?
Water quantity
is the timing and total yield of water from a watershed, and is measured by total yield and peak flow over a specified period of time
Water quality
is the suitability of water for drinking, recreational uses, and as habitat for aquatic organisms and other wildlife
How do clouds form and produce precipitation?
Precipitation forms in the clouds when water vapor condenses into bigger and bigger droplets of water. ... These particles, called “condensation nuclei,” provide a surface for water vapor to condense upon. This helps water droplets gather together and become large enough to fall to the Earth.
What is saltwater intrusion and how can we fix this issue?
Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation, including drinking water sources, and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion can naturally occur in coastal aquifers, owing to the hydraulic connection between groundwater and seawater.
One key to controlling saltwater intrusion is to maintain the proper balance between water being pumped from an aquifer and the amount of water recharging it. Constant monitoring of the salt-water interface is necessary in determining the proper management technique.
What are the major issues related to water?
(1) Provision of safe drinking water. (2) Water requirements for further agricultural, hydroelectric and industrial developments. (3) Sustainability of water development projects. (4) Development of water resources shared by two or more states.
Chapter 14 – Fossil Fuels and Energy
Know basic information about power generation and turbogenerators.
Electricity generation is the process of generating electricity from primary energy sources, such as coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, or wind energy. The power plant generator is a device that converts mechanical energy obtained from an external source into electrical energy as the output.
A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also used by steam-powered turbo-electric ships.
Brownouts and blackouts commonly occur during what time of day and season?
How to prevent brown/blackouts? --- Smart grid --- Smart appliances --- Smart buildings
Commonly occur during the middle of the day during the summer months
Know about hydraulic fracturing and oil recovery processes.
Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.
Oil Sands • Commercial development has begun • Bitumen • Extensive environmental damage
• Recovery methods: • Primary • Secondary • Enhanced
• Oil Shale • Mostly undeveloped until oil prices rise greatly • Kerogen • 1 ton of oil shale = 1 barrel of oil
Be able to describe fossil fuel formation.
Heat and pressure over a long period of time
After millions of years underground, the compounds that make up plankton and plants turn into fossil fuels. Plankton decomposes into natural gas and oil, while plants become coal.
Which type of fossil fuel is most tied with conflicts in the Middle East?
OIL
What is mountaintop mining used for?
Mountaintop mining is a practice where the tops of mountains are removed, allowing for almost complete recovery of coal seams while reducing the number of workers required to a fraction of what conventional methods require.
Know how bitumen and kerogen oil differ from one another.
Bitumen = Oils Sands
Kerogen = Oil Shale
What are the types of coal combustion byproducts?
• Coal combustion products – material formed
during combustion of coal for electricity
Bottom ash --- Boiler slag --- Flue gas desulfurization material --- Fly ash (Ingredient in soil modification and/or
stabilization)
What are the consequences of coal, natural gas, and oil?
Fossil fuel development can also leak toxic substances into the soil and drinking water sources, causing cancer, birth defects and liver damage.
Particulates, which contribute to smog, haze, and respiratory illnesses and lung disease. Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the primary greenhouse gas produced from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas)
Chemically, coal is mostly carbon, which, when burned, reacts with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas. ... Consequences of global warming include drought, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather, and species loss.
How do demand and supply side energy policies differ?
Demand-side policies regulate the combustion of fossil fuels.
Supply-side policies regulate exploration and extraction of fossil fuels.
What is the most commonly used fossil fuel?
COAL
Chapter 11 – Soils
What are the functions of soil organic matter?
Organic – derived from plants
Organic matter content > can hold nutrients
What is soil texture?
Soil texture is a classification instrument used both in the field and laboratory to determine soil classes based on their physical texture. Soil texture can be determined using qualitative methods such as texture by feel, and quantitative methods such as the hydrometer method based on Stokes' law.
What do plant require from soils for growth?
Need an adequate supply of nutrients and CEC --- 2. Adequate water holding --- 3. Aeration (loamy textures are best) --- 4. Near neutral pH (may need to lime) --- 5. Low salt content (phytotoxic)
What are the major functions of soil?
Medium for plant growth --- 2. Engineering medium --- 3. Organism habitat --- 4. Recycles nutrients and water --- 5. Water purification --- 6. Modifier of Atmosphere
Explain soil erosion and prevention
erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location
Contour strip cropping: alternating crops along lines of equal elevation (contour)
Crop rotation: e.g. growing crops, such as corn, every third year with hay and clover in between
Cover crops: crops that provide surface cover and other soil benefits
Change tillage practices
What are some issues related to soil and their causes?
Erosion Types: Wind and Water (Splash • Sheet • Rill • Gully)
One of most destructive occurrences throughout world – Destroys civilizations • Causes: Wind and Water
Soil degradation not only related to agriculture 1. Construction 2. Industry/mining
What are soils typically composed of?
Soil Forming Factors: Parent Material
Parent Material: transports and breaks down to form soil
Organic – derived from plants ----- 2. Geologic – rocks/minerals
Explain the Keita Project.
Keita Project was established by the Italian
government
Targeted soil degradation caused by overpopulation
Helped alleviate food insecurity and desertification
Management took years and eventually worked
What are the five soil forming factors?
(1)Climate (2)Biota (3) Parent material (4) Topography (5) Time *Bonus factor – Culture/Human activity
What soil orders are found in NJ?
Spodosols and Ultisols
What are the different soil horizons?
E Horizon This eluviation (leaching) layer is light in color; It is made up mostly of sand and silt, having lost most of its minerals and clay as water drips through the soil
B Horizon Also called the subsoil, It contains clay and mineral deposits
A Horizon The layer called topsoil
C Horizon Also called regolith: It consists of slightly broken up bedrock. Plant roots do not penetrate into this layer; very little organic material is found in this layer.
O Horizon The top, organic layer of soil, made up mostly of leaf litter and humus (decomposed organic matter)
R Horizon The unweather rock (bedrock) layer that is beneath all the other layers. Bedrock is made up of igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock
Oats Always Eats Bad Cereal Regularly
Chapter 12 – The Production and Distribution of Food
How do transgenic vs. marker-assisted breeding differ.
– Transgenic – gene taken from completely different
organism
– Marker-assisted breeding – traditional breeding sped up using molecular biological techniques
Roundup ready crops?
Disadvantage / Con to GMOs
Super weeds (Roundup ready
crops)
What are GMOs? What are the different types? How do they relate to the “Precautionary Principle”?
– Transgenic – gene taken from completely different
organism
– Marker-assisted breeding – traditional breeding sped up using molecular biological techniques
Genetically modified organism (GMO): organism receiving genes from other organism by genetic (transgenic) engineering
“Precautionary Principle” - taking preventive action in the face of uncertainty
People are judging the use of it before it is established
What are the types of deficiencies people face in developing nations that are related to agriculture and food supply? What are some reasons why?
Food Security
Undernourishment: lack of adequate food for
energy
Malnutrition: lack of essential nutrients
Hunger: lack of basic food required to provide
energy and to meet nutritional needs.
Over-nourishment: eating too much
What revolutions were most related to agriculture and food supply?
The Neolithic Revolution—also referred to as the Agricultural Revolution—is thought to have begun about 12,000 years ago.
What does sustainable agriculture look like? + What are the farming conservation methods discussed in class?
--- maximize biodiversity --- use less land --- eat local --- crop rotation --- no till --- reduce pesticide input --- reduce synthetic fertilizer input --- good GMOs that are not evil --- sustainable machinery --- stop subsidizing water
How do subsistence and modern farming differ?
Substance Farming:
Farmers live close to the edge (Poor and cannot survive crop failures) - (Common in: Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa) - (Many depend on imported food and prices are soaring)
Modern Agriculture:
--1. Modern machinery --2. Infrastructure --3. Chemicals --4. Irrigation --5. Expansive land --6. Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
What are some of the problems with conventional agriculture?
Conventional agriculture causes increased greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, water pollution, and threatens human health.
Coggle Unit 2
The Human Population + 9. Population and Development
What are population profiles and what do they tell us?
Population profiles: bar graph depicting age structure of
males and females in a population
Use census data to prepare -/- High (Sweden) vs. low income (Burkina Faso) nations’ population profiles are very different
Discuss what population momentum tells us about the future population of a nation.
Population Momentum – current age
structure effect on future populations
• Positive momentum = Burkina Faso or other low income nations • Negative momentum = throughout Europe and Japan
What is the IMPACT or IPAT formula and what does it tell us? How does affluence affect our environment? What about impoverishment? Both have impacts but they are usually different.
• Formula for human impact on environment: I = P x A x T
Population (P), affluence and consumption patterns (A), and technology in society (T)
(Due to wealth) -/- (Small population = large impact) – (Stewardship in developed countries > can moderate environmental impacts)
Define total fertility rate (TFR) and how it applies to replacement-level fertility. Which countries have the highest TFR?
Total fertility rate (TFR): average # of children
a woman has over her lifetime
Replacement-level fertility: fertility rate replacing population of parents (2.1 for high income countries) (Higher in low-income countries (child mortality))
What are the different phases of the demographic transition? What phase are we in? What phase are most developing countries in?
Demographic Transition
– Birth and death rates
Epidemiologic Transition: discovery of modern
medicine, death rates have decreased dramatically (we are in this phase)
Fertility Transition: reproduction decrease in low
income countries.
What is the link between poverty (per capita income of a nation) and fertility rates?
Countries with poverty tend to have higher fertility rates. And opposite for higher income nations which tend to have lower fertidity rate.
What are the components of the demographic transition? How do countries move through the demographic transition?
Demographic Transition
– Birth and death rates
Countries tend to start with Fertility Transition and lead to Epidemiologic Transition
What are the environmental and social consequences of rapid population growth in rural, developing nations? Developed?
(overconsumption of resources) -/- (focus more on life than environment) -/- (some cases similar to poverty trap)
What factors lead to smaller families? Large families?
• Intensifying cultivation - Small farms cannot support
families (can lead to families having more kids to support farm or little to ensure their survival)
Larger families + more of need to use
marginal land - Poor soils/farming
(Smaller families tend to be more rich and comfortable in life who tend not to worry about survival) -/- (Big families can be poor and ensure survival of children by having more kids to support each other)
Describe the different revolutions that have promoted population growth. How did they result in growth?
Medical Revolution: treatments / medicines to cure diseases > decrease death rates
Green Revolution: After WW II > chemical peptides/ fertilizers / GMO / crop breeding
Industrial Revolution: fossil fuels / electricity > farm more land and have more time
Environmental Revolution: robotics / green nanotech - reduce environmental foot print and stabilize population
Neolithic Revolution: 12k years ago / hunter-gather > fathers > crops/livestock
Describe the poverty trap.
Poverty > Environmental Degradation> High Fertility > . . .
(dwindling resources divided among more people) - (lack of contraceptive) - (overusing resources for survival)
What is the estimated carrying capacity for humans?
7.6 Billion
What is the demographic dividend and how does this relate to a dependency ratio?
Demographic dividend - dependency ratio
Ratio of nonworking to working age population
Important for low income countries
What is demography?
Demography: field of collecting, compiling, and presenting information about human populations
Researchers who study this is a demographers
The Value, Use, and Restoration of Ecosystems
What are the conclusions noted from the Global Forest Resource Assessment?
2005 forest over 30% of total land area --- 2. Deforestation rate 7.3 million HA/yr --- 3. Used for production of wood --- 4. 13.5% nation parks or reserves (increasing) --- 5. Role in climate change --- 6. Insects and pests are increasing forest damage
Name and describe forms of forest system management. What are sustainable strategies for this?
Clear-cutting (even) / uneven cutting (selective cutting) / (shelter-wood cutting)
What is the most productive type of ecosystem?
Forest ecosystems - à most productive system lands support
What is an ecolabel? Provide an example.
Ecolab is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services.
EX: Green Seal / Degree of Green / Eco-Living Seal
What is an ecosystem’s Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)? What is the optimal population level for this to occur? How does this relate to the precautionary principle?
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) –Can apply to maintenance of parks, air and water quality, and soils
• Optimal population • Precautionary principle • Common-pool resources may be problem – “Tragedy of the Commons”
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY): highest possible rate of use system can match with own rate of replacement/maintenance
What are the consequences of deforestation? Which areas in particular are most affected?
(productivity reduced) (reduction in nutrients and biomass) (biodiversity reduced) (soil erosion increased) (alters hydrology) (CO2 sequestration lost)
Name the different types of rights of tenure of land and their levels of restrictions.
Consequence of the rights of tenure (property rights)
Private ownership 2. Communal ownership 3. State ownership 4. Open access (leads to over exploitations)
What particular ecosystems are under pressure or being exploited – why and how?
Particularly marine and forest systems
Forest ecosystems > most productive = most exploited
What are the different types of ecosystem use? Give me an example.
Consumptive: harvest food, shelter, tools, fuel, and clothing - Common in developing countries and even in rural US
Productive: exploitation for economic gain • Enormous source of revenue
What are some problems with aquaculture? How can we make this more sustainable?
Bottom trawling: Almost like clear cutting a forest (Trawl nets float at bottom of ocean to capture fish)
What is the difference between conservation and preservation? Give me an example.
• Preservation: ensure continuity (of ecosystem
or species), regardless of potential utility
• Conservation: management and regulation of ecosystem use
What are the main problems with marine systems?
Bottom trawling: Almost like clear cutting a forest – Trawl nets float at bottom of ocean to capture fish
52% MSY, 16% overexploited, 8% depleted • Other issues like plastic pollution!
What are the categories of ecosystem use? Be able to come up with an example.
Consumptive: harvest food, shelter, tools, fuel, and clothing • Common in developing countries and even in rural US
Productive: exploitation for economic gain
• Enormous source of revenue
Identify lands that are currently being protected by law in the US.
Wilderness - à given greatest protection • 109 million acres of land (4%)
Wild Species and Biodiversity
What are examples of habitat destruction?
• Hellbenders: giant aquatic salamanders threatened by habitat loss • Southeast US and the Ozark
Define acronym “HIPPO” and what it indicates.
Invasive species
Populations (humans)
Habitat destruction
Pollutions
Over-exploitation
What particular areas harbor the most biodiversity? Why?
Places closer to the equator harbor the most biodiversity. Due to warm climates that survived the ice age, creatures were able to prosper.
What are the different types of pollutants discussed in class?
Chemical: nutrients / endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) / industrial waste
Biological: pathogens / parasites
Physical: sediments / light / noise / thermal
What are the consequences for losses in biodiversity?
Declining
– North America and global extinction on the rise
Tropics are highly diverse – Extinction of species particularly problematic here – Deforestation
What is fragmentation? How does this differ from simplification?
Habitat fragmentation is defined as the process during which a large expanse of habitat is transformed into a number of smaller patches of smaller total area isolated from each other by a matrix of habitats unlike the original
Habitat simplification is the action of changing a landscape from containing a diverse range of both plant and animal species into an area where only a few species can now exist. It can be caused by bushfire, grazing or any human interaction with a landscape.
What is the difference between instrumental and intrinsic value?
Intrinsic value: Value for own sake
Instrumental value: Value for humans
– Anthropocentrism
Why do the mountains of Haiti look so different from its neighboring country, the Dominican Republic?
Compared to the Dominican Republic, the area of flat land good for intensive agriculture in Haiti is much smaller, as a higher percentage of Haiti's area is mountainous. There is more limestone terrain, and the soils are thinner and less fertile and have a lower capacity for recovery.
What is biological wealth? Biodiversity?
Biological Wealth: biota and their ecosystems
– Makes up our ecosystem capital
What are invasive species? Be able to identify and describe 1 particular invasive species. Why do they invade? What are some examples of the issues they invoke on the environment?
Invasive species – organisms not native to
area that causes environmental damage
Reasons for invasion? 1. Accidental 2. Deliberate 3. Gradual
Example: Feral Pigs / Spotted Lantern Fly
Ecosystems: Energy, Patterns, and Disturbances
What is ecological succession and what are the types? What role does fire/other disturbances play in succession?
Succession: transition of one biotic community to another (Primary vs. secondary)
Secondary: area cleared by fire, human activity or flooding and then left alone, is reinvaded by plants and animals from other ecosystems
Primary: area lacking plants and soils is initially invaded by plants when soil forms
Aquatic: soil particles eroded from land or plant detritus build up in ponds or lakes, eventually filling them
Fire and Succession • Some pine species require fire • Resilience: ability of ecosystems to return to normal after disturbance • Tipping Point: situation in human impacted ecosystem where small action catalyzes major change in system state
What are biomes? Be able to identify different biomes and what factors control where they occur. Which biomes are the most productive and why?
Biome: large geographical biotic community
Tropical forests have the highest biodiversity and primary productivity of any of the terrestrial biomes.
Discuss ecosystem disturbances.
System Equilibrium: species interact constantly in well-balanced relationship – Often respond to disturbances
Succession: transition of one biotic community to another • Primary vs. secondary
Why are terrestrial trophic levels not as efficient as those found in aquatic systems? How many trophic levels do most ecosystems support?
Thought the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels is usually greater in aquatic systems as less biomass is locked up in bone and skeletal materials compared to to flesh.
maximum of four trophic levels
What do we call small zones in the environment where the climate differs from the overall climate?
"microclimates"
What are the main differences between terrestrial, aquatic, and detrital food webs/pyramids?
Aquatic ecosystems are reverse compared with terrestrial pyramid (terrestrial have point on top )
A detrital food web consists of a base of organisms that feed on decaying organic matter (dead organisms), called decomposers or detritivores.
Aquatic foods means foods grown in or harvested from water including all types of fish
A terrestrial food web is a diagram showing the transfer of energy between different species in a land ecosystem.
Define a tipping point.
situation in human impacted ecosystem where small action catalyzes major change in system state
What are the different trophic categories/levels in a food chain/web?
Quaternary Consumer --- Tertiary Consumer --- Secondary Consumer --- Primary Consumer --- Primary Producer (big to small)
What is the millennium ecosystem assessment and what were its findings?
Governing board • Four year project involving 1400 scientists
Produced reports on state of Earth’s ecosystems – After assessment: “At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning. Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of the Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”
UNIT 2 (chapter 5-9)
UNIT 3 (chapter 10-14)
NO CH 13