Geology 103 Study Guide Exam 1 PDF

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Geology 103 “The Earth’s Environments” Study Guide for Exam 1 1. Global View  There are 7.5 billion people on the planet and the number is increasing rapidly  Personal changes to make? Drive electric car, eat less meat, and waste less energy 2. Anthropocene  Anthropocene- The geological period when human started to dominate the planet 3. Sustainability  Sustainability- Meeting todays needs without harming quality of life for future generations  Our current food system is not sustainable- 40% of food in USA is not eaten  East Tennessee is a great place to study sustainability because it is in the top 10% for sprawl(tons of asphalt), water pollution(TN River is very polluted), the TVA is a leading producer of acid rain and nuclear waste, and the Great Smoky Mtns National Park is the most polluted national park (10 million cars per year).  Starts at the local level 4. Natural Hazards  A natural hazard is any kind of threat  A hazard area becomes a disaster area when it affects people  Geography of Natural Hazards in US: West has lots of earthquakes and volcanoes, Central has lots of tornadoes, and East is subject to flooding and hurricanes 5. Earthquakes  Magnitude- intensity of a natural hazard in terms of the amount of energy released  Frequency- recurrence interval of a disastrous event  Magnitude scale is logarithmic -> 10 fold increase in magnitude per step up  Epicenter- the point on the surface directly above the focus- easily located  Focus- the site of the rupture- where the “break” happens. It’s under the earth’s crust  The Mercalli Scale measures the amount of disaster. This scale can change in a place over time depending on if a place becomes more populated. This scale is subjective  People tend to rely on the Richter Scale because its definitive and objective, even though it only measures magnitude  Side effects of Earthquakes: falling buildings, fire, landslides, and tsunamis  Man-made earthquakes are created by injection wells (people drill holes and dump waste in, crack rocks to reach energy sources etc) and fracking (a practice for drilling for oil. Holes are drilled miles deep and wide. Pressure is built up in the earth and rocks begin to crack. The mix poured in these holes can be abrasive and cause rocks to slide, slip, or rupture) 6. Volcanoes

2 Usually located on plate junctions Shield volcanoes- least violent, fluid lava that flows long distances slowly & a low amount of gas. Low hazard to life but high hazard to buildings because of large amounts of continuously flowing lava  Cinder cone volcanoes- very explosive, lots of gas that contains deadly chemicals  Composite volcanoes- most dangerous type and also most common type. It has effusive (happens if the gas is able to be let off) and explosive eruptions (happens if the gas builds up until explosion) Cyclones  Tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons) are storms over warm tropical seas  The difference in temperature is more important than the actual temperature  Hurricanes often cause flooding that can be more disastrous than the storm Tornadoes  Rotating funnel of air associated with severe thunderstorms  Form because of temperature difference (cool dry air collides with warm humid air)  Smaller version of a cyclone and on land Dust Storms  Created because of loose topsoil and desertification  Are an example of how humans can create natural hazards Floods  Natural flooding is a part of the environment. It’s a good thing because it replenishes nutrients to the soil and recharges groundwater  Flooding is becoming more common. City landscapes cause high flood levels. Everything is covered in concrete so there is no soil to absorb the water Drought  Droughts are characterized by a loss of moisture in the atmosphere  Droughts create a cycle of loss of evaporation and plant life which makes the problem worse  Possible desert areas are getting bigger because of droughts Fire  Natural fires are good for ecosystems  We have had a lot of reforestation which is good, but there is no control over the foliage. The foliage acts as fuel for fires  Underlying causes of fires are drought, lightning, and human action Water Stats  3% of Earth’s water is freshwater, 1.1 billion people lack access to a secure freshwater source  About 70% of Earth’s surface is water Hydrosphere  Hydrosphere- all water that is readily available to the surface of the planet  Earth’s water resides at the Earth’s surface, within Earth’s crust, and within the atmosphere  

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Most of Earth’s water is not directly useful to people because it’s salty or inaccessible

15. Hydrologic Cycle  The Hydrologic cycle is the continuous circulation of water near or at the Earth’s surface-> its driven by the SUN  It takes 40,000 years for ocean water to recycle (water is slow moving deep in the ocean)  It takes 2 weeks for river water to recycle  It takes 10 days for the atmospheric water to recycle  It takes groundwater in shallow places (30 ft) months or a few years to recycle. s you get deeper into the earth it takes much longer 16. Water Demand  Withdrawn water- water that is taken from its sources (i.e. river, lake or aquifer) and is returned to its source after use. It usually has wear and tear- if used by an industry its usually dirty  Consumed water- water that is withdrawn but not returned to its source (i.e. irrigation water lost to evaporation and plant uptake)  Industries are the greatest withdrawer of water, but agriculture is the greatest consumer of water  Americans use about 150 gal/day 17. Freshwater  Surface water- include flowing waters (rivers and streams) and basinal waters (ponds and lakes)  Groundwater- water beneath Earth’s surface  Discharge- the volume of water carried in a stream channel, increases with the size of the channel  Drainage basin-an area from which all precipitation flows into a single stream or set of streams.  Aquifer- sediment or rock containing useable amounts of water  Rocks have pores like sponges and water collects in them  Groundwater can cause landslides (from oversaturated soil), mass poisoning (what does it contain?), solution collapse (sinkholes, caves), and water borne diseases

4 18. Groundwater overdraft  Temporary problem: dry wells  Long term problem: land subsidence. Also, if you lose your aquifers they are gone forever- this is a loss of a large reserve of water  When you over-pump groundwater, the sea water intrudes wells and you can’t get the sea water out. This causes the water we then pump out to be salty, not fresh 19. Social solutions to water scarcity  Fair pricing of water (subsidies often pay up to 90% of irrigation water costs compared to urban use)  Water conservation and pollution prevention  Long term planning for droughts and climate change 20. Tragedy of the Commons  The environment is a commons (atmosphere, oceans, rivers): no one owns it, everyone uses it (and abuses it)  Environmental refugees- people who are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes in their local environment. These changes compromise their well-being and secure livelihood  Young people and poor people pay the price  Solutions? Laws, incentives (usually economic), and persuasion (bad, rarely work) 21. Global ecosystems and human impact  5/25 rule. The US has 5% (330 million) of the world’s population, but it consumes 25% of the world’s resources. We produce 25% of the worlds pollution  Impact= population x consumption 22. Population  Doubling time- 70/growth rate  Growth rate- 2% per year  Our current doubling time is 35 years (70/2)  Carrying capacity- max population size that can be sustained for a long period of time  Overshoot- temporarily exceeding carrying capacity so it causes environmental degradation  If we have a high quality of life we can sustain 8-12 billion. If we have a low quality of life it’ll be more than that  90% of all population growth occurs in poor countries (solve poverty= solve overpopulation)  Economic takeoff- the more money you make, the less kids you have 23. Causes of population growth  Total Fertility Rate (TFR)- the number of babies a woman has in her lifetime. A SUSTAINABLE TFR is 2.06  The TFR for the United States if you exclude immigrants is 1.9, in certain countries in Africa and Asia it’s 9 or 10

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Population bomb Pencil shaped Age distribution defines population growth 24. Solutions to overpopulation  Mandatory laws (i.e. China) probably a human rights issue  Voluntary (ask people to have fewer kids. This usually never works and only effects the problem 1-2%)  Economic takeoff (best)- birth rate declines when per capita income rises Improved education, alternative roles for women, non-agricultural economy, and social security all accompany economic takeoff and lower birth rates.  Obstacles- time and technology 25. Happiness/Hedonic Treadmill Overconsumption *the more you get, the more you want Wants needs consumption   Overconsumption- wanting more than you need 26. Why do we overconsume?  Status competition (keeping up with the joneses. The wealthier society gets, the higher the bar is set)  Advertisement (we’re bombarded with products each day  Habit (we grow up consuming)  Entertainment (when we’re bored, we shop)  How do we do better? Voluntary simplicity and minimalism 27. Who is harmed by overconsumption?  The environment- being destroyed by natural resource depletion  Poor people- preventable poverty is being made because of the demand for cash crops like coffee, sugar, and cobalt  You- consuming more things harms the consumer via happiness treadmill  Environmental justice- ethical problems arising from consumption 28. Social consequences and solutions to overconsumption  Widening gap between the rich and the poor in the US  Widening gap between rich and poor between US and other countries  Green consumerism- fair trade, recyclables  Behavioral- voluntary minimalism, green living  Technical- sustainable green technologies

6 29. Ecological footprint  Ecological footprint- how we scientifically accurately measure your impact  The measurement of your EF is in area. Usually acres. Avg American footprint is 30 acres 30. 4 types of ecological footprint land use  Energy land- land devoted to amount of energy you use (oil, solar power)  Consumed land- paved land (asphalt, cities)  Food land- how much land is devoted to growing your food (if you’re a vegan you have a small footprint in this area as compared to meat eaters)  Forest products- amount of trees/forest you use (furniture, paper) 31. Reducing your footprint  Electric bikes are the vehicle of the future. They are the best option for sustainable cities  Only 5 people need to ride the bus to make it more efficient than driving alone in the car  Alternatives are carpooling, biking, and having large number of people on buses and flights  A hybrid car has two engines. It has an electric engine and a small gas engine. 32. Green buildings (5 criteria)  LEED- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design  site planning (where is it located? If you’re chopping down a forest to build your house that is not sustainable  -water management (low flow toilets, recycled rainwater)  -energy (is it well insulated? Solar energy?)  -Material use (what’s the house made of? i.e. recycled plastics)  -indoor environmental quality (what’s your furniture made of? Wood is not sustainable)  *buy fair trade, bamboo, and recycled plastics for your home 33. Greenwash  Greenwash- advertising using misleading environmental claims (i.e. “all natural, “recyclable”, fluffy language, suggestive pictures  Solutions? Have standards and make companies label according to these standards 34. Biodiversity  Biodiversity- the sum of an area’s organisms, considering the diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities. (simple def-the number of an area’s species  Evolutionary value- new species, adapt for future environmental changes 35. 5 E’s  Ethical value- the right of species to exist without regard to humans (popularly known as animal rights)  Economic value- value to make money (many plants provide medicines to us)  Emotional value- recreation (hiking brings us joy)

7 Ecological value- services species provide for us (oxygen/photosynthesis, filtering rainwater) minimum of $16 trillion a year  Evolutionary value- ability to adapt to future environmental changes  Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD)- we spend 80% of our time indoors which creates a disconnection from nature. This has consequences like obesity, stress, and & lack of environmental policy  Biophilia- human love for and attachment to other living things. People love nature & live healthier lives when they spend time outside Where is biodiversity?  Latitude diversity gradient- most species live in the tropics  The tropics get more sunlight, have no seasons, lots of photosynthesis  7% of Earth is rainforest, but the rainforests are home to 50% of Earth’s species  Ocean depth diversity gradient- diversity decreases as ocean gets deeper  Sunlight only penetrates 100ft into the water  Coral reefs are the rainforests of the ocean. However, they live near people so they are highly impacted.  Latitudinal gradient- there are more species as you get closer to the equator Hotspots  Hotspots- areas of extreme high diversity that are being worked to preserve Causes of Extinction  Mass extinction- when over 50% of species go extinct  HIPO -Habitat loss (biggest threat) -introduced species (i.e. kudzu) fastest growing threat -pollution -overharvesting (i.e. poaching and overhunting) Human dominated ecosystem  low biodiversity and a lot of monoculture  Most urban landscapes have low biodiversity 

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