GLG121 Cumulative Final Exam Study Guide PDF

Preview

Summary

This is the study guide I used for the GLG121 Cumulative Final Exam that comprises all units covered throughout the semester. I received an A on this final exam with help from this study guide, and an A+ overall in the course. Lecture and chapter notes are combined in an outlined form....

Description

Introduction—Important Terms to Know:          



  

   

   

Environmental Geology = The study of the interactions between humans and their environment. Environmental Impact = How much of Earth's resources someone consumes and how much waste is generated in the process. Per Capita Consumption = The average consumption of a commodity per year per person. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = The total market value of goods and services produced in a year. IPAT Equation = Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology Hydrosphere = All water (both liquid and frozen) on Earth's surface and underground. Atmosphere = All gases that surround Earth. Geosphere = All rock (solid and molten) and material derived from rock that make up Earth. Biosphere = All living organisms that inhabit Earth. Flux = The rate of transfer of matter, such as carbon, among systems. Flux in = Flux out = Reservoir stays the same. Flux in > Flux out = Reservoir increases. Flux in < Flux out = Reservoir decreases. Residence time = The average amount of time matter is contained in a specific reservoir. Residence Time = Reservoir Size/Flux In. Residence Time = Reservoir Size/Flux Out. Input large + Output large = Short Residence Time. Input small + Output small = Long Residence Time. Response Time = The time it would take to empty (or fill) a reservoir. Sink = This is what the reservoir is referred to when matter has a particularly long residence time in that reservoir. System = A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that together form a whole. An isolated potion of the universe under consideration (ex. This room, this campus, the atmosphere, the Earth). Closed System = They allow only energy to be transferred in or out. Open System = They allow both energy and matter to be transferred in or out. They are dynamic. "Steady State" System = When transfers of energy and matter into and out of an open system are about the same. The Scientific Method = An approach to asking and answering questions that scientists use to explore and explain how the natural world operates. 4 steps are developing a question, developing a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and evaluating the results. Theory = Many extensively tested hypotheses integrated in a well-accepted statement of relationships. It is as close to "true" as possible and is universally accepted. Renewable Resource = One that will continue to be available because it is naturally replenished as fast or faster than is being consumed (i.e. solar power). Nonrenewable Resource = One that is not replenished as fast as they are being used (i.e. fossil fuels). Biodiversity = The full range of variability within the living world at all levels, including genomes, species, and ecosystems. It is a measure of the health of the biosphere.



Carrying Capacity = The number of people that Earth can support sustainably at a defined level of economic and social well-being. (I.e. Easter Islands. The inhabitants cut down all of the forests and depleted their resources too quickly for them to replenish).

Important Things to Know:       

                

The population is growing fast. There are 7.3 billion people on earth. Slow population growth up until mid-19th century. 9 billion by 2050 is the prediction. More and more people will have to live in cities (60%). 4.3 births/second, and 1.8 deaths/second. Population has been booming since the Industrial Revolution (1850ish) Resources are not distributed equally on earth. Sustainability - we will always impact the environment, but how can we lessen it? Our goal is to have minimal impact on the earth by using practices that can continue into the future. The four systems of the earth are the hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Energy is stored in systems and transferred between systems. Carbon is stored in reservoirs in all four systems of the Earth. Largest carbon reservoirs are in rocks, like limestone (in the geosphere - 100,000,000 gigatonnes) Second largest amount of carbon is in the hydrosphere (38,000 gigatonnes). Carbon can be transferred among systems (i.e. Volcanoes of the geosphere releasing CO2 into the atmosphere). Oceans have the longest residence time compared to every other body of water and atmosphere. Pollution can unfortunately have long residence time as well. The amount of money spent on disaster relief has more than tripled, and the federal government is the ultimate insurer for the damage. Katrina was the most expensive disaster in US history. Earth is technically a closed system because it can only exchange energy, but it can also be considered open because it can also exchange matter (i.e. meteorites). Open systems are typically dynamic, meaning that they readily interact and change. The principle source of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations has been the burning of oil, natural gas, and coal. Ecosystems with greater biodiversity are more resilient and resistant to stress. These are valuable. There are 1.4 million known species. But maybe as many as 10-30 million. Habitat loss (caused by humans) is decreasing biodiversity and leading to extinctions of species. As a habitat decreases, the number of species it can hold decreases.

Geosphere & Atmosphere—Important Terms to Know:       

  







   

Rocky Planets = Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars (closer to the sun) Gas Giants = Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (further from the sun) Order of the Planets = My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos Solid Inner Core = 1200 kilometers thick. 1.7% of Earth's mass. Composition is Fe and Ni (an alloy) Liquid Outer Core = 2250 kilometers thick. 30.8% of Earth's mass. Composition Fe, some Ni, and up to 10% of lighter elements such as oxygen and sulfur and silicon. Outer skin of Earth = Very thin, like an apple. 80 km thick at its deepest point (like under the Himalayan mountains). Contains rocks that can be examined at Earth's surface. Continental Crust = Thicker (30-40kmm) of the two types of crust. Made of lighter rock (like granite), so it is lighter in weight and less dense. It is also older, because it hasn't been recycled yet compared to the crust in the ocean. Oceanic Crust = Thinner (5-8 km thick) of the two types of crust. Made from heavier materials such as basalt, so it is heavier and more dense. It is also younger. Asthenosphere = Weak zone in the upper mantle. It is very ductile and soft, and is just below the lithosphere. Lithosphere = Stronger zone compared to the other, and very brittle. It is the rock sphere. It is the uppermost mantle and crust (tectonic plates). *The uppermost mantle and the crust are separated by the "Moho," which is a sharp increase in seismic wave speed. The Atmosphere = Gases that surround the geosphere (air). Stretches about 480 kilometers upward, but does not have a distinct top. The Earth's most dynamic system. Vessel for life-dependent gases (O and CO2). The Early Atmosphere = The earth was really hot because of the collapse and compression and radio activity. Gases were part of the nebular cloud that condensed to form our solar system. Gases common in nebular clouds that comprise this atmosphere were: Hydrogen, Helium, Methane, and Ammonia. Gravity could not hold these hot, light gases around Earth. The Second Atmosphere = Climate was warm because of volatiles, which were present in nebular material that formed the initial solid Earth. Such volatile components include: Hydrogen, Carbon, and Nitrogen. Compounds formed from these elements such as water, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. All of these are characteristic of primitive meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites (thought to be representative of the nebular cloud composition that condensed to form the solar system). The volatiles escaped from the early solid Earth (outgassing--i.e. volcanic eruptions), generating the second atmosphere. Volatiles = Easily vaporized elements or compounds. Greenhouse Gases = Carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor cause the atmosphere's temperature to rise. Today's Air (Third Atmosphere) = 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0-4% Water. Other trace gases such as carbon dioxide, argon, helium, etc. Cyanobacteria = Some of the earliest life forms on Earth that were microorganisms, which were photosynthetic. They were putting out a lot of oxygen into the atmosphere. The initial oxygen produced by the bacteria was being absorbed by the ocean and the outer

 











surface of the geosphere. Only once that material could no longer efficiently absorb oxygen did it start accumulating in the atmosphere. Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) = Chemical reactions formed solid minerals, especially iron oxides that accumulated in sediments to become these type of rocks. Troposphere = Most dynamic place within the atmosphere. This is where life lives and where weather occurs. Contains half the mass of the atmosphere in lower 5km. Thickness varies from 7km near poles to 17km near the equator. Temperatures decrease upward until the tropopause. Stratosphere = Cloudless. Temperatures increase upward. Higher temperatures versus those of the underlying troposphere prevent air from rising and crossing their boundary zone, the tropopause. The very top is marked by a sudden decrease in temperature. This boundary called the stratopause and it is at an altitude of 50 km from Earth's surface. The Ozone is in the stratosphere. Ozone = Here, oxygen molecules absorb UV radiation and split into highly reactive oxygen atoms. These single oxygen atoms then bond with O2 molecules to form ozone (three oxygen atoms, total). It forms slowly in the stratosphere and can be destroyed by reactions with sunlight and other atmosphere components. It protects Earth from harmful radiation and UV rays. Mesosphere = Temperatures decrease upward, until the boundary zone (mesopause). This is where the lowest temperatures in the atmosphere are. Very thin air. About 50-80km in altitude. Meteorites burn up here (shooting stars). Thermosphere = Outermost atmospheric layer. Temperatures increase upward. Roughly 480 km or higher. Sparse (gas) molecules and atoms--the air is so thin and very hot. Also known as the heterosphere. Intense solar radiation can change gas molecules into charged particles, so this is also known as the ionosphere. This ionization produces the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis). Exosphere = Beyond the mesosphere, where satellites travel. It is the atmosphere/space boundary.

Important Things to Know: 

    

Changes in component of a system can have an effect on other components of that system. Ex. Rain in distant mountains can cause devastating floods many kilometers (miles) away. Seemingly localized or small changes can in combination develop into broadly significant ones. 4.5 billion years before present (BYBP) an immense cloud of debris (nebula) became dense enough to collapse under its own gravity. This is how all of the planets and the sun ultimately formed. Most stars formed from the clouds of gas and dust called nebulae. These are leftover from a previous star. Early earth: heat generated by the debris collisions and the gravitational compression as the aggregated debris compacted, and by decay of radioactive elements such as Uranium, Thorium, and Potassium.

       

     



 

Some ejected mass from the collision of another mass the size of mars formed the Moon during Earth's early development. The other side of the moon that does not face us has much more damage from collisions. It is technically "older." The early, largely molten Earth began to differentiate into layers with varying compositions. Denser elements such as Fe and Ni migrated to the center of the planet. They naturally sank because they were heavier. Less dense elements such as Si, Al, O, K, and Na floated to the surface. Once all elements moved and Earth differentiated, 3 distinct layers resulted: Core, mantle, and crust Mantle is technically a solid, but it moves. Like toffee. We can't see Earth's interior, but we can infer with seismic waves (like microphones to listen to Earthquakes). Abrupt changes in seismic wave velocities mark boundaries between various regions of the core, mantle, and crust: inner core, outer core, lower mantle, mantle transition zone, upper mantle, asthenosphere, and lithosphere. From lowest to highest (in seismic activity): Asthenosphere -> Lithosphere -> ("Moho") -> Outer crust. Present day volcanic eruptions release water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and sulfur compounds especially sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere. Large volumes of water and carbon dioxide had to be removed and a lot of nitrogen and oxygen needed to be added to evolve into the third atmosphere. 3.5 billion years ago, excess water went condensed in the air and fell into what we now know as the hydrosphere. Once the world ocean existed, carbon dioxide from atmosphere began to dissolve in its water Dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with Ca to form solid calcium carbonate, which started to precipitate and accumulate on the sea floor. Most seafloor calcium carbonate accumulations gradually turn into rocks and become part of the geosphere (mostly calcium carbonate rock as limestone). The geosphere is the world's largest carbon reservoir and a global sink for carbon dioxide. Concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere slowly decreased as carbon dioxide was transferred through the oceans to the geosphere. 500 million year ago, land plants first appeared and the atmosphere's oxygen level had become approximately what it is today Levels of the atmosphere in ascending order: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.

Hydrosphere & Biosphere—Important Terms to Know: 

Hydrosphere = Consists of all water in oceans, on land in streams and lakes, in glaciers and other accumulations of ice, in the atmosphere and underground. Covers 71% of Earth's surface. Water exists in all three phases: ice, liquid, and gas.



 

 

 

  





 





World Ocean = Average depth is 4km. Deepest point in the ocean is close to 11 km deep (Mariana Trench). Internal structure of this is defined by variations in salinity and temperature but as one big reservoir it has only two main parts (upper and lower layer). Upper Layer of the Ocean = About 200 meters of warm water that is warmed by the sun and is mixed by waves and currents by the wind over the surface. Lower layer = Solar radiation and wind have little effect. It is particularly cold. Water can still be in motion because salinity and temp differences change the water's density, and thus its buoyancy. Thermohaline Circulation = Denser (colder and saltier) water sinks and slowly flows through the deep ocean and back to the surface. Glaciers = If snow accumulation is greater than the melting of snow and ice. Ice in glaciers is derived from snow through a process called diagenesis (squeezing a snow ball to make an ice ball). They exist at high elevations in mountains and at high latitudes near the poles. Ice caps/Ice Fields/Ice Sheets = Where glaciers coalesce and cover larger areas (50,000km2) The Water Cycle = Water evaporates into the atmosphere. When air rises, it cools. With sufficient cooling water vapor can condense into tiny water droplets which form clouds. Rain can form when the concertation of water drops gets high (similar but colder process with snow). This process transfers water to the 3 reservoirs on land: ice, surface water, and ground water. Rivers and streams then carry water back to the oceans. Latent Heat = The amount of heat absorbed or released as water changes state. Biosphere = It consists of all life on Earth. It also plays a key role in the carbon cycle. It produces food, serves as a pollution filter, captures energy, and aids in soil development. Fossils = Remains or evidence of former life preserved in rocks. They can be actual remains, or just imprints of an organism or its hard parts such as shells or bones. Oldest ones are bacteria (3.2 billion years old). Stromatolites are 3.5 billion years old. Nicolas Steno = 17th Century anatomist who discovered that "tongue stones" found in the Alps were fossilized shark teeth. He compared modern shark anatomy to the rock record and established that that fossil represented former life in former seas. Georges Cuvier = Specialist in vertebrate fossils. Member of the French Museum of Natural History. He discovered that the progression of life became more and more complex. Jean Baptiste Lamarck = Specialist in invertebrate fossils. Member of the French Museum of Natural History. Wallace = He studied the distribution of species (biogeography) and developed his own ideas about natural selection. Investigated how life changed over time by the process of natural selection. Darwin = He was interested in the variety of life, but also how it changed. He also investigated how life changed over time by the process of natural selection. He published Origin of the Species in 1859. Some of his best discoveries were made on the his voyage to the Galapagos islands, when he studied the variety of finches and how each was better adapted for the environment. 3 Key Aspects of Natural Selection = Variation in traits between individuals, differential reproduction, and passing on traits through heredity.



   

5 Mass Extinctions = Ordovician extinction, Devonian extinction, Permo-Triassic extinction, End-Triassic extinction, and Cretaceous Tertiary extinction (Comet + Dinosaurs, 65 million years ago). Principle of original horizontality = (Steno) Sedimentary rocks are deposited in nearly horizontal layers. Principle of superposition = (Steno) For an undeformed sequence or stack of rocks, the younger rocks are on top of the older rocks. William Smith = 19th century English surveyor. He recognized that fossils appear in sedimentary rocks in a particular order, which we now call fossil succession. Index fossils = Species that existed for a relatively short period of geologic time and found over a large geographic areas are the best for precise correlations.

Important Things to Know:    



    

 



Water was part of the original nebular debris that coalesced, forming Earth. Old volcanic rocks that form only under water, called pillow basalts, indicate liquid water existed 3.8 billion years ago. The hydrosphere has reservoirs. The world's oceans are the largest reservoir (97% of water) Freshwater accounts for only 2.8% (this is what humans can drink). Fresh water can be found in lakes, streams, rivers, underground, and in the atmosphere. But the majority of freshwater is frozen in glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets (up to 68.6% of freshwater is in ice). Water is very important in the climate system because it has the special ability of holding heat. Water has a high specific heat capacity compared to the atmosphere, and can easily hold and transfer heat. Massive oceans can hold a lot of heat because of the absorbed sunlight. Today, glacial ice covers about 10% of Earth's land area (most in Greenland and Antarctica seas). The oceans are a key source of atmospheric water vapor: 86% of water vapor in the atmosphere comes from evaporation from the ocean surface. Heat is absorbed during melting, evaporation, or sublimation (solid to gas). Heat is released during freezing, condensation, or deposition (gas to solid). Individuals with advantageous traits will tend to have more surviving offspring, which will increase the frequency of those traits in the overall population over time. The population will ultimately evolve very slowly. The last Passenger Pigeon died at the Cincinnati zoo in 1914. The only extinction we have ever...